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<h1>Vision</h1>


<p>
Neovim is a refactor—and sometimes redactor—in the tradition of Vim, which
itself derives from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stevie_%28text_editor%29">Stevie</a>.
It is not a rewrite, but a <em>continuation</em> and extension of Vim. Many
rewrites, clones, emulators and imitators exist; some are very clever, but none
are Vim. Neovim strives to be a superset of Vim, notwithstanding some
intentionally removed misfeatures; excepting those few and carefully-considered
excisions, Neovim <em>is</em> Vim. It is built for users who want the good
parts of Vim, without compromise, and more.
</p>

<p>This project statement serves to clarify priorities and guide decisions.</p>

<h2>Project Goals</h2>

<ul>
  <li>Provide a flexible, extensible Vim with a first-class, fast scripting alternative (luajit)</li>
  <li>Provide a consistent user experience  across supported (G)UIs and platforms</li>
  <li>Leverage ongoing Vim development: harmony</li>
  <li>Maintain feature parity with Vim; avoid regressions</li>
  <li>Continue the Vim tradition of backwards compatibility, with few exceptions</li>
  <li>Keep the core small, fast, and extensible</li>
  <li>Target all platforms supported by libuv</li>
  <li>Optimize <em>out of the box</em>, for new users but especially regular users</li>
  <li>Delegate to plugins, but preserve the utility of the nvim core</li>
  <li>Ship Luajit as first-class scripting alternative</li>
</ul>

<h2>Project Non-Goals</h2>

<ul>
    <li> Turn Vim into an IDE</li>
    <li> Limit third-party applications (such as IDEs) built with Neovim</li>
    <li> Deprecate VimL</li>
    <li>Vi-compatibility</li>
</ul>

<h2>Guiding Principles</h2>

<ul>
    <li> <strong>Do Not Regress From Origin</strong></li>
    <li> Decide outcomes by weighing cost and benefit</li>
    <li> Use automation to solve problems</li>
    <li> Enable new contributors: remove barriers to entry</li>
    <li> Unblock third parties and plugin authors: allow progress</li>
    <li> In matters of taste or ambiguity, favor tradition/compatibility...</li>
    <li> ...But prefer usability over tradition if the benefits are overwhelming</li>
    <li> Give usability a chance™</li>
</ul>

<h2>Long-term Goals</h2>

<ul>
    <li>Implement a POSIX Vi clone via the Neovim API</li>
</ul>

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