path: root/INSTALL.md

You can install Neovim from [download](#install-from-download), [package](#install-from-package), or [source](#install-from-source) in just a few seconds.

---

- To start Neovim, run `nvim` (not `neovim`).
    - [Discover plugins](https://github.com/neovim/neovim/wiki/Related-projects#plugins).
- Before upgrading to a new version, **check [Breaking Changes](https://neovim.io/doc/user/news.html#news-breaking).**
- For config (vimrc) see [the FAQ](https://neovim.io/doc/user/faq.html#faq-general).

---

Install from download
=====================

Downloads are available on the [Releases](https://github.com/neovim/neovim/releases) page.

* Latest [stable release](https://github.com/neovim/neovim/releases/latest)
    * [macOS x86_64](https://github.com/neovim/neovim/releases/latest/download/nvim-macos-x86_64.tar.gz)
    * [macOS arm64](https://github.com/neovim/neovim/releases/latest/download/nvim-macos-arm64.tar.gz)
    * [Linux x86_64](https://github.com/neovim/neovim/releases/latest/download/nvim-linux-x86_64.tar.gz)
    * [Linux arm64](https://github.com/neovim/neovim/releases/latest/download/nvim-linux-arm64.tar.gz)
    * [Windows x86_64](https://github.com/neovim/neovim/releases/latest/download/nvim-win64.msi)
    * [Windows arm64](https://github.com/neovim/neovim/releases/latest/download/nvim-win-arm64.msi)
* Latest [development prerelease](https://github.com/neovim/neovim/releases/nightly)


Install from package
====================

Packages are listed below. (You can also [build Neovim from source](#install-from-source).)

## Windows

Windows 8+ is required. Windows 7 or older is not supported.

### [Winget](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/package-manager/winget/)

- **Release:** `winget install Neovim.Neovim`
- **Nightly:** [Not supported by winget](https://github.com/neovim/neovim/issues/38585)

### [Chocolatey](https://chocolatey.org)

- **Release:** `choco install neovim` (use -y for automatically skipping confirmation messages)
- **Nightly:** `choco install neovim --pre`

### [Scoop](https://scoop.sh/)

```bash
scoop bucket add main
scoop install neovim
```

Several Neovim GUIs are available from scoop (extras): [scoop.sh/#/apps?q=neovim](https://scoop.sh/#/apps?q=neovim)

### MSI

> [!TIP]
> If you are missing `VCRUNTIME170.dll`, install the [Visual Studio C++ redistributable](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/cpp/windows/latest-supported-vc-redist) (choose x86_64 or x86 depending on your system).
> If you have scoop, try: `scoop install vcredist`.

You can use this powershell script to install the MSI from the [releases page](https://github.com/neovim/neovim/releases):

- For x86_64:
  ```pwsh
  iwr -Uri "https://github.com/neovim/neovim/releases/download/nightly/nvim-win64.msi" -OutFile nvim-win64.msi
  msiexec /i nvim-win64.msi /passive
  rm nvim-win64.msi
  ```
- For arm64:
  ```pwsh
  iwr -Uri "https://github.com/neovim/neovim/releases/download/nightly/nvim-win-arm64.msi" -OutFile nvim-win-arm64.msi
  msiexec /i nvim-win-arm64.msi /passive
  rm nvim-win-arm64.msi
  ```

### Zip

1. Choose a package (**nvim-winXX.zip**) from the [releases page](https://github.com/neovim/neovim/releases).
2. Unzip the package. Any location is fine, administrator privileges are _not_ required.
    - `$VIMRUNTIME` will be set to that location automatically.
3. Run `nvim.exe` from a terminal.
4. (Optional) Add the `bin` folder (e.g. `C:/Program Files/nvim/bin`) to your PATH.
   This makes it easy to run `nvim` from any directory.

### Optional steps

- For Python plugins you need the `pynvim` module. Installation via uv
  (https://docs.astral.sh/uv/) is recommended; the `--upgrade` switch ensures
  installation of the latest version:
    ```bash
    uv tool install --upgrade pynvim
    ```
    - Run `:checkhealth` and read `:help provider-python` for more details.
- **init.vim ("vimrc"):** If you already have Vim installed you can copy `%userprofile%/_vimrc` to `%userprofile%/AppData/Local/nvim/init.vim` to use your Vim config with Neovim.


## macOS / OS X

### Pre-built archives

The [Releases](https://github.com/neovim/neovim/releases) page provides pre-built binaries for macOS 10.15+.

For x86_64:
```bash
curl -LO https://github.com/neovim/neovim/releases/download/nightly/nvim-macos-x86_64.tar.gz
tar xzf nvim-macos-x86_64.tar.gz
./nvim-macos-x86_64/bin/nvim
```
For arm64:
```bash
curl -LO https://github.com/neovim/neovim/releases/download/nightly/nvim-macos-arm64.tar.gz
tar xzf nvim-macos-arm64.tar.gz
./nvim-macos-arm64/bin/nvim
```
### [Homebrew](https://brew.sh) on macOS or Linux

```bash
brew install neovim
```

### [MacPorts](https://www.macports.org/)

```bash
sudo port selfupdate
sudo port install neovim
```

## Linux

### Pre-built archives

The [Releases](https://github.com/neovim/neovim/releases) page provides pre-built binaries for Linux systems.

```bash
curl -LO https://github.com/neovim/neovim/releases/latest/download/nvim-linux-x86_64.tar.gz
sudo rm -rf /opt/nvim-linux-x86_64
sudo tar -C /opt -xzf nvim-linux-x86_64.tar.gz
```

Then add this to your shell config (`~/.bashrc`, `~/.zshrc`, ...):
```bash
export PATH="$PATH:/opt/nvim-linux-x86_64/bin"
```

### AppImage ("universal" Linux package)

The [Releases](https://github.com/neovim/neovim/releases) page provides an [AppImage](https://appimage.org) that runs on most Linux systems. No installation is needed, just download `nvim-linux-x86_64.appimage` and run it. (It might not work if your Linux distribution is more than 4 years old.) The following instructions assume an `x86_64` architecture; on ARM Linux replace with `arm64`.

```bash
curl -LO https://github.com/neovim/neovim/releases/latest/download/nvim-linux-x86_64.appimage
chmod u+x nvim-linux-x86_64.appimage
./nvim-linux-x86_64.appimage
```

To expose nvim globally:
```bash
mkdir -p /opt/nvim
mv nvim-linux-x86_64.appimage /opt/nvim/nvim
```

And the following line to your shell config (`~/.bashrc`, `~/.zshrc`, ...):
```bash
export PATH="$PATH:/opt/nvim/"
```

If the `./nvim-linux-x86_64.appimage` command fails, try:
```bash
./nvim-linux-x86_64.appimage --appimage-extract
./squashfs-root/AppRun --version

# Optional: exposing nvim globally.
sudo mv squashfs-root /
sudo ln -s /squashfs-root/AppRun /usr/bin/nvim
nvim
```

### Arch Linux

Neovim can be installed from the community repository:
```bash
sudo pacman -S neovim
```
Alternatively, Neovim can be also installed using the PKGBUILD [`neovim-git`](https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/neovim-git), available on the [AUR](https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Arch_User_Repository).

Alternatively, Neovim Nightly builds can be also installed using the PKGBUILD [`neovim-nightly-bin`](https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/neovim-nightly-bin), available on the [AUR](https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Arch_User_Repository).

The Python module is available from the community repository:
```bash
sudo pacman -S python-pynvim
```
Ruby modules (currently only supported in `neovim-git`) are available from the AUR as [`ruby-neovim`](https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/ruby-neovim).

### CentOS 8 / RHEL 8

Neovim is available through [EPEL (Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux)](https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/EPEL)
```bash
yum install -y https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/epel/epel-release-latest-8.noarch.rpm
yum install -y neovim python3-neovim
```
### Clear Linux OS

Neovim is available through the [neovim bundle](https://github.com/clearlinux/clr-bundles/blob/master/bundles/neovim)
```bash
sudo swupd bundle-add neovim
```

Python (`:python`) support is available if the [python-basic bundle](https://github.com/clearlinux/clr-bundles/blob/master/bundles/python-basic) is installed.
```bash
sudo swupd bundle-add python-basic
```

### Debian

Neovim is in [Debian](https://packages.debian.org/search?keywords=neovim).
```bash
sudo apt-get install neovim
```

Python (`:python`) support is installable via the package manager on Debian unstable.
```bash
sudo apt-get install python3-neovim
```
### Exherbo Linux

Exhereses for scm and released versions are currently available in repository `::medvid`. Python client (with GTK+ GUI included) and Qt5 GUI are also available as suggestions:
```bash
cave resolve app-editors/neovim --take dev-python/neovim-python --take app-editors/neovim-qt
```

### Fedora

Neovim is in [Fedora](https://src.fedoraproject.org/rpms/neovim) starting with Fedora 25:
```bash
sudo dnf install -y neovim python3-neovim
```

You can also get nightly builds of git master from the [Copr automated build system](https://copr.fedoraproject.org/coprs/agriffis/neovim-nightly/):
```bash
dnf copr enable agriffis/neovim-nightly
dnf install -y neovim python3-neovim
```

See the [blog post](https://arongriffis.com/2019-03-02-neovim-nightly-builds) for information on how these are built.

### Flatpak

You can find Neovim on [Flathub](https://flathub.org/apps/details/io.neovim.nvim). Providing you have Flatpak [set up](https://flatpak.org/setup/):
```bash
flatpak install flathub io.neovim.nvim
flatpak run io.neovim.nvim
```

You can add `/var/lib/flatpak/exports/bin` (or `~/.local/share/flatpak/exports/bin` if you used `--user`) to the `$PATH` and run it with `io.neovim.nvim`.

Note that Flatpak'ed Neovim will look for `init.vim` in `~/.var/app/io.neovim.nvim/config/nvim` instead of `~/.config/nvim`.

### Gentoo Linux

An ebuild is available in Gentoo's official portage repository:
```bash
emerge -a app-editors/neovim
```

### GNU Guix

Neovim can be installed with:
```bash
guix install neovim
```

### GoboLinux

Neovim can be installed with:
```bash
sudo -H Compile NeoVim
```

### Nix / NixOS

Neovim can be installed with:
```bash
nix-env -iA nixpkgs.neovim
```

Or alternatively, if you use flakes:
```bash
nix profile install nixpkgs#neovim
```

### Mageia 7

```bash
urpmi neovim
```

To install the Python modules:
```bash
urpmi python3-pynvim
```

### makedeb Package Repository (MPR)

Neovim is available inside the [MPR](https://mpr.makedeb.org/packages/neovim). You can install it with:

```bash
git clone https://mpr.makedeb.org/neovim
cd neovim/
makedeb -si
```

### OpenSUSE

Neovim can be installed with:
```bash
sudo zypper in neovim
```

To install the Python modules:
```bash
sudo zypper in python-neovim python3-neovim
```

### PLD Linux

Neovim is in [PLD Linux](https://github.com/pld-linux/neovim):
```bash
poldek -u neovim
poldek -u python-neovim python3-neovim
poldek -u python-neovim-gui python3-neovim-gui
```

### Slackware

See [neovim on SlackBuilds](https://slackbuilds.org/apps/neovim/).

### Source Mage

Neovim can be installed using the Sorcery package manager:
```bash
cast neovim
```

### Solus

Neovim can be installed using the default package manager in Solus (eopkg):
```bash
sudo eopkg install neovim
```

### Snap

Neovim nightly and stable are available on the [snap store](https://snapcraft.io/nvim).

**Stable Builds**

```bash
sudo snap install nvim --classic
```

**Nightly Builds**

```bash
sudo snap install --edge nvim --classic
```

### Ubuntu

As in Debian, Neovim is in [Ubuntu](https://packages.ubuntu.com/search?keywords=neovim).
```bash
sudo apt install neovim
```

Python (`:python`) support seems to be automatically installed
```bash
sudo apt install python3-neovim
```

Neovim has been added to a "Personal Package Archive" (PPA). This allows you to install it with `apt-get`. Follow the links to the PPAs to see which versions of Ubuntu are currently available via the PPA. Choose **stable** or **unstable**:

- [https://launchpad.net/~neovim-ppa/+archive/ubuntu/**stable**](https://launchpad.net/~neovim-ppa/+archive/ubuntu/stable)
- [https://launchpad.net/~neovim-ppa/+archive/ubuntu/**unstable**](https://launchpad.net/~neovim-ppa/+archive/ubuntu/unstable)

**Important:** The Neovim team does not maintain the PPA packages. For problems or questions about the PPA specifically contact https://launchpad.net/~neovim-ppa.

To be able to use **add-apt-repository** you may need to install software-properties-common:
```bash
sudo apt-get install software-properties-common
```

If you're using an older version Ubuntu you must use:
```bash
sudo apt-get install python-software-properties
```

Run the following commands:
```bash
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:neovim-ppa/stable
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install neovim
```

Prerequisites for the Python modules:
```bash
sudo apt-get install python-dev python-pip python3-dev python3-pip
```

If you're using an older version Ubuntu you must use:
```bash
sudo apt-get install python-dev python-pip python3-dev
sudo apt-get install python3-setuptools
sudo easy_install3 pip
```

### Void-Linux

Neovim can be installed using the xbps package manager
```bash
sudo xbps-install -S neovim
```

### Alpine Linux

Neovim can be installed using the apk package manager
```bash
sudo apk add neovim
```

## BSD

### FreeBSD

Neovim can be installed using [`pkg(8)`](https://www.freebsd.org/cgi/man.cgi?query=pkg&sektion=8&n=1):
```bash
pkg install neovim
```

or [from the ports tree](https://www.freshports.org/editors/neovim/):
```bash
cd /usr/ports/editors/neovim/ && make install clean
```

To install the pynvim Python modules using [`pkg(8)`](https://www.freebsd.org/cgi/man.cgi?query=pkg&sektion=8&n=1) run:
```bash
pkg install py36-pynvim
```

### OpenBSD

Neovim can be installed using [`pkg_add(1)`](https://man.openbsd.org/pkg_add):
```bash
pkg_add neovim
```

or [from the ports tree](https://cvsweb.openbsd.org/cgi-bin/cvsweb/ports/editors/neovim/):
```bash
cd /usr/ports/editors/neovim/ && make install
```

## Android

[Termux](https://github.com/termux/termux-app) offers a Neovim package.


Install from source
===================

If a package is not provided for your platform, you can build Neovim from source. See [BUILD.md](./BUILD.md) for details.  If you have the [prerequisites](./BUILD.md#build-prerequisites) then building is easy:
```bash
make CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
sudo make install
```

For Unix-like systems this installs Neovim to `/usr/local`, while for Windows to `C:/Program Files`. Note, however, that this can complicate uninstallation. The following example avoids this by isolating an installation under `$HOME/neovim`:
```bash
rm -r build/  # clear the CMake cache
make CMAKE_EXTRA_FLAGS="-DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=$HOME/neovim"
make install
export PATH="$HOME/neovim/bin:$PATH"
```

## Uninstall

There is a CMake target to _uninstall_ after `make install`:

```bash
sudo cmake --build build/ --target uninstall
```

Alternatively, just delete the `CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX` artifacts:

```bash
sudo rm /usr/local/bin/nvim
sudo rm -r /usr/local/share/nvim/
```