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Windows and Splits

A window is a viewport into a buffer. You can split the screen into multiple windows, each displaying a different buffer (or even the same buffer at a different position).

Core Idea

Windows are the visual frames. Buffers are the content. Multiple windows can show the same buffer — useful for comparing two sections of a long file.

Creating Splits​

:vsplit   :vs         → vertical split (side by side)
:split    :sp         → horizontal split (top/bottom)
:vsplit filename      → vertical split opening file
:split filename       → horizontal split opening file

Keybindings​

Ctrl+w v     → vertical split
Ctrl+w s     → horizontal split
Ctrl+w n     → new empty vertical split
Ctrl+w h     → focus window left
Ctrl+w l     → focus window right
Ctrl+w j     → focus window below
Ctrl+w k     → focus window above
Ctrl+w w     → cycle to next window
Ctrl+w p     → previous (last focused) window

Vim-style Navigation Keymaps​

~/.config/nvim/lua/config/keymaps.lua
-- Navigate splits like tmux panes
vim.keymap.set('n', '<C-h>', '<C-w>h', { desc = "Window left" })
vim.keymap.set('n', '<C-l>', '<C-w>l', { desc = "Window right" })
vim.keymap.set('n', '<C-j>', '<C-w>j', { desc = "Window below" })
vim.keymap.set('n', '<C-k>', '<C-w>k', { desc = "Window above" })

Resizing Windows​

Ctrl+w +     → increase height
Ctrl+w -     → decrease height
Ctrl+w >     → increase width
Ctrl+w <     → decrease width
Ctrl+w =     → equalize all window sizes
:resize 30       → set height to 30 lines
:vertical resize 80   → set width to 80 columns

Moving Windows​

Ctrl+w H     → move window to far left
Ctrl+w L     → move window to far right
Ctrl+w J     → move window to bottom
Ctrl+w K     → move window to top
Ctrl+w r     → rotate windows
Ctrl+w x     → exchange current window with next

Closing Windows​

Ctrl+w q     → close current window (close buffer if only window)
Ctrl+w c     → close current window (buffer stays in list)
Ctrl+w o     → close all OTHER windows (only show current)
:only        → keep only current window

Opening the Same Buffer in Two Windows​

Useful for comparing two sections of a long file:

:vsplit      → creates a second window of same file
Now scroll each window independently

Diff Mode​

Compare two files side by side:

nvim -d file1.lua file2.lua

Or from inside Neovim:

:windo diffthis    → diff all visible windows
:diffoff           → turn off diff
:diffupdate        → refresh diff

Navigation in diff mode:

]c    → next diff change
[c    → previous diff change
do    → diff obtain (pull from other side)
dp    → diff put (push to other side)

Window Layout Example​

┌──────────────────┬──────────────────┐
│                  │   file2.lua      │
│   file1.lua      ├──────────────────┤
│                  │   terminal       │
└──────────────────┴──────────────────┘

Commands to create this:
:vs file2.lua    (right split)
Ctrl+w j         (or open terminal in bottom-right)
:sp | terminal   (horizontal split in right column)

In LazyVim​

LazyVim Context

LazyVim uses the exact same window splitting commands as Vanilla Neovim. However, it provides enhanced window navigation and resizing keymaps out-of-the-box, making it much faster to manage your layout.

AspectVanilla NeovimLazyVim
Navigate Windows<C-w>h/j/k/l<C-h>/<C-j>/<C-k>/<C-l> (Directly, no <C-w> prefix)
Split Window:vsplit / :split<leader>- (Horizontal) / <leader>| (Vertical)
Resize Window<C-w>+ / <C-w><<C-Up> / <C-Down> / <C-Left> / <C-Right>
Close Window<C-w>q or <C-w>c<leader>wd

What's Next​