leap.nvim

Leap is a general-purpose motion plugin for Neovim, building and improving primarily on vim-sneak, with the ultimate goal of establishing a new standard interface for moving around in the visible area in Vim-like modal editors. It allows you to reach any target in a very fast, uniform way, and minimizes the required focus level while executing a jump.

How to use it (TL;DR)

Leap's default motions allow you to jump to any position in the visible editor area by entering a 2-character search pattern, and then potentially a label character to pick your target from multiple matches, similar to Sneak. The main novel idea in Leap is that you get a preview of the target labels - you can see which key you will need to press before you actually need to do that.

• Initiate the search in the current window (s) or in the other windows (S). (Note: you can use a single key for the whole tab page, if you are okay with the trade-offs.)
• Start typing a 2-character pattern ({char1}{char2}).
• After typing the first character, you see "labels" appearing next to some of the {char1}{?} pairs. You cannot use them yet - they only get active after finishing the pattern.
• Enter {char2}. If the pair was not labeled, you automatically jump there. You can safely ignore the remaining labels, and continue editing - those are guaranteed non-conflicting letters, disappearing on the next keypress.
• Else: type the label character, that is now active. If there are more matches than available labels, you can switch between groups, using <space> and <backspace>.

Every visible position is targetable:

• s{char}<space> jumps to the last character on a line.
• s<space><space> jumps to end-of-line characters, including empty lines.

At any stage, <enter> consistently jumps to the next/closest available target (<backspace> steps back):

• s<enter>... repeats the previous search.
• s{char}<enter>... can be used as a multiline substitute for fFtT motions.

Why is this method cool?

It is ridiculously fast: not counting the trigger key, leaping to literally anywhere on the screen rarely takes more than 3 keystrokes in total, that can be typed in one go. Often 2 is enough.

At the same time, it reduces mental effort to almost zero:

• You don't have to weigh alternatives: a single universal motion type can be used in all non-trivial situations.

• You don't have to compose motions in your head: one command achieves one logical movement.

• You don't have to be aware of the context: the eyes can keep focusing on the target the whole time.

• You don't have to make decisions on the fly: the sequence you should type is fixed from the start.

• You don't have to pause in the middle: if typing at a moderate speed, at each step you already know what the immediate next keypress should be, and your mind can process the rest in the background.

Getting started

Status

The plugin is not 100% stable yet, but don't let that stop you - the usage basics are extremely unlikely to change. To follow breaking changes, subscribe to the corresponding issue.

Requirements

• Neovim >= 0.10.0 stable, or latest nightly

Dependencies

• repeat.vim, for dot-repeats (.) to work

Installation

Use your preferred method or plugin manager. No extra steps needed besides defining keybindings - to use the default ones, put the following into your config (overrides s in all modes, and S in Normal mode):

require('leap').set_default_mappings()

Calling require('leap').set_default_mappings() is equivalent to:

vim.keymap.set({'n', 'x', 'o'}, 's', '<Plug>(leap)')
vim.keymap.set('n',             'S', '<Plug>(leap-from-window)')

Jump to anywhere in Normal mode with one key:

vim.keymap.set('n',        's', '<Plug>(leap-anywhere)')
vim.keymap.set({'x', 'o'}, 's', '<Plug>(leap)')

Trade-off: if you have multiple windows open on the tab page, you will almost never get an automatic jump, except if all targets are in the same window. (This is an intentional restriction: it would be too disorienting if the cursor could jump in/to a different window than your goal, right before selecting the target.)

Sneak-style:

vim.keymap.set({'n', 'x', 'o'}, 's',  '<Plug>(leap-forward)')
vim.keymap.set({'n', 'x', 'o'}, 'S',  '<Plug>(leap-backward)')
vim.keymap.set({'n', 'x', 'o'}, 'gs', '<Plug>(leap-from-window)')

See :h leap-custom-mappings for more.

Highly recommended: define a preview filter to reduce visual noise and the blinking effect after the first keypress (:h leap.opts.preview_filter). You can still target any visible positions if needed, but you can define what is considered an exceptional case ("don't bother me with preview for them").

-- Exclude whitespace and the middle of alphabetic words from preview:
--   foobar[baaz] = quux
--   ^----^^^--^^-^-^--^
require('leap').opts.preview_filter =
  function (ch0, ch1, ch2)
    return not (
      ch1:match('%s') or
      ch0:match('%a') and ch1:match('%a') and ch2:match('%a')
    )
  end

Define equivalence classes for brackets and quotes, in addition to the default whitespace group:

require('leap').opts.equivalence_classes = { ' \t\r\n', '([{', ')]}', '\'"`' }

Use the traversal keys to repeat the previous motion without explicitly invoking Leap:

require('leap.user').set_repeat_keys('<enter>', '<backspace>')

...is all the rage now, but doing it via your plugin manager is unnecessary, as Leap lazy loads itself. Using the keys feature of lazy.nvim might even cause problems.

Extras

Experimental modules, might be moved out, and APIs are subject to change.

Inspired by leap-spooky.nvim, and flash.nvim's similar feature.

This function allows you to perform an action in a remote location: it forgets the current mode or pending operator, lets you leap with the cursor (to anywhere on the tab page), then continues where it left off. Once an operation or insertion is finished, it moves the cursor back to the original position, as if you had operated from the distance.

vim.keymap.set({'n', 'x', 'o'}, 'gs', function ()
  require('leap.remote').action()
end)

Example: gs{leap}yap, vgs{leap}apy, or ygs{leap}ap yank the paragraph at the position specified by {leap}.

Tip: As the remote mode is active until returning to Normal mode again (by any means), <ctrl-o> becomes your friend in Insert mode, or when doing change operations.

Swapping regions

Exchanging two regions of text becomes moderately simple, without needing a custom plugin: d{region1} gs{leap}v{region2}p P. Example (swapping two words): diw gs{leap}viwp P.

With remote text objects (see below), the swap is even simpler, almost on par with vim-exchange: diw virw{leap}p P.

Using remote text objects and combining them with an exchange operator is pretty much text editing at the speed of thought: cxiw cxirw{leap}.

Icing on the cake, no. 1 - giving input ahead of time

The input parameter lets you feed keystrokes automatically after the jump:

-- Trigger visual selection right away, so that you can `gs{leap}apy`:
vim.keymap.set({'n', 'o'}, 'gs', function ()
  require('leap.remote').action { input = 'v' }
end)

-- Other ideas: `V` (forced linewise), `K`, `gx`, etc.

By feeding text objects as input, you can create remote text objects, for an even more intuitive workflow (yarp{leap} - "yank a remote paragraph at..."):

-- Create remote versions of all a/i text objects by inserting `r`
-- into the middle (`iw` becomes `irw`, etc.).
-- A trick to avoid having to create separate hardcoded mappings for
-- each text object: when entering `ar`/`ir`, consume the next
-- character, and create the input from that character concatenated to
-- `a`/`i`.
do
  local remote_text_object = function (prefix)
     local ok, ch = pcall(vim.fn.getcharstr)  -- pcall for handling <C-c>
     if not ok or (ch == vim.keycode('<esc>')) then
       return
     end
     require('leap.remote').action { input = prefix .. ch }
  end
  vim.keymap.set({'x', 'o'}, 'ar', function () remote_text_object('a') end)
  vim.keymap.set({'x', 'o'}, 'ir', function () remote_text_object('i') end)
end

A very handy custom mapping - remote line(s), with optional count (yaa{leap}, y3aa{leap}):

vim.keymap.set({'x', 'o'}, 'aa', function ()
  -- Force linewise selection.
  local V = vim.fn.mode(true):match('V') and '' or 'V'
  -- In any case, move horizontally, to trigger operations.
  local input = vim.v.count > 1 and (vim.v.count - 1 .. 'j') or 'hl'
  -- With `count=false` you can skip feeding count to the command
  -- automatically (we need -1 here, see above).
  require('leap.remote').action { input = V .. input, count = false }
end)

Icing on the cake, no. 2 - automatic paste after yanking

With this, you can clone text objects or regions in the blink of an eye, even from another window (yarp{leap}, and voilà, the remote paragraph appears there):

vim.api.nvim_create_autocmd('User', {
  pattern = 'RemoteOperationDone',
  group = vim.api.nvim_create_augroup('LeapRemote', {}),
  callback = function (event)
    -- Do not paste if some special register was in use.
    if vim.v.operator == 'y' and event.data.register == '"' then
      vim.cmd('normal! p')
    end
  end,
})

Besides choosing a label (R{label}), in Normal/Visual mode you can also use the traversal keys for incremental selection. The labels are forced to be safe, so you can operate on the selection right away (RRRy). Traversal can also "wrap around" backwards (Rr selects the root node).

vim.keymap.set({'x', 'o'}, 'R',  function ()
  require('leap.treesitter').select {
    -- To increase/decrease the selection in a clever-f-like manner,
    -- with the trigger key itself (vRRRRrr...). The default keys
    -- (<enter>/<backspace>) also work, so feel free to skip this.
    opts = require('leap.user').with_traversal_keys('R', 'r')
  }
end)

Note that it is worth using (forced) linewise mode (VRRR..., yVR), as redundant nodes are filtered out (only the outermost are kept in a given line range), making the selection much more efficient.

Next steps

Help files are not exactly page-turners, but I suggest at least skimming :help leap, even if you don't have a specific question yet (if nothing else: :h leap-usage, :h leap-config, :h leap-events). While Leap has deeply thought-through, opinionated defaults, its small(ish) but comprehensive API makes it pretty flexible.

Design considerations in detail

The ideal

Premise: jumping from point A to B on the screen should not be some exciting puzzle, for which you should train yourself; it should be a non-issue. An ideal keyboard-driven interface would impose almost no more cognitive burden than using a mouse, without the constant context-switching required by the latter.

That is, you do not want to think about

• the command: we need one fundamental targeting method that can bring you anywhere: a jetpack on the back, instead of airline routes (↔ EasyMotion and its derivatives)
• the context: it should be enough to look at the target, and nothing else (↔ vanilla Vim motion combinations using relative line numbers and/or repeats)
• the steps: the motion should be atomic (↔ Vim motion combos), and ideally you should be able to type the whole sequence in one go, on more or less autopilot (↔ any kind of "just-in-time" labeling method; note that the "search command on steroids" approach by Pounce and Flash, where the labels appear at an unknown time by design, makes this last goal impossible)

All the while using as few keystrokes as possible, and getting distracted by as little incidental visual noise as possible.

How do we measure up?

It is obviously impossible to achieve all of the above at the same time, without some trade-offs at least; but in our opinion Leap comes pretty close, occupying a sweet spot in the design space. (The worst remaining offender might be visual noise, but clever filtering in the preview phase can help - see :h leap.opts.preview_filter.)

The one-step shift between perception and action is the big idea that cuts the Gordian knot: a fixed pattern length combined with previewing labels can eliminate the surprise factor from the search-based method (which is the only viable approach - see "jetpack" above). Fortunately, a 2-character pattern - the shortest one with which we can play this trick - is also long enough to sufficiently narrow down the matches in the vast majority of cases.

Fixed pattern length also makes (safe) automatic jump to the first target possible. You cannot improve on jumping directly, just like how f and t works, not having to read a label at all, and not having to accept the match with <enter> either. However, we can do this in a smart way: if there are many targets (more than 15-20), we stay put, so we can use a bigger, "unsafe" label set - getting the best of both worlds. The non-determinism we're introducing is less of an issue here, since the outcome is known in advance.

In sum, compared to other methods based on labeling targets, Leap's approach is unique in that it

• offers a smoother experience, by (somewhat) eliminating the pause before typing the label

• feels natural to use for both distant and close targets

FAQ

Defaults

Common operations should use the fewest keystrokes and the most comfortable keys, so it makes sense to take those over by Leap, especially given that both native commands have synonyms:

Normal mode

• s = cl (or xi)
• S = cc

Visual mode

• s = c
• S = Vc, or c if already in linewise mode

If you are not convinced, just head to :h leap-custom-mappings.

Features

The preview phase, unfortunately, makes them impossible, by design: for a potential match, we might need to show two different labels (corresponding to two different futures) at the same time. (1, 2, 3)

Basic template:

local function remote_action ()
  require('leap').leap {
    target_windows = require('leap.user').get_focusable_windows(),
    action = function (target)
      local winid = target.wininfo.winid
      local lnum, col = unpack(target.pos)  -- 1/1-based indexing!
      -- ... do something at the given position ...
    end,
  }
end

See Extending Leap for more.

Configuration

require('leap').opts.safe_labels = {}

require('leap').opts.preview_filter = function () return false end

Note: on_beacons is an experimental escape hatch, and this workaround depends on implementation details.

-- `on_beacons` hooks into `beacons.light_up_beacons`, the function
-- responsible for displaying stuff.
require('leap').opts.on_beacons = function (targets, _, _)
  for _, t in ipairs(targets) do
    -- Overwrite the `offset` value in all beacons.
    -- target.beacon looks like: { <offset>, <extmark_opts> }
    if t.label and t.beacon then t.beacon[1] = 0 end
  end
  -- Returning `true` tells `light_up_beacons` to continue as usual
  -- (`false` would short-circuit).
  return true
end

-- Or just set to grey directly, e.g. { fg = '#777777' },
-- if Comment is saturated.
vim.api.nvim_set_hl(0, 'LeapBackdrop', { link = 'Comment' })

If a language-mapping ('keymap') is active, Leap waits for keymapped sequences as needed and searches for the keymapped result as expected.

Also check out opts.equivalence_classes, that lets you group certain characters together as mutual aliases, e.g.:

{
  ' \t\r\n', 'aäàáâãā', 'dḍ', 'eëéèêē', 'gǧğ', 'hḥḫ',
  'iïīíìîı', 'nñ', 'oō', 'sṣšß', 'tṭ', 'uúûüűū', 'zẓ'
}

Miscellaneous

To paraphrase Steve Jobs about their logo and Turing's poison apple, I wish it were, but it is a coincidence. "Leap" is just another synonym for "jump", that happens to rhyme with Sneak. That said, you can think of the name as a little tribute to the great pioneer of interface design, even though embracing the modal paradigm is a fundamental difference in Vim's approach.

Extending Leap

There are lots of ways you can extend the plugin and bend it to your will - see :h leap.leap() and :h leap-events. Besides tweaking the basic parameters of the function (search scope, jump offset, etc.), you can:

• give it a custom action to perform, instead of jumping
• feed it with custom targets, and only use it as labeler/selector
• customize its behavior on a per-call basis via autocommands

Some practical examples:

Note: inpulen is an experimental feature at the moment, subject to change or removal.

do
  local function ft_args (key_specific_args)
    local common_args = {
      inputlen = 1,
      inclusive_op = true,
      opts = {
        case_sensitive = true,
        labels = {},
        -- Match the modes here for which you don't want to use labels.
        safe_labels = vim.fn.mode(1):match('o') and {} or nil,
      },
    }
    return vim.tbl_deep_extend('keep', common_args, key_specific_args)
  end

  local leap = require('leap').leap
  -- This helper function makes it easier to set "clever-f"-like
  -- functionality (https://github.com/rhysd/clever-f.vim), returning
  -- an `opts` table, where:
  -- * the given keys are set as `next_target` and `prev_target`
  -- * `prev_target` is removed from `safe_labels` (if appears there)
  -- * `next_target` is used as the first label
  local with_traversal_keys = require('leap.user').with_traversal_keys
  local f_opts = with_traversal_keys('f', 'F')
  local t_opts = with_traversal_keys('t', 'T')
  -- You can of course set ;/, for both instead:
  -- local ft_opts = with_traversal_keys(';', ',')

  vim.keymap.set({'n', 'x', 'o'}, 'f', function ()
    leap(ft_args({ opts = f_opts, }))
  end)
  vim.keymap.set({'n', 'x', 'o'}, 'F', function ()
    leap(ft_args({ opts = f_opts, backward = true }))
  end)
  vim.keymap.set({'n', 'x', 'o'}, 't', function ()
    leap(ft_args({ opts = t_opts, offset = -1 }))
  end)
  vim.keymap.set({'n', 'x', 'o'}, 'T', function ()
    leap(ft_args({ opts = t_opts, backward = true, offset = -1 }))
  end)
end

Note: pattern is an experimental feature at the moment, subject to removal.

local function leap_linewise ()
  local _, l, c = unpack(vim.fn.getpos('.'))
  local pattern =
    '\\v'
    -- Skip 3-3 lines around the cursor.
    .. '(%<'..(math.max(1,l-3))..'l|%>'..(l+3)..'l)'
    -- Cursor column or the last one (if we're beyond that).
    .. '(%'..c..'v|%<'..c..'v$)'
  require('leap').leap {
    pattern = pattern,
    target_windows = { vim.fn.win_getid() },
    opts = { safe_labels = '' }
  }
end
-- For maximum comfort, force linewise selection in
-- the mappings:
vim.keymap.set({'n', 'x', 'o'}, '|', function ()
  local mode = vim.fn.mode(1)
  -- Only force V if not already in it (otherwise it exits Visual mode).
  if not mode:match('n$') and not mode:match('V') then
    vim.cmd('normal! V')
  end
  leap_linewise()
end)

-- NOTE: If you try to use this before entering any input, an error is thrown.
-- (Help would be appreciated, if someone knows a fix.)
local function get_targets (buf)
  local pick = require('telescope.actions.state').get_current_picker(buf)
  local scroller = require('telescope.pickers.scroller')
  local wininfo = vim.fn.getwininfo(pick.results_win)[1]
  local top = math.max(
    scroller.top(pick.sorting_strategy, pick.max_results, pick.manager:num_results()),
    wininfo.topline - 1
  )
  local bottom = wininfo.botline - 2  -- skip the current row
  local targets = {}
  for lnum = bottom, top, -1 do  -- start labeling from the closest (bottom) row
    table.insert(targets, { wininfo = wininfo, pos = { lnum + 1, 1 }, pick = pick, })
  end
  return targets
end

local function pick_with_leap (buf)
  require('leap').leap {
    targets = function () return get_targets(buf) end,
    action = function (target)
      target.pick:set_selection(target.pos[1] - 1)
      require('telescope.actions').select_default(buf)
    end,
  }
end

require('telescope').setup {
  defaults = {
    mappings = {
      i = { ['<a-p>'] = pick_with_leap },
    }
  }
}