vim-which-key VS vim-dim

The only Vim distro I'm aware of is SpaceVim (https://spacevim.org/). I just tested it for a short time but it couldn't compete with my hand crafted settings ;-) But I'm using some of the plugins of SpaceVim in my setup, eg. vim-which-key and vista.vim.

Sounds like you want vim-which-key and coc.nvim.

> even though I'm a terminal user ... I really like the discoverability of GUIs, and that's where a good GUI is unbeatable by CLI.

CLI has poor discoverability? Sure; but even on the terminal, discoverability can still be good:

A couple of nice examples of discoverability in keyboard-focused programs:

- emacs' which-key[0]; there's a vim port[1] too. This shows you (some) of the available keybindings for the next input, and a short label. So you don't have to remember what `SPC h p ...` or all the options under `SPC f...`.. but it still helps to recall that `SPC h` is for 'help' related commands, `SPC f` for file related commands.

- emacs' magit[2][3]. Magit is so good at discoverability, that I'd rate it as the best tool for using git with. I've learned more about git from using it.

[0] https://github.com/justbur/emacs-which-key

[1] https://github.com/liuchengxu/vim-which-key

[2] https://magit.vc/

[3] https://emacsair.me/2017/09/01/magit-walk-through/

Agreed, that's the only time I find missing Emacs' which-key. (Looks like there is https://github.com/liuchengxu/vim-which-key for this.)

I think you mean a plugin which shows available key bindings as you type, which is what vim-which-key does.

Just an extension.

It is https://github.com/liuchengxu/vim-which-key if you are interested.

>Were you also able to replicate the small popups that open when you press `m`, `g`, etc.?

Yes, although 'm' has a totally different meaning in vim (placing a mark), so there is no popup for that. But it works where there are actually sensible choices, even for marks it works and shows you every available one, which is pretty cool

But again, that's not a specifically vim issue, its endemic to TUIs (hence bash completions and all the other hacks to make discoverability accesible). As well, there are some projects to ameliorate this in vim like the which-key family of plugins01 and others like them.

__usability features__ Emacs has a lot of great ideas for usability, some of which have been copied to vim like which-key https://github.com/folke/which-key.nvim https://github.com/liuchengxu/vim-which-key

Printing cheat sheets is helpful. At some point, make your own. which-key.nvim (or vim-which-key) is a plugin I wish I had found years ago. It gives you hints of next keys available to press. It's great for beginners, and experts. It's like the ultimate real-time cheatsheet.

I use a slightly improved version of default. https://github.com/jeffkreeftmeijer/vim-dim

You can "inherit" the terminal's colorscheme. :h cterm-colors. An example vim colorscheme that uses this: https://github.com/jeffkreeftmeijer/vim-dim

I achieve that same consistency with virtually zero configuration by simply setting the colors in my terminal and forgetting about it. Stopped all the fiddling with color schemes quite a while ago.

Good explanation: https://jeffkreeftmeijer.com/vim-16-color/

I created a color theme for vim based off vim-dim

I already know about noctu and dim, but they are still too busy for my taste and use weirdly chosen colors. Are there any more?

Hack font and dim/grim.

This might be of interest: https://jeffkreeftmeijer.com/vim-16-color/