# Kickstart-nix.nvim - A dead simple Nix flake template repo for Neovim derivations

**URL:** https://discourse.nixosstag.fcio.net/t/kickstart-nix-nvim-a-dead-simple-nix-flake-template-repo-for-neovim-derivations/42791
**Category:** Announcements
**Created:** [April 5, 2024, 9:27am UTC](https://discourse.nixosstag.fcio.net/t/kickstart-nix-nvim-a-dead-simple-nix-flake-template-repo-for-neovim-derivations/42791 "2024-04-05T09:27:15Z")
**Posts on this page:** 5
**Page:** 1

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### Author: ![mrcjk](https://discourse.nixosstag.fcio.net/user_avatar/discourse.nixosstag.fcio.net/mrcjk/32/9178_2.png) [@mrcjk](https://discourse.nixosstag.fcio.net/u/mrcjk)
#### Post date: [April 5, 2024, 9:27am UTC](https://discourse.nixosstag.fcio.net/t/kickstart-nix-nvim-a-dead-simple-nix-flake-template-repo-for-neovim-derivations/42791/1 "2024-04-05T09:27:15Z")

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Hey 👋

I’ve been maintaining [kickstart-nix.nvim](https://github.com/nix-community/kickstart-nix.nvim) for a while.  
And now that it has matured, I have decided to transfer it to nix-community and post an announcement here.

> If Nix and Neovim have one thing in common, it’s that many new users don’t know where to get started.  
> Most Nix-based Neovim setups assume deep expertise in both realms, abstracting away  
> Neovim’s core functionalities as well as the Nix internals used to build a Neovim config.  
> Frameworks and module-based DSLs are opinionated and difficult to diverge from with one’s own modifications.
> 
> `kickstart-nix.nvim` is different: It’s geared for users of all levels, making the migration of  
> Neovim configurations to Nix straightforward. This project aims to be as simple as possible,  
> while allowing for maximum flexibility.

More details in the readme 😄

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### Author: ![iblis](https://discourse.nixosstag.fcio.net/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/i/51bf81/32.png) [@iblis](https://discourse.nixosstag.fcio.net/u/iblis)
#### Post date: [June 25, 2024, 6:32pm UTC](https://discourse.nixosstag.fcio.net/t/kickstart-nix-nvim-a-dead-simple-nix-flake-template-repo-for-neovim-derivations/42791/2 "2024-06-25T18:32:49Z")

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I was searching something similar like this but such heavy use of lua to config make me feel like there is not much different then directly importing kickstart.nvim. imho wouldnot using [nixvim](https://github.com/nix-community/nixvim?tab=readme-ov-file) make it more approachable and make it more suited to “nix-way”. It would feel little coherent then mixing lua and nix. Although lua is needed while using nixvim it is not as prevalent in nixvim.

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### Author: ![mrcjk](https://discourse.nixosstag.fcio.net/user_avatar/discourse.nixosstag.fcio.net/mrcjk/32/9178_2.png) [@mrcjk](https://discourse.nixosstag.fcio.net/u/mrcjk)
#### Post date: [July 2, 2024, 10:07am UTC](https://discourse.nixosstag.fcio.net/t/kickstart-nix-nvim-a-dead-simple-nix-flake-template-repo-for-neovim-derivations/42791/3 "2024-07-02T10:07:11Z")

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> there is not much different then directly importing kickstart.nvim

kickstart.nvim uses lazy.nvim to manage plugins and mason.nvim to manage language servers. That’s a pretty big difference.

> imho wouldnot using nixvim 2 make it more approachable and make it more suited to “nix-way”.

There’s no such thing as a single “nix-way”. NixVim uses a Nix DSL as an abstraction layer over plugin configuration.  
I describe in the readme why I did not choose that route.  
Both approaches give you reproducible Neovim derivations.

Some people might prefer the NixVim approach. Some might prefer the kickstart-nix.nvim approach. Some might prefer the nixCats.nvim approach.

Choice is a good thing 😄

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### Author: ![iser](https://discourse.nixosstag.fcio.net/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/i/d07c76/32.png) [@iser](https://discourse.nixosstag.fcio.net/u/iser)
#### Post date: [July 7, 2025, 6:59am UTC](https://discourse.nixosstag.fcio.net/t/kickstart-nix-nvim-a-dead-simple-nix-flake-template-repo-for-neovim-derivations/42791/4 "2025-07-07T06:59:38Z")

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Hey, great job! But i have a few questions, first, why should i not fork it? Where would i get updates from? Also, your suggested “Generate” template just copies the code to a new repo without any changes. What about people that don’t want to use github, can’t they just clone your repo and go from there?

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### Author: ![mrcjk](https://discourse.nixosstag.fcio.net/user_avatar/discourse.nixosstag.fcio.net/mrcjk/32/9178_2.png) [@mrcjk](https://discourse.nixosstag.fcio.net/u/mrcjk)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2025, 11:55am UTC](https://discourse.nixosstag.fcio.net/t/kickstart-nix-nvim-a-dead-simple-nix-flake-template-repo-for-neovim-derivations/42791/5 "2025-07-24T11:55:12Z")

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> why should i not fork it

Because github by default opens PRs against the parent of a forked repository.  
If you look at the [nvim-lua/kickstart.nvim closed PRs](https://github.com/nvim-lua/kickstart.nvim/pulls?q=is%3Apr+is%3Aclosed), you’ll se a lot of PRs that were opened accidentally, because people wanted to PR to their own forks.  
A template repository solves that problem.

> Where would i get updates from?

See the [syncing updates](https://github.com/nix-community/kickstart-nix.nvim?tab=readme-ov-file#anchor-syncing-updates) section in the readme.

> What about people that don’t want to use github, can’t they just clone your repo and go from there?

Yes, they can.