Neovim Code Editor for Unity

Use Neovim as Unity's External Script Editor, either natively (Windows, macOS, Linux) or running inside WSL.

Double-click a script or a Console error and the file opens in your running Neovim at the right line and column. Unity keeps the .sln / .csproj files up to date, so Roslyn LSP (roslyn.nvim) has full IntelliSense for your project, including files you create from Neovim.

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Features

• Real External Script Editor: select Neovim or Neovim (WSL) in Preferences. No wrapper scripts.
• Opens files in the running Neovim: Unity talks to nvim over its RPC socket, so the file opens in the same instance at the exact line and column.
• Launches Neovim when needed: if Neovim isn't running, one is started in Windows Terminal, a tmux session, or a terminal command you choose.
• One instance per project: each Unity project gets its own Neovim on its own port.
• Your shell environment: in WSL, Neovim starts through your login shell, so PATH, DOTNET_ROOT and the rest of your .zshrc / .bashrc are set for Roslyn.
• Project files stay current: Unity's official generator (com.unity.ide.visualstudio) updates them whenever scripts, asmdefs or packages change.
• WSL path conversion: absolute Windows paths in the .csproj files (references, analyzers, \\wsl$\…) are rewritten to /mnt/c/….
• New files get LSP right away: a wildcard <Compile Include="…/**/*.cs"/> is added for each assembly. It follows asmdef/asmref, Editor and Plugins folder rules, so files created outside Unity work before Unity recompiles.

How it works

flowchart LR
    A[Double-click script<br/>in Unity] --> B{Neovim listening on<br/>127.0.0.1:PORT?}
    B -- yes --> C[RPC: open file,<br/>jump to line:col]
    B -- no --> D[Launch nvim --listen<br/>in Terminal / tmux / custom]
    E[Scripts / asmdefs change] --> F[Regenerate .sln/.csproj]
    F --> G[Convert paths for WSL<br/>+ add wildcard Compile items]
    G --> H[roslyn.nvim]

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Requirements

Unity	2021.3 or newer
Packages	com.unity.ide.visualstudio (installed automatically)
Neovim	0.9+, native or inside WSL
LSP (optional)	.NET SDK + roslyn.nvim, see Roslyn setup

Installation

From git: Window → Package Manager → + → Add package from git URL…

https://github.com/reaz1995/UnityNvimSupport.git

From disk: Window → Package Manager → + → Add package from disk… and select this repository's package.json.

If you used the old loose scripts (sln_csproj_generator.cs, csproj_references_for_wsl_fix.cs), delete them from your project's Assets/Editor. Otherwise paths get converted twice.

Quick start

1. Open Edit → Preferences → External Tools.
2. Set External Script Editor to:
   • Neovim (WSL): Neovim inside WSL.
   • Neovim: native nvim / nvim.exe, found on PATH or via Scoop, winget, Chocolatey, Homebrew and others. If it isn't listed, use Browse….
3. WSL only: set WSL distribution to the distro where Neovim is installed (for example Ubuntu). The default distro is not always the right one; check with wsl -l -v.
4. Click Regenerate project files.
5. Double-click any script.

Assets → Open C# Project or Tools → Neovim → Open Project in Neovim opens Neovim in the project root.

Launch modes

These control how a new Neovim is started. Once one is running, files always go to it.

Mode	Behaviour
Terminal	Windows: a tab named nvim - <Project> in a Windows Terminal window called nvim-unity, or a console window if Windows Terminal isn't installed. macOS: Terminal.app. Linux: $TERMINAL, x-terminal-emulator, kitty, wezterm, alacritty, gnome-terminal, konsole or xterm, whichever is found first.
Tmux	A window named nvim in the configured session. The session is created detached if it doesn't exist (tmux attach -t unity). WSL / macOS / Linux.
Custom	Any command, with the placeholders {nvimCommand}, {file}, {line}, {column}, {project}, {listen}.

Custom examples:

wezterm start --cwd "{project}" -- {nvimCommand}
alacritty -e {nvimCommand}

Connecting your own Neovim

Any Neovim that listens on the project's port receives files from Unity. Preferences shows the port:

nvim --listen 127.0.0.1:<port>

Settings

All settings are under Preferences → External Tools while Neovim is selected. They are saved per user.

Setting	Default	Description
Launch new Neovim in	Terminal	See Launch modes
Focus Windows Terminal	on	Bring the Neovim window to the front when a file is opened
RPC port	auto	0 derives a stable port from the project path
Extra nvim arguments	–	Added to the launch command, e.g. -c "Neotree show"
nvim command	nvim	Executable used by the WSL / tmux launch script
WSL distribution	default	Distro that has Neovim installed
WSL mount root	/mnt/	Must match [automount] root in /etc/wsl.conf
Convert .csproj paths to WSL	on	Rewrites C:\… to /mnt/c/…
Add wildcard Compile items	on	New .cs files get LSP support immediately
Regenerate after every domain reload	off	Full regeneration after each reload; normally updates are incremental
SDK-style projects	off	Use the SDK-style generator of the Visual Studio package
Generate .csproj files for	–	Package filters: embedded, local, registry, git, …
Verbose logging	off	Log every launch / RPC call to the Console

Troubleshooting

"nvim was not found" in the terminal

The launch script ran in a WSL distro without Neovim, or nvim isn't on your login shell's PATH. Set WSL distribution (for example Ubuntu), or set nvim command to the full path (which nvim inside WSL).

A new Neovim opens every time

Unity can't reach the RPC port. Turn on Verbose logging and check:

• In WSL, localhostForwarding must not be disabled in %UserProfile%\.wslconfig.
• The port may be reserved by Hyper-V. Check with netsh interface ipv4 show excludedportrange protocol=tcp and choose another port.

Neovim starts tmux / does something odd on launch

Neovim is started with $SHELL -lic, which loads your .zshrc / .bashrc. If your shell rc auto-starts tmux, guard it, for example [ -z "$TMUX" ] && [ -z "$NVIM" ] && ….

LSP doesn't see new files or references

• Make sure Add wildcard Compile items is on, then click Regenerate project files.
• Make sure roslyn.nvim has file watching enabled (filewatching = "roslyn" or "auto").
• In WSL, raise the inotify limits (see Roslyn setup).

Project files still contain Windows paths

Path conversion only runs while Neovim (WSL) is selected. That way, switching back to Visual Studio or Rider gives normal project files. Select it, then regenerate.

Security note

Neovim's RPC port listens on 127.0.0.1 only, but any process on your machine can connect to it. Avoid using this on shared machines you don't trust.

Package layout

package.json
Editor/
  NvimCodeEditor.cs        External Script Editor registration (IExternalCodeEditor)
  NvimLauncher.cs          Open via RPC, or launch Terminal / tmux / custom
  NvimRpc.cs               Minimal msgpack-RPC client (nvim_exec_lua over TCP)
  ProjectFiles.cs          Drives the Visual Studio package's .sln/.csproj generator
  CsprojPostprocessor.cs   WSL path conversion + wildcard Compile items
  NvimPreferencesGUI.cs    Preferences UI
  NvimSettings.cs          EditorPrefs-backed settings
  PathUtility.cs, ProcessUtility.cs
Documentation~/
  roslyn-setup.md          .NET SDK, Roslyn LSP and roslyn.nvim setup

See CHANGELOG.md for release notes.