If you've ever watched a developer effortlessly navigate through code, manipulating text at lightning speed without ever touching a mouse, chances are they were using Vim. But let's be honest—traditional Vim can feel like learning a new language, and setting it up for modern web development often requires hours of configuration tweaking.

Enter LazyVim: a pre-configured Neovim setup that gives you all the power of Vim with the convenience of a modern IDE, right out of the box. Today, we'll explore how to set up LazyVim specifically for Laravel development (though these configs work beautifully for any fullstack project).

Why LazyVim?

LazyVim flips the script entirely. It's essentially Neovim on steroids—pre-configured with sensible defaults, modern plugins, and intelligent features that make development feel natural rather than like fighting with your tools

Getting Started: Installation Made Simple

The beauty of LazyVim lies in its installation simplicity. You don't need to understand every configuration detail upfront—you can start coding immediately and learn as you go.

First, make sure you have Neovim 0.9+ installed on your system. On macOS, a simple brew install neovim will do. Linux users can grab it from their package manager, and Windows users can download from the official site.


# Optional but recommended
mv ~/.config/nvim ~/.config/nvim.bak
mv ~/.local/share/nvim ~/.local/share/nvim.bak

Now for the magic moment—clone the LazyVim starter template:


git clone https://github.com/LazyVim/starter ~/.config/nvim
rm -rf ~/.config/nvim/.git

That's it. Launch nvim and watch as LazyVim automatically downloads and configures everything you need. The first startup takes a minute or two as it installs plugins, but after that, you'll have a lightning-fast, fully-featured development environment.

The Muscle Memory: keymaps.lua - Workflow Acceleration

These keymaps transform how you interact with Laravel codebases. Each mapping solves a specific pain point:


vim.keymap.set("i", "jj", "", { noremap = true, silent = true, desc = "" })

The jj to escape might look simple, but it's revolutionary for productivity. In Laravel development, you're constantly switching between insert and normal mode (writing code, then navigating to edit elsewhere). This eliminates the pinky stretch to the escape key, reducing fatigue during long coding sessions.


vim.keymap.set("n", "w", "w", { noremap = true, desc = "Save window" })
vim.keymap.set({ "n" }, "S", ":w", { noremap = true, desc = "Save current buffer" })

Two different save commands might seem redundant, but they serve different purposes. w (typically \w) is muscle memory from other editors, while S is a single keystroke for frequent saves. In Laravel development where you're constantly switching between PHP files, Blade templates, and JavaScript, quick saving becomes essential.

The custom scrolling mappings are optimized for code reading:


vim.keymap.set("n", "", "10k", { noremap = true, silent = true, desc = "up 10" })
vim.keymap.set("n", "", "10j", { noremap = true, silent = true, desc = "down 10" })
vim.keymap.set("n", "k", "", { desc = "Half page up" })
vim.keymap.set("n", "j", "", { desc = "Half page down" })

These provide precision navigation through Laravel's verbose file structures. Shift+U/D for 10-line jumps are perfect for scanning through method signatures in controllers. Space+K/J for half-page movements help when reviewing large model files or lengthy Blade templates.

The folding commands are where this setup truly shines for PHP development:


vim.keymap.set({ "n" }, "==", "zo", { noremap = true, desc = "Open Fold at cursor" })
vim.keymap.set({ "n" }, "--", "zf%", { noremap = true, desc = "Creates fold and toggle point" })
vim.keymap.set({ "n" }, "tt", "zfat", { noremap = true, desc = "Creates fold and toggle point for HTML tag" })
vim.keymap.set({ "n" }, "++", "zR", { noremap = true, desc = "Open All Folds" })
  • == opens folds—essential when exploring unfamiliar Laravel code
  • -- creates folds on matching brackets, perfect for collapsing long method bodies or array definitions
  • tt folds HTML tags, invaluable in Blade templates where you can collapse entire sections
  • ++ opens all folds when you need to see the complete file structure

The buffer management is streamlined:


vim.api.nvim_set_keymap("n", "qq", ":bd", { noremap = true, desc = "Close current buffer" })

qq for closing buffers is faster than the default commands and prevents the common issue of accumulating dozens of open buffers when navigating through Laravel's file structure.

The Plugin Ecosystem: Your Development Superpower

What truly sets LazyVim apart is its plugin ecosystem and how easy it makes extending your setup. Traditional Vim plugin management was a nightmare of manual installations, dependency conflicts, and outdated documentation. LazyVim's approach is radically different.

Want to add Laravel-specific features? Create a new file in your plugins/ directory and add something like:


return {
  "adalessa/laravel.nvim",
  dependencies = {
    "nvim-telescope/telescope.nvim",
    "tpope/vim-dotenv",
    "MunifTanjim/nui.nvim",
  },
  cmd = { "Sail", "Artisan", "Composer", "Npm", "Yarn" },
  keys = {
    { "la", ":Laravel artisan" },
    { "lr", ":Laravel routes" },
  },
  config = true,
}

Restart Neovim, and you now have Laravel Artisan integration, route browsing, and Sail command support. The plugin manager handles downloading, dependency resolution, and loading automatically.

This extensibility is what makes LazyVim perfect for fullstack development. Working with React? Add the TypeScript language extra. Need GraphQL support? There's a plugin for that. Database management? Multiple options available. Each addition integrates seamlessly with your existing setup.

Traditional IDEs are heavy, slow to start, and often opinionated about how you should work. LazyVim starts instantly, adapts to your workflow, and gets out of your way. The keyboard-centric approach means your hands never leave the home row, leading to a coding experience that feels more like thinking than fighting with tools.

The configuration files we've explored create a foundation that grows with you. As you become more comfortable with Vim motions and discover new plugins, you can incrementally improve your setup. There's no need to migrate to a completely different tool as your needs evolve.