viqueen · Oct 3, 2026 · Oct 3, 2026
diff --git a/.mise.toml b/.mise.toml
@@ -1,4 +1,3 @@
 [tools]
 node = "24.12.0"
 pnpm = "11.15.1"
-neovim = "0.12.4"
diff --git a/.prettierignore b/.prettierignore
@@ -6,4 +6,3 @@
 node_modules/
 target/
 pnpm-lock.yaml
-cli/nvim/lazy-lock.json
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ brew install mise
 git clone https://github.com/viqueen/devbox.git
 cd devbox
 
-# install tools (node, pnpm, neovim)
+# install tools (node, pnpm)
 mise install
 
 # install dependencies
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ pnpm install
 # optional: workspace-aware prompt
 ./setup.sh config_prompt
 
-# optional: neovim with lazy.nvim
+# optional: vim with an easy-on-the-eyes theme
 ./setup.sh config_vim
 ```
 
@@ -36,11 +36,10 @@ pnpm install
 
 Defined in `.mise.toml` and symlinked to `~/.mise.toml` by `config_box`:
 
-| Tool   | Purpose         |
-| ------ | --------------- |
-| node   | Node.js runtime |
-| pnpm   | Package manager |
-| neovim | Editor          |
+| Tool | Purpose         |
+| ---- | --------------- |
+| node | Node.js runtime |
+| pnpm | Package manager |
 
 ### Prompt
 
@@ -59,10 +58,10 @@ Configure orgs via env vars: `VIQUEEN_DEVBOX_PRIMARY_ORG`, `VIQUEEN_DEVBOX_SECON
 
 ### Editor
 
-Neovim with [lazy.nvim](https://github.com/folke/lazy.nvim) plugin manager. Config lives in `cli/nvim/`
-and is scoped via `NVIM_APPNAME=devbox` (stored at `~/.config/devbox/nvim/`).
-
-Plugins: edge colorscheme, lualine, nvim-tree, telescope, treesitter, mason + lspconfig.
+Plain vim, no plugin manager, no alias. `config_vim` symlinks `cli/.vimrc` to `~/.vimrc`, so
+running `vim` anywhere (shell, scripts, `git commit`) picks up the config automatically. Uses
+vim's built-in `retrobox` colorscheme (gruvbox-style, muted and dark) — no vendored colors file
+to maintain, requires vim 9+.
 
 ### Scripts and Binaries
 
@@ -84,7 +83,7 @@ image -h           # docker things
 gitar -h           # git things
 ```
 
-All scripts source `selfedit.sh` (edit mode via nvim) and `selfdoc.sh` (auto-generated help from `@COMMAND` annotations):
+All scripts source `selfedit.sh` (edit mode via vim) and `selfdoc.sh` (auto-generated help from `@COMMAND` annotations):
 
 ```bash
 #! /usr/bin/env bash

diff --git a/cli/.devboxrc b/cli/.devboxrc
@@ -7,16 +7,14 @@ alias move=mv
 alias maven=mvn
 alias awsl=awslocal
 alias cats='pygmentize -g'
-alias vim='NVIM_APPNAME=devbox nvim'
-alias nvim='NVIM_APPNAME=devbox nvim'
 
 export PS1='\u@\h\w'
 export CLICOLOR=1
 export LSCOLORS=GxFxCxDxBxegedabagaced
 export BASH_SILENCE_DEPRECATION_WARNING=1
 
 # homebrew
-export HOMEBREW_EDITOR="nvim"
+export HOMEBREW_EDITOR="vim"
 
 # maven
 export MAVEN_OPTS="-Xms1680m -Xmx2048m -XX:MaxMetaspaceSize=384m"

diff --git a/cli/.vimrc b/cli/.vimrc
@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+" devbox vim config
+set nocompatible
+
+syntax on
+filetype plugin indent on
+
+set number
+set cursorline
+set mouse=a
+set ignorecase
+set smartcase
+set hlsearch
+set incsearch
+set showmatch
+set expandtab
+set smarttab
+set shiftwidth=2
+set tabstop=2
+set autoindent
+set smartindent
+set wrap
+set encoding=utf-8
+set backspace=indent,eol,start
+set wildmenu
+set ruler
+set cmdheight=2
+set laststatus=2
+set autoread
+set background=dark
+set wildignore+=*/tmp/*,*.so,*.swp,*.zip,*/node_modules,*/target,*/dist,*/build,*/coverage,.git,.hg,.svn,.idea
+set list
+set listchars=space:·
+
+if has('termguicolors')
+  set termguicolors
+endif
+
+" strip trailing whitespace on save
+autocmd BufWritePre * :%s/\s\+$//e
+
+" filetype associations
+autocmd BufNewFile,BufRead .eslintrc,.babelrc set filetype=json
+
+" keymaps
+nnoremap ] :m +1<CR>
+nnoremap [ :m -2<CR>
+
+silent! colorscheme retrobox
diff --git a/cli/bin/compose b/cli/bin/compose
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ function stop() {
 function profile() {
   _with_arguments 1 "$@"
   profile=${1}
-  nvim "${VIQUEEN_DEVBOX_HOME}"/docker-compose/"${profile}".yml
+  vim "${VIQUEEN_DEVBOX_HOME}"/docker-compose/"${profile}".yml
 }
 
 # @COMMAND list                           lists available compose profiles

diff --git a/cli/bin/dev b/cli/bin/dev
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ lc() {
 
 # @COMMAND rc                               opens .devboxrc file for edit
 rc() {
-  nvim ${VIQUEEN_DEVBOX_HOME}/cli/.devboxrc
+  vim ${VIQUEEN_DEVBOX_HOME}/cli/.devboxrc
   source ${VIQUEEN_DEVBOX_HOME}/cli/.devboxrc
 }
 
@@ -82,14 +82,9 @@ licenses() {
 # VIM
 #######
 
-# @COMMAND vimr                             nvim plugin sync
-vimr () {
-  NVIM_APPNAME=devbox nvim --headless "+Lazy! sync" +qa
-}
-
-# @COMMAND vimrc                            nvim config
+# @COMMAND vimrc                            vim config
 vimrc() {
-  nvim ${VIQUEEN_DEVBOX_HOME}/cli/nvim/init.lua
+  vim ${VIQUEEN_DEVBOX_HOME}/cli/.vimrc
 }
 
 #####

diff --git a/cli/bin/internal b/cli/bin/internal
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ edit() {
     then
         script=${0}
     fi
-    nvim ${script}
+    vim ${script}
     chmod +x ${script}
 }
 

diff --git a/cli/bin/selfedit.sh b/cli/bin/selfedit.sh
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ edit() {
     then
         script=${0}
     fi
-    nvim "${script}"
+    vim "${script}"
     chmod +x "${script}"
 }
 

diff --git a/cli/nvim/init.lua b/cli/nvim/init.lua
diff --git a/cli/nvim/lazy-lock.json b/cli/nvim/lazy-lock.json
diff --git a/cli/nvim/lua/plugins/init.lua b/cli/nvim/lua/plugins/init.lua
diff --git a/setup.sh b/setup.sh
@@ -21,13 +21,8 @@ function config_box() {
 }
 
 function config_vim() {
-  mkdir -p "${HOME}/.config"
-  # remove any prior target (dir or symlink) so ln replaces it rather than
-  # nesting the link inside an existing directory
-  rm -rf "${HOME}/.config/devbox"
-  ln -sfnv "${VIQUEEN_DEVBOX_HOME}"/cli/nvim "${HOME}/.config/devbox"
-  git config --global core.editor "nvim"
-  NVIM_APPNAME=devbox nvim --headless "+Lazy! sync" +qa
+  ln -sfnv "${VIQUEEN_DEVBOX_HOME}"/cli/.vimrc "${HOME}/.vimrc"
+  git config --global core.editor "vim"
 }
 
 function config_prompt() {