Getting started

Install a pre-built binary

Grab a binary from the latest release (or the rolling edge build from main). Binaries are published for Linux (x86_64/aarch64, glibc), macOS (x86_64/aarch64, signed & notarized .pkg/.dmg), and Windows (x86_64). Each release ships both the terminal editor (nxvim) and the native GUI (nxvim-gui); on Linux the GUI is published as a single-file, desktop-integrated .AppImage (alongside a plain .tar.gz).

Then run it on a file (the argument is optional):

nxvim file.txt        # terminal editor
nxvim-gui file.txt    # native GUI (winit + wgpu)

Downloads ship with checksums and SLSA build provenance — see Verifying downloads.

Truecolor terminal recommended. nxvim emits 24-bit color escapes; use a modern terminal with truecolor support.

The terminal editor is the whole thing in one binary: it embeds the server on its own thread and runs the client on the main thread, joined over the same msgpack-RPC the UI clients speak.

Build it yourself

You need a Rust toolchain. Then:

# Build and run (the file argument is optional)
cargo build --release
./target/release/nxvim file.txt

# …or straight from cargo
cargo run -p nxvim -- file.txt

# the native GUI
cargo run -p nxvim-gui -- file.txt

Try it in the browser

A fully client-side WebAssembly build runs the entire editor core in the browser with no server. Try the live demo at https://nxvim-demo.netlify.app: use :eo to open a local file, and :setf <lang> / :TSInstall to activate treesitter highlighting for a language.