Text Editor in Rust

A modal text editor inspired by Neovim, built with Rust.

Features

• Modal Editing: Normal, Insert, Command, and Visual modes.
• Vim-like Keybindings: hjkl navigation, i for insert, v for visual, :w, :q commands.
• Clipboard Integration: Copy (y) and Paste (p) using system clipboard.
• Mouse Support: Click to move cursor.
• Extensive Themes: 12+ built-in themes (Dracula, Nord, Catppuccin, etc.) with external file support.
• Syntax Highlighting: Auto-detection for Rust, C, C++, Java, JS/TS, and Python. Distinguishes between keywords, types, and control flow.
• Basic Auto-Completion: Context-aware suggestions while typing.
• Configuration: Customizable via .config/config.toml.
• Performance: Built with ratatui and crossterm for high-performance TUI.

Tech Stack

• Language: Rust
• Rendering: ratatui - A Rust TUI library.
• Input/Terminal: crossterm - Cross-platform terminal manipulation.
• Configuration: serde & toml - For parsing the config file.
• Data Structure: ropey - A Utf8 text rope for fast editing.

How to Run

1. Prerequisites: Ensure you have Rust installed (cargo).

2. Build:

   cargo build --release

3. Install:

   Option A: Automatic Installation (Recommended) Run the installation script to build, install, and configure your PATH automatically:

   chmod +x install.sh
   ./install.sh

   Option B: Manual Installation

   cargo install --path .

   Add the binary path to your shell configuration (e.g., .zshrc, .bashrc):

   export PATH="$HOME/.cargo/bin:$PATH"

4. Run:

   meow filename.txt

Customization

The editor looks for a configuration file at ~/.config/meow/config.toml (global) or .config/config.toml (local override).

Default Configuration

[editor]
line_numbers = true
mouse_support = true
theme = "dracula" # Set your preferred theme here

[theme]
background = "#1e1e1e"
foreground = "#ffffff"
cursor = "#cccccc"
selection_bg = "#3e4451"

Keybindings

Normal Mode

• h, j, k, l or Arrow Keys: Move cursor Left, Down, Up, Right.
• i: Enter Insert Mode.
• v: Enter Visual Mode.
• x: Delete character under cursor.
• p: Paste from system clipboard.
• /: Enter Search Mode.
• n / N: Next / Previous search match.
• :; Enter Command Mode.
• Scrolling function

Insert Mode

• Esc: Return to Normal Mode.
• Arrow Keys: Navigate while typing.
• Backspace: Delete characters (merges lines if at start).
• Auto-Completion:
  • Typing triggers suggestions.
  • Up / Down: Navigate suggestions.
  • Tab / Enter: Select suggestion.
• Type normal characters to insert them.

Visual Mode

• Move cursor or Arrow Keys to select text.
• y: Yank (Copy) selection to system clipboard.
• d: Delete selection.
• x: Cut selection (Copy to clipboard and delete).
• Esc: Return to Normal Mode.

Command Mode

• :w or :w <filename>: Save file.
• :q: Quit (unsaved changes will be lost immediately in this version).
• :wq: Save and Quit.

Open DOCUMENTATION.md for user docs, or STUDY_GUIDE.md for a deep dive architectural manual.