Setting Up Neovim with NvChad on Ubuntu

6/9/2025 / 13 minutes to read / Tags: guide, neovim, linux, ubuntu, nvchad

Neovim is a modern rewrite of Vim that adds performance improvements and extensibility. Paired with NvChad, a feature-rich and highly customizable Neovim config, you can create a beautiful and powerful coding environment.

This guide walks you through setting up Neovim with NvChad on Ubuntu 22.04 or later.

Why NvChad?

• 🎨 Beautiful UI: Out-of-the-box themes, file trees, and icons.
• ⚡ Fast: Built with performance in mind.
• 🧩 Modular: Easy to add plugins and personalize keybindings.
• 🛠️ Pre-configured: No need to start from scratch.

Prerequisites

• Ubuntu 22.04 or later

• Basic familiarity with the terminal

• Git installed:

  sudo apt update
  sudo apt install git

Step 1: Install Neovim (Latest)

The Ubuntu repo may have an older version, so we’ll use the official AppImage or PPA.

Option 1: AppImage (Recommended for latest stable)

wget https://github.com/neovim/neovim/releases/latest/download/nvim.appimage
chmod u+x nvim.appimage
sudo mv nvim.appimage /usr/local/bin/nvim

Check installation:

nvim --version

Option 2: Use PPA

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:neovim-ppa/stable
sudo apt update
sudo apt install neovim

Step 2: Install Nerd Fonts (Optional but Recommended)

NvChad uses icons that require a patched font like FiraCode Nerd Font:

mkdir -p ~/.local/share/fonts
cd ~/.local/share/fonts
wget https://github.com/ryanoasis/nerd-fonts/releases/latest/download/FiraCode.zip
unzip FiraCode.zip
fc-cache -fv

Then set your terminal to use FiraCode Nerd Font.

Step 3: Install NvChad

⚠️ This will override your existing Neovim config at ~/.config/nvim!

git clone https://github.com/NvChad/NvChad ~/.config/nvim --depth 1
nvim

This will trigger NvChad’s first-time setup and plugin installation. Wait for it to complete.

Absolutely! According to the official NvChad documentation and community sources:

You can open the theme selector UI using this keybinding:

<leader> + t + h

Where <leader> is the spacebar by default. ([nvchad.com][1])

A tutorial confirms the sequence more specifically:

Press <Space>, then t, then h

→ Opens the theme selector. ([blog.spoonconsulting.com][2])

If you pick a theme, NvChad prompts:

"Make theme changes permanent?"

Press y to confirm and update your configuration. ([github.com][3])

Step 4: Customize NvChad

NvChad includes a built-in theme selector — no manual Lua editing needed for theme changes.

🎨 Change Theme Using the Built-in UI

1. Launch Neovim:

   nvim

2. Press:

   <Space> → t → h

   This opens the NvChad Theme Selector.

3. Navigate through the list of available themes (e.g. onedark, gruvbox, catppuccin, tokyonight) using arrow keys.

4. Press Enter to preview a theme.

5. A confirmation prompt appears. Press y to make your selection permanent (updates are saved to chadrc.lua automatically).

📁 Optional: Further Customization

If you want to go deeper, manually tweak the config:

nvim ~/.config/nvim/lua/custom/chadrc.lua

M.ui = {
  theme = "onedark",
  transparency = true,
  statusline = {
    theme = "minimal",
  },
}

Save and reload Neovim to apply your settings.

Step 5: Add Plugins (Optional)

To add new plugins:

1. Create or edit ~/.config/nvim/lua/custom/plugins.lua
2. Example: add vim-surround

return {
  {
    "tpope/vim-surround",
    lazy = false
  }
}

Then restart Neovim and run:

:Lazy sync

Step 6: Useful Keybindings

<leader> is the spacebar by default.

Troubleshooting

Conclusion

With NvChad, you’ve got a pre-configured Neovim environment that’s fast, modern, and ready to go. Whether you’re coding in Python, Rust, or web dev stacks, this setup gives you a powerful IDE-like experience right inside your terminal.

🎉 Happy hacking with Neovim!