A macOS app wrapper for Neovim.
Launch Neovim from Spotlight, Finder, or the command line using Terminal.app, Ghostty, Alacritty, Tabby, Kitty, iTerm2, WezTerm, or Rio.
brew install neovim
git clone https://github.com/philippwallrafen/Nvim.app.git nvim-app
cd nvim-app
./nvim-app.sh installThen launch it with:
⌘ Space → Nvim → Enter
macOS may ask for permission to let Nvim control your terminal on first launch.
Supported terminals:
- Terminal.app
- Ghostty
- Alacritty
- Tabby
- Kitty
- iTerm2
- WezTerm
- Rio
No third-party terminal is required.
If no preference is saved:
- with no supported third-party terminal installed, Nvim.app uses Terminal.app
- with exactly one installed, Nvim.app uses it automatically
- with multiple installed, Nvim.app asks which one to use and remembers the choice
Show the current preference:
./nvim-app.sh terminalChoose again:
./nvim-app.sh terminal chooseSet one explicitly:
./nvim-app.sh terminal ghostty
./nvim-app.sh terminal alacritty
./nvim-app.sh terminal tabby
./nvim-app.sh terminal kitty
./nvim-app.sh terminal iterm2
./nvim-app.sh terminal wezterm
./nvim-app.sh terminal rio
./nvim-app.sh terminal terminalReset the saved preference so Nvim.app selects again:
./nvim-app.sh terminal autoThe preference is stored in macOS defaults under:
io.github.philippwallrafen.nvim-app
If you installed only the prebuilt app, you can change it directly:
defaults write io.github.philippwallrafen.nvim-app terminal ghostty
defaults delete io.github.philippwallrafen.nvim-app terminalAfter installation, Nvim is registered as an editor for text files.
In Finder, right-click a text file and choose:
Open With → Nvim
The file is passed to Neovim in the selected terminal.
You can also open a file from the command line:
open -a Nvim README.mdTo make Nvim the default editor for a file type, select a file in Finder, choose Get Info, select Nvim under Open with, then click Change All.
./nvim-app.sh build
./nvim-app.sh packagebuildcreatesdist/Nvim.apppackagecreatesdist/Nvim.app.zip
The build only requires macOS. Third-party terminals are runtime integrations and are not required to build the app.
You can also download Nvim.app.zip from the latest GitHub Release, extract it, and move Nvim.app to /Applications.
The prebuilt release is ad-hoc signed, not Apple-notarized. macOS may require right-click → Open on first launch.
- macOS
- Neovim
Optional terminal integrations:
Nvim.app is a small AppleScript wrapper around Neovim. Finder and Spotlight launch the app, which passes the Neovim command to a small runtime terminal selector.
Terminal-specific integration is loaded only at runtime. Neovim itself is not bundled.
This is an unofficial project and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Neovim or any supported terminal project.
The app icon is derived from the official Neovim logo assets.
MIT