glrnvim is a lightweight desktop wrapper for Neovim that uses an external terminal emulator to display the editor. Rather than developing its own complete graphical rendering system, glrnvim combines Neovim with an existing terminal to provide a dedicated desktop editing window.
This approach distinguishes it from Neovim clients that implement graphical versions of the editor’s user interface. Users continue to interact with the familiar terminal representation of Neovim, while glrnvim manages the surrounding application environment.
The program is intended for people who appreciate the speed and simplicity of terminal-based editing but want Neovim to behave more like a standalone desktop application.
glrnvim can be configured to use different terminal emulators. The resulting appearance and rendering performance depend partly on the selected terminal, including its support for graphics acceleration, fonts, and colour handling.
The application can also be used as an editor for external tools, including Git, where it can provide a separate editing window for commit messages.
This is free and open source software.
Key Features
- Launches Neovim inside a dedicated desktop terminal window.
- Supports terminal backends including Alacritty, Kitty, rxvt-unicode, WezTerm, and foot.
- Configurable terminal selection and launch behaviour.
- Uses the existing terminal emulator’s rendering capabilities, including GPU acceleration where available.
- True-colour display support through Neovim’s termguicolors setting and a compatible terminal.
- Retains Neovim’s normal terminal editing interface, configuration, and plugins.
- Can be configured as an external editor for Git commit messages.
- Provides a non-forking option for workflows that need to wait for the editor to close.
- Exposes an indicator that allows Neovim configuration to recognise glrnvim sessions.
- Uses a configurable YAML file for application settings.
- Cross-platform support – runs on Linux and macOS.
Website: github.com/beeender/glrnvim
Support:
Developer: Chen Mulong
License: GNU General Public License v3.0
glrnvim is written in Rust. Learn Rust with our recommended free books and free tutorials.
Related Software
| Neovim GUIs | Language | |
|---|---|---|
| Neovim-qt | Neovim client library and GUI using Qt5 | C++ |
| GoNeovim | Forked from Gonvim. Uses Qt binding | Go |
| FVim | Uses the Avalonia XAML-based UI framework | F# |
| Neovide | No nonsense client | Rust |
| GNvim | Rich GUI without any web bloat | Rust |
| NVUI | Modern frontend | C++ |
| glrnvim | GPU-accelerated Neovim GUI | Rust |
| NyaoVim | Web-enhanced extensible Neovim frontend | TypeScript |
| neovim-gtk | Uses gtk-rs bindings | Rust |
| Neoray | Uses GLFW and OpenGL bindings | Go |
| Envim | Electron-based frontend for Neovim | TypeScript |
Read our verdict in the software roundup.
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