ai.nvim

A small Neovim chat interface for Pi. It supports streaming responses, tool status, multi-turn conversations, and visual-selection context.

Demo

Requirements

• Neovim 0.11+
• snacks.nvim
• Pi installed and configured with an AI provider

npm install -g @mariozechner/pi-coding-agent

Installation

Using lazy.nvim

{
  "AnonymousMorris/ai.nvim",
  dependencies = { "folke/snacks.nvim" },
  event = "VeryLazy",
  opts = {},
}

VeryLazy loads the plugin automatically after Neovim finishes its initial startup work.

Using packer.nvim

use {
  "AnonymousMorris/ai.nvim",
  requires = { "folke/snacks.nvim" },
  config = function()
    require("ai").setup()
  end,
}

Using mini.deps

MiniDeps.add({
  source = "AnonymousMorris/ai.nvim",
  depends = { "folke/snacks.nvim" },
})
require("ai").setup()

With another package manager, install both ai.nvim and snacks.nvim, then call require("ai").setup() after they are available on Neovim's runtime path.

Keymaps

No global keymaps by default. You choose.

-- Open or return to the current chat
vim.keymap.set("n", "<leader>ai", "<Cmd>AI<CR>", { desc = "Open AI chat" })

-- Open chat with the visual selection as context
vim.keymap.set("x", "<leader>ai", "<Cmd>AISelection<CR>", { desc = "Open AI chat with selection" })

Usage

Command	Action
:AI	Open or return to the current chat
:AISelection	Add the visual selection to the chat input
:AIStop	Stop the agent and delete the current session

Switching to the input enters insert mode automatically. The transcript and input use separate rounded windows, with a configurable contextual hint bar below them. In the input, <Enter> sends the prompt and focuses the transcript, <S-Enter> inserts a newline, and <C-c> clears a non-empty prompt; press <C-c> with an empty prompt to interrupt the current AI turn. Closing the chat window keeps the session alive. Run :AI to reopen it or :AIStop to end it.

Selection context is inserted with its file and line range. Context blocks are folded by default.

Configuration

Default configuration

The expanded lazy.nvim configuration below shows the plugin's actual defaults. It is equivalent to the shorter opts = {} setup above:

{
  "AnonymousMorris/ai.nvim",
  dependencies = { "folke/snacks.nvim" },
  event = "VeryLazy",
  opts = {
    backend = "pi",
    binary = "pi",
    extensions = true,
    skills = false,
    thinking = "off",
    auto_close = true,
    show_status = true,
    close_delay = 1000,
    chat = {
      show_hints = true,
      hints = {
        input = {
          { key = "⏎", label = "send" },
          { key = "S-⏎", label = "newline" },
          { key = "C-c", label = "clear/interrupt" },
          { key = "C-n", label = "new" },
          { key = "Tab", label = "switch" },
        },
        display = {
          { key = "Tab", label = "input" },
        },
      },
      keys = {
        input = {
          ["<M-CR>"] = {
            "insert_newline",
            mode = "i",
            desc = "Insert newline",
          },
          ["<S-CR>"] = {
            "insert_newline",
            mode = "i",
            desc = "Insert newline",
          },
          ["<C-c>"] = {
            "clear_or_interrupt",
            mode = { "i", "n" },
            desc = "Clear input or interrupt current AI turn",
          },
          ["<C-n>"] = {
            "new_session",
            mode = { "i", "n" },
            desc = "Create a new AI session",
          },
          ["<C-w>k"] = {
            "focus_display",
            desc = "Focus AI chat display",
          },
          ["<C-w><C-k>"] = {
            "focus_display",
            desc = "Focus AI chat display",
          },
          ["<Tab>"] = {
            "focus_display",
            mode = { "i", "n" },
            desc = "Focus AI chat display",
          },
        },
        display = {
          ["<C-w>j"] = {
            "focus_input",
            desc = "Focus AI chat input",
          },
          ["<C-w><C-j>"] = {
            "focus_input",
            desc = "Focus AI chat input",
          },
          ["<Tab>"] = {
            "focus_input",
            desc = "Focus AI chat input",
          },
        },
      },
    },
  },
}

Direct setup

Without lazy.nvim, pass the contents of opts above to require("ai").setup().

Pi runs in RPC mode with session persistence disabled. Extensions are enabled by default, while skills are disabled unless explicitly enabled.

Set chat.show_hints = false to hide the contextual hint bar. The chat.hints.input and chat.hints.display lists are rendered exactly in their configured order. Set chat.keys = false to disable all chat-specific keymaps, or set chat.keys.input or chat.keys.display to false to disable one group.

Tests

for test in tests/*_e2e.lua; do
  nvim --headless -u NONE -l "$test" || exit 1
done

Set SNACKS_NVIM to the snacks.nvim checkout path if it is not installed at Neovim's default lazy.nvim data path.