NoChat.nvim

Motivation

As a developer, I wanted a seamless AI interaction experience directly within Neovim that:

• Provides instant context-aware assistance near the cursor
• Supports multiple AI providers and models effortlessly
• Integrates smoothly with my existing workflow
• Allows flexible configuration and quick access to AI capabilities

NoChat.nvim emerged from the desire to have a powerful, customizable AI chat interface that feels native to Neovim, enabling developers to get assistance, generate code, and explore ideas without leaving their editor.

Features

• 🤖 Support for multiple AI providers:
  • Anthropic (Claude)
  • OpenAI (ChatGPT)
  • Ollama (local models)
• 🔍 Easy provider and model selection via Telescope
• 💬 Interactive chat interface within Neovim
• 📋 Export selected text to chat
• 📢 Configurable window positioning (floating, split, tab)
• 🤩 Simple API for adding additional providers
• 🎯 Cursor-aware interactions
• 🔄 Multi-model chat capabilities

Installation

Using lazy.nvim

{
    "heilgar/nochat.nvim",
    dependencies = {
        "nvim-telescope/telescope.nvim",
        "nvim-lua/plenary.nvim"
    },
    config = function()
        require("nochat").setup({
            -- Your configuration here (see Configuration section)
        })
    end
}

Using packer.nvim

use {
    "heilgar/nochat.nvim",
    requires = {
        "nvim-telescope/telescope.nvim",
        "nvim-lua/plenary.nvim"
    },
    config = function()
        require("nochat").setup({
            -- Your configuration here (see Configuration section)
        })
    end
}

Prerequisites

• Neovim 0.8+
• Telescope.nvim
• plenary.nvim

Configuration

NoChat comes with sensible defaults but can be fully customized:

require("nochat").setup({
    -- Default provider and model (will be overridden by telescope selections)
    provider = "anthropic", -- or "openai", "ollama"
    model = "claude-3-sonnet-20240229",

    -- Window appearance
    window = {
        position = "floating", -- "floating", "right", "left", "bottom", "top", "tab"
        width = 0.8,     -- Percentage of screen width
        height = 0.7,    -- Percentage of screen height
        border = "rounded",
        title = " NoChat ",
        input_height = 5, -- Height of input box in lines
        winhighlight = {
            output = "", -- e.g. "Normal:NoChatOutput"
            input = ""   -- e.g. "Normal:NoChatInput"
        }
    },

    -- API keys (can also be set as environment variables)
    api_keys = {
        anthropic = "your-anthropic-api-key", -- or use ANTHROPIC_API_KEY env var
        openai = "your-openai-api-key", -- or use OPENAI_API_KEY env var
    },

    -- Ollama configuration
    ollama = {
        host = "http://localhost:11434", -- Default Ollama server address
    },

    -- Define available models for each provider
    providers = {
        anthropic = {
            models = {
                "claude-3-opus-20240229",
                "claude-3-sonnet-20240229",
                "claude-3-haiku-20240307",
            },
        },
        openai = {
            models = {
                "gpt-4-turbo",
                "gpt-4",
                "gpt-3.5-turbo",
            },
        },
        ollama = {
            models = {
                "llama3",
                "mistral",
                "gemma",
                "codellama",
            },
        },
    },

    -- Keymaps (set to false to disable defaults)
    keymaps = {
        toggle = "<leader>nc",
        select_provider = "<leader>np",
        select_model = "<leader>nm",
        clear_conversation = "<leader>nc",
        export_selection = "<leader>ne",
        position_floating = "<leader>nf",
        position_right = "<leader>nr",
        position_left = "<leader>nl",
        position_bottom = "<leader>nb",
        position_top = "<leader>nt",
        position_tab = "<leader>nn",
    },

    -- Set to true to disable default keymaps
    no_default_keymaps = false,
})

Window Configuration

NoChat provides a highly customizable chat interface that can be positioned in various ways within Neovim:

Window Position Options

You can configure NoChat's window position in your setup with the window.position option. Each position mode offers different advantages:

• floating: A centered popup window that floats above your content (default)
• right/left: Vertical split on the right or left side
• top/bottom: Horizontal split at the top or bottom
• tab: Opens in a new tab

Changing Position Dynamically

You can also change the window position at runtime:

-- Change to a left split
:lua require('nochat').set_window_position('left')

-- Change to floating mode
:lua require('nochat').set_window_position('floating')

Global Variables

You can also configure NoChat using global variables in your init.vim/init.lua:

" Default provider and model
let g:nochat_default_provider = 'anthropic'
let g:nochat_default_model = 'claude-3-sonnet-20240229'

" API keys
let g:nochat_api_key_anthropic = 'your-anthropic-api-key'
let g:nochat_api_key_openai = 'your-openai-api-key'

" Ollama host
let g:nochat_ollama_host = 'http://localhost:11434'

" Disable default keymaps
let g:nochat_no_default_mappings = 1

Usage

Commands

NoChat provides the following commands:

• :NoChatToggle - Open or close the chat window
• :NoChatOpen - Open the chat window
• :NoChatClose - Close the chat window
• :NoChatSelectProvider - Open Telescope to select a provider
• :NoChatSelectModel - Open Telescope to select a model for the current provider
• :NoChatClearConversation - Clear the current conversation history
• :NoChatPosition <position> - Change the window position (with tab completion)

Default Keymaps

NoChat comes with the following default keymaps:

Global Keymaps

• <leader>nc - Toggle chat window
• <leader>nd - Clear current conversation
• <leader>np - Select provider
• <leader>nm - Select model
• <leader>ne - Export selected text to chat (in visual mode)

Window Position Keymaps

• <leader>nf - Set window to floating layout
• <leader>nr - Set window to right split
• <leader>nl - Set window to left split
• <leader>nb - Set window to bottom split
• <leader>nt - Set window to top split
• <leader>nn - Set window to tab layout

Chat Input Window Keymaps

• <CR> (normal mode) - Send message
• <C-CR> (insert mode) - Send message
• <M-CR> (Alt+Enter, insert mode) - Insert newline without sending

You can disable default keymaps by setting no_default_keymaps = true in your configuration or let g:nochat_no_default_mappings = 1 in your Vim config.

Telescope Integration

You can also access NoChat features from Telescope:

:Telescope nochat provider
:Telescope nochat model

Roadmap and Future Improvements

• Enhanced cursor-aware context extraction
• Support for more AI providers
• Improved code generation and refactoring capabilities
• Advanced model selection and comparison
• Local model caching and performance optimizations

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

License

MIT License

Acknowledgments

• Neovim
• Telescope.nvim
• AI Providers (Anthropic, OpenAI, Ollama)