np/templates/ed

ED Template - Simple Editor Environment

A lightweight, customizable Neovim-based development environment with optional language support for Python, R, Julia, and Nix.

Features

• ✨ Lightweight: Minimal configuration, fast startup
• 🔧 Configurable: Enable only the languages you need
• 📦 Reproducible: Nix-based environment management
• 🎨 Themed: Beautiful Kanagawa colorscheme (customizable)
• 🔔 Notifications: Mini-notify plugin for user feedback

Quick Start

# Initialize a new project with the ED template
nix flake init -t github:dwinkler1/np#ed

# Enter the development environment
nix develop

# Launch Neovim
vv

Configuration

The ED template uses a centralized configuration structure at the top of flake.nix:

cats = {
  clickhouse = false;
  gitPlugins = false;
  julia = false;
  lua = false;
  markdown = false;
  nix = true;        # Enabled by default
  optional = false;
  python = false;
  r = false;
};

Enabling Languages

To enable support for a specific language, edit flake.nix and set the corresponding cat to true:

Python

cats = {
  python = true;
  # ... other settings
};

Includes: Python 3, duckdb, polars packages by default

R

cats = {
  r = true;
  # ... other settings
};

Includes: fixest package by default

Julia

cats = {
  julia = true;
  # ... other settings
};

Includes: StatsBase package by default

Custom Package Files

You can specify additional packages by creating these files in your project:

• python-packages.nix - Additional Python packages

  p: with p; [
    numpy
    pandas
    # ... more packages
  ]
  

• r-packages.nix - Additional R packages

  p: with p.rPackages; [
    ggplot2
    dplyr
    # ... more packages
  ]
  

• julia-packages.nix - Additional Julia packages

  [
    "DataFrames"
    "Plots"
    # ... more packages
  ]
  

Available Commands

Neovim

• vv - Launch Neovim (custom binary name)
• vv --headless - Run Neovim in headless mode for scripting

Utilities

• updateR - Update R package snapshots from rstats-on-nix
• cowsay - Fun ASCII art text formatter (included as example)

Customization

Binary Name

The default binary name is vv. To change it, edit the binName in flake.nix:

binName = "myeditor";  # Changes command from 'vv' to 'myeditor'

Colorscheme

Change the colorscheme in the settings section:

settings = {
  colorscheme = "kanagawa";  # or "gruvbox", "tokyonight", etc.
  background = "dark";        # or "light"
  # ...
};

Extra Packages

Add more system packages in the extraPackages section:

extraPackages = with pkgs; [
  cowsay
  ripgrep
  fd
  # ... more packages
];

Welcome Message

The template includes a welcome notification. Customize it in the specs.extraLua section:

config = ''
  require("mini.notify").setup()
  vim.notify = MiniNotify.make_notify()
  vim.notify("Welcome to ${name}!")
'';

Environment Variables

The template sets the following environment variables:

• IS_PROJECT_EDITOR=1 - Indicates you're in the project editor environment
• R_LIBS_USER=./.nvimcom - Project-local R package directory

Language Package Management

Replace vs Merge

By default, language packages are replaced rather than merged with base packages. This is controlled by:

let
  replace = pkgs.lib.mkForce;
in {
  lang_packages = {
    python = replace ([...]);  # Replaces base packages
    r = replace ([...]);       # Replaces base packages
    julia = replace ([...]);   # Replaces base packages
  };
}

To merge with base packages instead, remove the replace wrapper:

lang_packages = {
  python = (with pkgs.python3Packages; [...]);
  # ...
};

Development Shell

The development shell provides access to the Neovim package plus additional utilities:

nix develop  # Enter the dev shell

Available in dev shell:

• vv - The configured Neovim
• updateR - Update R packages (when R support is enabled)
• All packages listed in extraPackages

Testing

The ED template has comprehensive CI/CD tests:

Automated Tests (.github/workflows/check_ed.yml)

1. Basic Tests (Ubuntu)

   • Build verification
   • Flake check
   • Dev shell entry
   • Neovim launch and version check
   • Utility commands availability

2. Language-Specific Tests

   • Python configuration: Package imports, code execution
   • R configuration: Package loading, code execution
   • Julia configuration: Version check, code execution
   • Multi-language: All languages enabled together

3. macOS Tests (.github/workflows/check_macos.yml)

   • Build verification on macOS
   • Basic functionality tests

Tips

1. Use direnv for automatic environment loading:

   echo "use flake" > .envrc
   direnv allow
   

2. Pin specific package versions by editing flake.lock:

   nix flake update  # Update all inputs
   nix flake lock --update-input nixpkgs  # Update specific input
   

3. Check what's included in your build:

   nix path-info -Sh ./result
   

4. Build for different platforms:

   nix build .#packages.x86_64-linux.default
   nix build .#packages.aarch64-darwin.default
   

Comparison with RDE Template

Feature	ED Template	RDE Template
Complexity	Lightweight	Comprehensive
Binary Name	vv	p
Project Structure	Manual	p-initProject command
Language Support	Optional (Python, R, Julia, Nix)	Built-in (R default, Python/Julia optional)
Research Tools	None	Quarto, Marimo, Pluto.jl
Package Management	updateR	p-updateDeps (comprehensive)
Use Case	Simple editing, lightweight projects	Research, data science, complex projects

Contributing

When modifying the ED template, please ensure:

1. All tests pass in .github/workflows/check_ed.yml
2. The template builds on both Linux and macOS
3. Documentation is updated to reflect changes
4. Changes follow the existing code patterns

License

See LICENSE file for details.