llm-nvim

A Neovim plugin for integrating with Simon Willison's llm CLI tool.

Feature Demos

Model, Plugin and Key Management

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/d8c9b2f8-4617-4534-9a64-05a2447d9380

LLM Chat

Feature List

• Unified LLM command interface (:LLM)
• Interactive prompting with fragments support
• Process selected text or entire files with LLMs
• Explain code in current buffer
• Support for custom models and system prompts
• API key management for multiple providers
• Fragment management (files, URLs, GitHub repos)
• Unified manager window (:LLMConfig) with views for:
  • Models
  • Plugins
  • API Keys
  • Fragments
• Markdown-formatted responses with syntax highlighting
• Asynchronous command execution

Requirements

• Neovim 0.7.0 or later
• Lua 5.2+ (Neovim bundles LuaJIT 2.1+ which is compatible)
• llm CLI tool installed (pip install llm or brew install llm)

Lua Compatibility Note

This plugin uses Lua 5.2+ APIs (table.unpack) for forward compatibility. Neovim bundles LuaJIT 2.1+ which provides these APIs, so no additional Lua installation is required.

Installation

Using vim-plug

Plug 'julwrites/llm-nvim'

Using packer.nvim

use 'julwrites/llm-nvim'

Using lazy.nvim

-- Example lazy.nvim configuration
return {
  {
    'julwrites/llm-nvim',
    -- Optional: Specify dependencies if needed, e.g., for UI components
    -- dependencies = { 'nvim-lua/plenary.nvim' },
    config = function()
      -- Configure the plugin
      require('llm').setup({
        -- Specify the default LLM model to use
        model = 'gpt-4o', -- Or 'claude-3-haiku-20240307', 'llama3', etc.

        -- Define a default system prompt (optional)
        system_prompt = 'You are a helpful Neovim assistant.',

        -- Disable default key mappings if you prefer to set your own
        -- no_mappings = true,

        -- Enable debug logging (optional)
        -- debug = true,

        -- Enable or disable automatic updates for the underlying `llm` CLI tool.
        -- Defaults to `false`.
        -- auto_update_cli = false,

        -- Set the interval in days for checking for `llm` CLI updates.
        -- Defaults to `7`.
        -- auto_update_interval_days = 7,
      })

      -- Example custom key mappings (if no_mappings = true or for overrides)
      -- vim.keymap.set('n', '<leader>lp', '<Plug>(llm-prompt)', { desc = "LLM Prompt" })
      -- vim.keymap.set('v', '<leader>ls', '<Plug>(llm-selection)', { desc = "LLM Selection" })
      -- vim.keymap.set('n', '<leader>lt', '<Plug>(llm-toggle)', { desc = "LLM Toggle Manager" })
    end
  }
}

Configuration

-- Setup with configuration options
require('llm').setup({
  model = 'gpt-4o',                          -- Default model to use
  system_prompt = 'You are a helpful assistant.', -- Default system prompt
  no_mappings = false,                       -- Set to true to disable default mappings
  debug = false,                             -- Set to true to enable debug output
  auto_update_cli = false,                   -- Enable/disable CLI auto-updates (default: false)
  auto_update_interval_days = 7,             -- Interval in days for CLI update checks (default: 7)
})

-- Custom mappings
vim.keymap.set('n', '<leader>lp', '<Plug>(llm-prompt)')
vim.keymap.set('v', '<leader>ls', '<Plug>(llm-selection)')
vim.keymap.set('n', '<leader>le', '<Plug>(llm-explain)')
vim.keymap.set('n', '<leader>lm', '<Plug>(llm-models)') -- Note: <Plug>(llm-select-model) is deprecated

Automatic CLI Updates

The plugin includes a feature to automatically check for updates to the llm command-line tool upon startup.

• When enabled via the auto_update_cli = true setting, the plugin will check if the configured auto_update_interval_days has passed since the last check.
• If an update check is due, it will attempt to update the llm CLI tool. The update mechanism tries common upgrade methods including uv tool upgrade llm, pipx upgrade llm, pip install --upgrade llm (and python -m pip install --upgrade llm), and brew upgrade llm to keep the tool current.
• This check runs asynchronously in the background to avoid impacting Neovim's startup time.
• You will receive a notification about the outcome of the update attempt (success or failure).

This helps ensure your llm tool stays up-to-date with the latest features and fixes.

Usage Examples

Commands

Unified LLM Command

• :LLM {prompt} - Send prompt to LLM
• :LLM file [{prompt}] - Send current file's content with optional prompt
• :LLM selection [{prompt}] - Send visual selection with optional prompt
• :LLM explain - Explain current buffer's code
• :LLM fragments - Interactive prompt with fragment selection
• :LLM update - Manually trigger an update check for the underlying llm CLI tool.

Unified Manager

• :LLMConfig [view] - Open unified manager window
  • Optional views: models, plugins, keys, fragments
• :LLMConfig models - Open Models view
• :LLMConfig plugins - Open Plugins view
• :LLMConfig keys - Open API Keys view
• :LLMConfig fragments - Open Fragments view

Basic Prompting

1. Type :LLM Write a short poem about Neovim and press Enter.
2. A new buffer will open with the LLM's response.

Working with Code

1. Visually select a block of code.
2. Type :LLMWithSelection Refactor this code for clarity and press Enter.
3. The selected code and your prompt will be sent to the LLM.

Explaining Code

1. Open a code file.
2. Type :LLMExplain and press Enter.
3. The LLM will explain the code in the current buffer.

Using the Unified Manager

1. Type :LLMConfig or press <leader>ll (default mapping).
2. The manager window opens, likely showing the Models view first.
3. Press P to switch to the Plugins view.
4. Press K to switch to the API Keys view.
5. Navigate the list using j and k.
6. Follow the instructions in the header for actions (e.g., press s in the Models view to set a default model).
7. Press q or <Esc> to close the manager.

Suggested Mappings

The plugin provides default key mappings that can be disabled with no_mappings = true. Here are the default mappings and some suggested alternatives:

-- Toggle unified manager
vim.keymap.set('n', '<leader>ll', '<Cmd>LLMConfig<CR>', { desc = "Toggle LLM Manager" })

-- Basic prompt
vim.keymap.set('n', '<leader>lp', '<Cmd>LLM<Space>', { desc = "LLM Prompt" })

-- Explain current buffer
vim.keymap.set('n', '<leader>le', '<Cmd>LLM explain<CR>', { desc = "Explain Code" })

-- Prompt with visual selection
vim.keymap.set('v', '<leader>ls', '<Cmd>LLM selection<CR>', { desc = "LLM Selection" })

-- Interactive fragments
vim.keymap.set('n', '<leader>lf', '<Cmd>LLM fragments<CR>', { desc = "LLM with Fragments" })

Development

Testing

The plugin includes a test suite using busted. To run the tests, you first need to install the test dependencies:

sudo luarocks install busted
sudo luarocks install luassert

Then, you can run the tests:

# Run all tests
make test

# Run a specific test file
make test file=init_spec.lua

Tests cover:

• Core functionality (prompts, code explanation)
• Model management
• Plugin management
• API key management
• Fragment management

Code Coverage

This project enforces a minimum code coverage of 70%. The CI/CD pipeline will fail if the coverage drops below this threshold. To run the coverage check locally, you first need to install the coverage dependencies:

sudo luarocks install luacov
sudo luarocks install luacov-console

Then, you can run the coverage check:

make coverage

This will run the tests with Luacov and print a coverage report to the console.

Troubleshooting

Lua Compatibility Errors

If you encounter errors like "attempt to call a nil value (global 'unpack')":

• Ensure you're using Neovim 0.7.0 or later
• Check your Lua version: :lua print(_VERSION) in Neovim
• Update Neovim if you're using an older version
• Report the issue with your Neovim and Lua versions if problems persist

The plugin requires Lua 5.2+ APIs which are provided by Neovim's bundled LuaJIT 2.1+.

Documentation

For more detailed documentation, including architecture and contribution guides, see the Documentation Directory.

License

Apache 2.0