VimAid Plugin

VimAid.Demo.mov

Overview

VimAid is a lightweight Neovim plugin (written in vimscript, for no good reason) that opens a modal window connected to aider-chat, enabling you to ask questions directly about the file you're currently working on. Its goal is to streamline the process of querying and interacting with aider-chat for code assistance, without leaving your Neovim environment.

Features

• Aider-Chat Integration: Opens a modal terminal in Neovim where you can directly ask questions about your active file in aider-chat.
• Context-Aware Queries: Easily ask questions about the current file, such as "What does this file do?" or "How can I optimize this function?"
• Simple Workflow: With a single command (:Aid), you can load your current file into aider-chat and immediately start interacting.

Installation

Prerequisites

To use VimAid, you'll need the following installed and set up on your machine:

1. Neovim (v0.5 or higher)

   • Neovim is required for its floating terminal support. To install Neovim, follow the instructions for your operating system:
     • Neovim Installation Guide

2. Tmux (v3.0 or higher)

   • Tmux is used for managing sessions within the plugin. You can install Tmux using your system's package manager:
     • Tmux GitHub Repository and Installation Instructions
     • Example installation via Homebrew (macOS):

       brew install tmux

   • Note: If you're using iTerm2 on macOS, tmux is already integrated and no further configuration is necessary. You can use tmux within iTerm2 without needing to install it separately.

3. Aider-Chat (Local Setup)

   • Aider-Chat must be installed and working on your local machine. Follow the guide on how to set up Aider:
     • Aider Installation Guide (or a relevant URL to the official Aider setup guide).

Once you have these prerequisites installed and configured, you're ready to install VimAid.

Using Vim-Plug

1. Add the following line to your init.vim or .vimrc:

   Plug 'SamStuckey/VimAid'

2. Run the following command in Neovim to install the plugin:

   :PlugInstall

Using Packer

1. Add the following line to your init.lua or init.vim:

   use 'SamStuckey/VimAid'

2. Run the following command in Neovim to install the plugin:

   :PackerSync

Using Pathogen

1. Navigate to your bundle directory:

   cd ~/.vim/bundle

2. Clone the VimAid repository:

   git clone https://github.com/SamStuckey/VimAid.git

3. Make sure Pathogen is correctly set up in your .vimrc:

   execute pathogen#infect()

Usage

Command

• :Aid: This command opens a floating terminal window, runs aider-chat, and automatically loads the file you're currently working on in Neovim into the aider-chat session. Once the modal is open, you can ask questions like:
  • "What does this file do?"
  • "How can I refactor this method?"
  • "Are there any syntax errors in this file?"
  • Additionally, aider-chat can make changes to your file and even commit those changes. This allows for a seamless workflow where you not only receive suggestions but can also apply those suggestions directly.

If you're interested in learning more about what aider-chat can and cannot do, please refer to the Aider-Chat Documentation for detailed information.

Example Workflow

1. Open a file in Neovim, e.g., my_file.rb.
2. If you have a question about the file, simply run :Aid.
3. The plugin will open aider-chat in a floating terminal with my_file.rb already loaded.
4. You can now ask aider-chat questions directly, like "What does this file do?" or even instruct it to modify the file and commit changes.

Custom Key Mapping

VimAid runs in a terminal mode modal, and by default, closing the modal requires a lengthy key sequence: Cmd+Leader, Cmd+n, :q, <CR>. To streamline this, you can use the variable g:vimaid_close_modal_mapping to define a custom key mapping that allows you to quickly close the modal with a single command.

For example, in your vimrc (or equivalent), you can define the following:

let g:vimaid_close_modal_mapping = '<C-a>'
nnoremap <C-a> :Aid<CR>

These two mappings allows you to use Ctrl + a to quickly open and close the modal (without loosing your chat history) and return to your normal workflow, avoiding the default key sequence.

You can replace <C-a> with any key combination of your choice to suit your preferences.

Default Key Mapping

If you prefer to use the default key mapping, simply run the command :Aid or define your own mappings like so:

nnoremap <Leader>aid :Aid<CR>

Contributing

This is a small personal project, and at the moment, contributions are not being accepted.