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Emacs and Neovim tooling

Overview

Emacs and Neovim can be managed at three common levels in a Nix setup: Home Manager program modules (declarative editor + plugins in home config), Nixvim (Neovim config as Nix modules, often imported into Home Manager), and pure nixpkgs wrappers (emacsWithPackages, wrapNeovim) for package-level installs without full dotfile management.

This page covers integration patterns—where each approach fits and how options compose—not init.el/init.lua tutorials or exhaustive plugin catalogs.

Details

Home Manager programs.emacs

The Home Manager Emacs module builds an Emacs with selected packages and optional init snippets:

Option Role
enable Turn on the module and install the wrapped Emacs
package Base Emacs derivation (default from nixpkgs)
extraPackages epkgs: [ … ] — packages from the Emacs package set
extraConfig Elisp written to default.el inside the wrapped Emacs (not ~/.emacs.d), so it is less likely to fight Spacemacs/Doom-style frameworks
overrides Adjust individual emacsPackages derivations
finalPackage Read-only: the built emacsWithPackages result

For daemon / socket activation / defaultEditor, see services.emacs — optional; only needed when you want a long-lived Emacs server or system-wide default editor integration.

Home Manager programs.neovim

The Neovim module wraps Neovim with plugins and generated init files:

Option Role
enable Install configured Neovim
package Base derivation (default pkgs.neovim-unwrapped; HM’s wrapper adds plugins)
plugins List of { plugin, config?, optional?, type? } entries
initLua Lua for $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/nvim/init.lua; supports lib.mkOrder / mkBefore / mkAfter (alias: extraLuaConfig)
extraConfig Vimscript passed to the Neovim wrapper (legacy or small snippets; separate from initLua)

Plugin config strings are merged into the generated init. Default type is lua when home.stateVersion >= 26.05, else viml. Heavy logic may be clearer in Nixvim or a separate file via xdg.configFile.

Nixvim

Nixvim treats Neovim configuration as Nix modules under programs.nixvim: options generate Lua, plugins are typically plugins.<name>.enable plus settings, and the flake can be consumed standalone or as a Home Manager import. Use Nixvim when you want module composition, shared flakes, and typed plugin options beyond HM’s flat plugins list. The upstream site is the source of truth for option names—this wiki does not duplicate that manual.

nixpkgs-only wrappers

Without Home Manager, nixpkgs still provides:

  • emacsPackages / emacsWithPackages — Emacs + ELPA/MELPA-style packages in one derivation (system profile, dev shell, or flake packages).
  • vimPlugins + wrapNeovim — Neovim with a plugin list and optional configure Lua (see nixpkgs manual for wrapNeovim / neovimUtils).

These are package-level only: they do not manage ~/.config/nvim or Emacs init files unless you add separate file options or modules.

Choosing an approach

Layer Manages Good when
HM programs.emacs / programs.neovim Editor binary + HM-generated init Dotfiles in Home Manager; moderate plugin lists
Nixvim (programs.nixvim) Neovim as modular Nix config Larger Neovim setups, flake sharing, typed plugins
nixpkgs wrappers Store path with bundled plugins System packages, CI, dev shells; init elsewhere or minimal

Prefer HM program modules when they exist (dotfiles patterns); use Nixvim for Neovim-specific depth; use raw wrappers when the editor is just another tool on PATH. Language servers and formatters often live in dev shells or language toolchains rather than inside editor config.

Examples

Home Manager — Emacs with packages and a short init snippet:

{
  programs.emacs = {
    enable = true;
    extraPackages = epkgs: [
      epkgs.magit
      epkgs.use-package
    ];
    extraConfig = ''
      (require 'magit)
      (global-set-key (kbd "C-x g") 'magit-status)
    '';
  };
}

Home Manager — Neovim with plugins and initLua:

{
  programs.neovim = {
    enable = true;
    package = pkgs.neovim-unwrapped;
    plugins = with pkgs.vimPlugins; [
      { plugin = nvim-treesitter; }
      { plugin = telescope-nvim; config = "require('telescope').setup({})"; }
    ];
    initLua = ''
      vim.opt.number = true
      vim.g.mapleader = " "
    '';
  };
}

Nixvim is typically a separate flake input with programs.nixvim.enable = true and imports = [ … ]; see the Nixvim documentation for module shape and Home Manager integration.

References

See also