Cardea is a modern, high-performance configuration for Vim 9.2+. Named after the Roman Goddess of Hinges, it serves as the functional successor to the classic Janus distribution—providing the "swing" and transition between a traditional editor and a modern IDE.

Built for engineers who value speed, asynchronous execution, and a "nerd-rocker" aesthetic.

🎨 Aesthetics

Cardea uses the Gruvbox Material (Soft) theme to provide a high-contrast yet eye-friendly environment reminiscent of classic Unix workstations.

• Vim 9.2 Optimized: Leverages the latest performance improvements.
• Asynchronous Intelligence: Powered by coc.nvim for LSP support (Go, Python, C).
• Blazing Fast Navigation: Replaces the heavy CtrlP with FZF.
• Minimalist UI: Uses lightline and gruvbox-material for a clean, retro-computing look.
• Git Integrated: Full power of vim-fugitive.

1. Vim 9.2+ (compiled with +python3).
2. Node.js (required for CoC/LSP).
3. FZF and Ripgrep (rg) installed on your system.

At the time of the intial commit FreeBSD still ships vim 9.1

pkg install \
    gettext-runtime \
    gettext-tools \
    indexinfo libffi \
    libtextstyle \
    mpdecimal \
    pkgconf \
    readline \
    gmake \
    gcc

Clone the repository and link the configuration:

git clone [email protected]:ecelis/cardea.git ~/.vim_cardea
cd ~/.vim_cardea
chmod +x install.sh
./install.sh

Open Vim; the configuration is set to automatically download vim-plug and install all plugins on the first run. Language Support

Once inside Vim, install the engines for your primary stack: Vim Script

:CocInstall coc-go coc-pyright coc-json

When launching vim without arguments, Cardea presents a specialized dashboard:

• Quick Access: Press the shortcut key next to any recent file to open it.
• Bookmarks: Built-in shortcuts for configuration files (c for .vimrc).
• Identity: Displays the Cardea ASCII header and current working directory.

Cardea uses the Spacebar as the key for ergonomic, high-speed navigation.

• Line Numbers: Hybrid (Absolute current line + Relative others).
• Indentation: 4 spaces (Expandtab enabled).
• Clipboard: Integrated with system clipboard (unnamedplus).

Cardea is pre-configured to handle Go development with gopls.

• Auto-Import: Missing packages are added, and unused ones are removed on save.
• Go-to-Definition: Instant jumping to source code or standard library.
• Type Information: Hover over any variable to see its underlying struct or interface.
• Test Integration: Run tests directly from the buffer.

Inside Vim, run: :CocInstall coc-go

“Janus watches the gate; Cardea moves the hinge.”

Cardea allows you to save and restore your entire workspace (splits, buffers, and cursor positions). You never have to worry about losing your workspace layout:

• Auto-Save: On exit, your current state is automatically saved to a global session called LastSession.
• One-Key Restore: Simply select LastSession from the welcome dashboard to resume exactly where you were.
• Manual Control: Use :Ssave <name> if you want to keep a permanent snapshot of a specific project.