ovim

macOS system-wide Vim keybindings and modal editor.

ovim has two independent editing modes:

In-Place Mode	Edit Popup
Simulates Vim motions by intercepting keystrokes and injecting native macOS key events. Works instantly in any app. Supports a subset of Vim commands.	Opens your actual Neovim installation in a terminal window with your full config and plugins. Edit complex text, then paste back with :wq.

Features

Feature	In-Place Mode	Edit Popup
Vim support	Basic motions, operators, text objects (see list)	Full Neovim with all your plugins
User config	In app configuration for widgets, ignore list	Uses your ~/.config/nvim
Speed	Instant	~500ms (terminal startup)
App compatibility	All apps (with Accessibility permission)	Apps with Accessibility API or browsers
Use case	Quick edits, modal navigation	Complex edits, regex, macros, multi-line

Installation

Homebrew

brew install --cask tonisives/tap/ovim

GitHub Releases

Download the latest .dmg from the Releases page.

Build from Source

git clone https://github.com/tonisives/ovim.git
cd ovim
pnpm install
pnpm package
# Signed app installed in build/ovim.app

Requires Rust, Node.js v18+, and pnpm.

Package after local merges

The repository includes a tracked post-merge hook that builds the macOS app from the primary checkout and installs it at ~/workspace/_tools/ovim.app:

pnpm hooks:install

The Git setting is shared with linked worktrees, but merges inside task worktrees are skipped. Set OVIM_OUTPUT_DIR to choose another installation directory, or set OVIM_SKIP_POST_MERGE_PACKAGE=1 to skip a build for one merge. The hook does not restart a running app.

Keep permissions across local builds

pnpm package uses your Developer ID Application certificate and preserves the signature during installation. If multiple signing identities are available, set APPLE_SIGNING_IDENTITY to the certificate name or SHA-1 shown by security find-identity -v -p codesigning. Certificates with the same name are selected by SHA-1 to avoid ambiguous signing requests. Keep using the same signing identity, bundle identifier (com.tonis.ovim), and installation path. The post-merge hook uses this same packaging command.

After switching from an old ad-hoc build, quit Ovim, open the signed build at its usual path, and grant Accessibility and Input Monitoring again if requested. A manually revoked permission still needs to be granted again. General Settings always provides buttons to open both permission panels, even when macOS reports access as allowed. Relaunch after changing permissions if the running process still reports the old state.

The installer rejects ad-hoc builds rather than replacing a signed installation with an identity that changes on every rebuild. Tauri updater keys sign update archives; they do not replace an Apple code-signing certificate.

Apple documents the identity mechanism in Code Signing Requirements.

Requirements

• macOS 10.15 (Catalina) or later
• Accessibility permission - Grant in System Settings > Privacy & Security > Accessibility
• Terminal app. Alacritty is recommended. We also include Kitty, Terminal.app and WezTerm limited support.

Quick Start

1. Launch ovim - it appears in your menu bar
2. Grant Accessibility permission when prompted
3. Access Settings from the menu bar icon

In-Place Mode	Edit Popup
Press Caps Lock to toggle between Normal/Insert modes. Use Vim motions directly in any app.	Assign a shortcut to "Toggle Edit Popup" in Settings. Press it to open Neovim, edit, then :wq to paste back.

In-Place Mode

Toggle between Normal and Insert modes with Caps Lock (configurable). In Normal mode, use Vim motions directly in any application.

Supported commands: hjkl, w/b/e, 0/$, gg/G, d/y/c + motions, dd/yy/cc, x, p/P, u/Ctrl+r, Visual mode, counts, and more. See docs/keybindings.md for the full list.

Widgets

Display battery status, time, or selection info

Edit Popup

Opens your actual Neovim installation in a terminal window. Your full config (~/.config/nvim) and all plugins are available.

How it works:

1. Assign a shortcut to "Toggle Edit Popup" in Settings
2. Select text in any application (optional - captures existing text)
3. Press your shortcut to open Neovim in a popup terminal
4. Edit with your full Neovim setup (plugins, keybindings, macros, etc.)
5. Type :wq to save and paste back, or close the window to cancel

Supported terminals: Alacritty, Kitty, WezTerm, iTerm2, Terminal.app

With AeroSpace running, Ovim automatically floats its own Alacritty popup before positioning it beside the text field. Regular Alacritty windows keep their layout. This also covers prewarmed editor windows and requires the aerospace CLI on PATH or in a standard Homebrew location; no AeroSpace configuration change is needed.

In bmux, live sync keeps trusted keyboard/text input for controlled editors such as X. Temporary replacement selections are hidden only in the edited field, then collapsed and restored after the update, including on failure.

More features

• Custom launch script - use your own editor. docs/launcher-script.md
• CLI - toggle modes via CLI. docs/cli.md

Check out full docs and the official website

Issues

Please check logs at /tmp/ovim-rust.log and submit an issue

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License

MIT License - see LICENSE for details.