Dashboard, UI & Notifications

All UI elements in LazyVim are controlled entirely via keyboard. This page covers every UI component and how to use them without touching the mouse.

Dashboard

The dashboard appears when you open Neovim with no file. It provides quick access to common actions:

┌──────────────────────────────────────┐
│                                      │
│        ██╗      █████╗ ...          │
│        ██║     ██╔══██╗ ...         │
│        ...  LazyVim logo ...         │
│                                      │
│    f  Find File                     │
│    n  New File                      │
│    g  Find Text                     │
│    r  Recent Files                  │
│    c  Config                        │
│    s  Restore Session               │
│    x  Lazy Extras                   │
│  󰒲  l  Lazy                          │
│    q  Quit                          │
│                                      │
└──────────────────────────────────────┘

Dashboard Keys (Keyboard)

Key	Action
f	Find files (Telescope/Snacks picker)
n	New file
g	Find text (grep)
r	Recent files
c	Open config (~/.config/nvim)
s	Restore last session
x	Open LazyExtras browser
l	Open Lazy plugin manager
q	Quit Neovim

Customize the Dashboard

lua/plugins/dashboard.lua

return {
  "snacks.nvim",
  opts = {
    dashboard = {
      preset = {
        -- Custom header ASCII art
        header = [[
          ╔══════════════════════════════╗
          ║     MY NEOVIM CONFIG         ║
          ╚══════════════════════════════╝
        ]],
        -- Custom key entries
        keys = {
          { icon = " ", key = "f", desc = "Find File", action = ":lua Snacks.dashboard.pick('files')" },
          { icon = " ", key = "n", desc = "New File", action = ":ene | startinsert" },
          { icon = " ", key = "g", desc = "Find Text", action = ":lua Snacks.dashboard.pick('live_grep')" },
          { icon = " ", key = "r", desc = "Recent Files", action = ":lua Snacks.dashboard.pick('oldfiles')" },
          { icon = " ", key = "c", desc = "Config", action = ":lua Snacks.dashboard.pick('files', {cwd = vim.fn.stdpath('config')})" },
          { icon = " ", key = "s", desc = "Restore Session", section = "session" },
          { icon = " ", key = "x", desc = "Lazy Extras", action = ":LazyExtras" },
          { icon = "󰒲 ", key = "l", desc = "Lazy", action = ":Lazy" },
          { icon = " ", key = "q", desc = "Quit", action = ":qa" },
        },
      },
    },
  },
}

Alternative Dashboards

Enable via extras:

{ import = "lazyvim.plugins.extras.ui.alpha" }        -- Alpha dashboard
{ import = "lazyvim.plugins.extras.ui.mini-starter" }  -- Mini starter

Bufferline (Tab Bar)

Bufferline shows open buffers as tabs at the top. It shows filetype icons, diagnostics, and modified indicators.

Keyboard Buffer Management

Key	Action
<S-h>	Previous buffer
<S-l>	Next buffer
[b	Previous buffer
]b	Next buffer
<leader>bb	Switch to last buffer
<leader>bd	Delete current buffer
<leader>bo	Delete other buffers
<leader>bi	Delete invisible buffers
<leader>bD	Delete buffer and close window
<leader>bp	Pin buffer
<leader>bP	Delete all non-pinned buffers
<leader>bl	Delete buffers to the left
<leader>br	Delete buffers to the right
<leader>bj	Pick buffer (fuzzy)

Pin Buffers

Pinning protects buffers from bulk delete.

1. Open the buffer you want to keep
2. <leader>bp to pin it (appears with a pin icon)
3. <leader>bP deletes all unpinned buffers at once

Buffer Navigation Workflow

With many files open:

<S-l>           ← Move forward one buffer
<S-h>           ← Move backward
<leader>bj      ← Type buffer name to jump directly
<leader>bb      ← Toggle between two files
<leader>bd      ← Close current buffer when done

Lualine (Statusline)

Lualine displays information at the bottom of the screen in three areas: left, center (global), right.

Statusline Sections

[NORMAL] [main] [~/project/src/app.py] [✕ 3 ⚠ 2] [git:main] [+1 ~0 -0] [14:25] [ 14:30]
   ↑mode    ↑branch   ↑file path            ↑diagnostics   ↑git       ↑diff     ↑line:col  ↑clock

Section	Shows	Purpose
lualine_a	Mode	NORMAL, INSERT, VISUAL, etc.
lualine_b	Git branch	Current branch name
lualine_c	Root dir, diagnostics, file icon, file path, Trouble symbols	Buffer context
lualine_x	Profiler, Noice command/mode, DAP status, updates, git diff	Status indicators
lualine_y	Progress, line:column	Cursor location
lualine_z	Current time	Clock

Statusline Is Keyboard-Readable

• Mode: Tells you what mode you are in without looking at the cursor
• Diagnostics: See ✕ 3 ⚠ 2 means 3 errors, 2 warnings
• Git branch: Shows main, feature/xyz, etc.
• Diff: +1 ~0 -0 = 1 added, 0 modified, 0 removed lines
• Plugin updates: Shows when updates are available

Customize the Statusline

lua/plugins/statusline.lua

return {
  "nvim-lualine/lualine.nvim",
  opts = function(_, opts)
    -- Add a custom section
    table.insert(opts.sections.lualine_x, {
      function() return "📦" end,
    })
  end,
}

Noice (Notifications & Messages)

Noice replaces the default command-line and message UI with a modern overlay.

Keyboard Notification Controls

Key	Action
<leader>n	Show notification history
<leader>un	Dismiss all visible notifications
<leader>snl	Show last notification
<leader>snh	Show full notification history
<leader>sna	Show all (history + current)
<leader>snd	Dismiss all
<leader>snt	Open notification picker (Telescope/Snacks)

Command-Line Mode

Noice enhances the command line (: mode):

Key	Action
:	Opens enhanced command line (inline, not at bottom)
<S-Enter>	Redirect cmdline output to a split
<c-f> / <c-b>	Scroll forward/backward in Noice windows

Noice Presets

Noice uses presets to control behavior:

• bottom_search: Search results (/ ?) appear at bottom instead of inline
• command_palette: Command history appears as a floating palette
• long_message_to_split: Long messages open in a split instead of blocking

Daily Workflow

1. Type :command            ← Noice shows it inline near cursor
2. Press Enter              ← Command runs
3. See result as notification
4. <leader>n                ← Check notification history if needed
5. <leader>snl              ← See the last message again
6. <leader>snd              ← Dismiss all when clutter builds up

UI Toggles (Keyboard)

These toggle various UI elements. All start with <leader>u:

Visibility Toggles

Key	Toggle	What It Does
<leader>ul	Line Numbers	Show/hide absolute line numbers
<leader>uL	Relative Numbers	Show/hide relative line numbers
<leader>us	Spelling	Highlight misspelled words
<leader>uw	Line Wrap	Soft-wrap long lines
<leader>uc	Conceal Level	Hide/show markup characters
<leader>uA	Tabline	Show/hide the bufferline tab bar
<leader>ug	Indent Guides	Show/hide vertical indent lines
<leader>uG	Git Signs	Show/hide git change indicators
<leader>uS	Smooth Scroll	Enable/disable animated scrolling

Diagnostics Toggles

Key	Toggle	What It Does
<leader>ud	Diagnostics	Show/hide all diagnostic signs
<leader>uh	Inlay Hints	Show/hide LSP inline type hints

Visual Toggles

Key	Toggle	What It Does
<leader>ub	Dark Background	Switch between light/dark theme variant
<leader>uD	Dimming	Dim inactive windows/buffers
<leader>ua	Animations	Enable/disable snacks animations
<leader>uT	Treesitter	Enable/disable Treesitter highlighting
<leader>uC	Colorschemes	Open colorscheme picker
<leader>uz	Zen Mode	Full-screen focus mode (no tabs/status)
<leader>uZ / <leader>wm	Zoom Mode	Maximize current window

Info Toggles

Key	Action
<leader>ui	Inspect highlight group under cursor
<leader>uI	Inspect Treesitter node under cursor

Toggle Workflow

1. Open a file
2. <leader>uw           ← Toggle wrap for long lines
3. <leader>ug           ← Toggle indent guides for alignment
4. <leader>us           ← Toggle spell check for editing prose
5. <leader>uL           ← Toggle relative numbers for editing
6. <leader>uz           ← Zen mode — no distractions
7. <leader>uz again     ← Exit zen mode
8. <leader>uc           ← Cycle colorschemes to try different themes

Zoom vs Zen Mode

Mode	Key	What It Does
Zoom	<leader>wm or <leader>uZ	Maximize current window (hides other splits temporarily)
Zen	<leader>uz	Full-screen, no tabs/statusline, centered content

Both are toggles — press the same key again to restore.

UI Component Summary

Component	Purpose	Toggle/Open
Dashboard	Startup screen	Auto on nvim with no file
Bufferline	Tab bar for buffers	<leader>uA to toggle
Lualine	Statusline at bottom	Always visible
Noice	Notifications & command UI	<leader>n for history
Explorer	File tree sidebar	<leader>e
Picker	Fuzzy finder overlay	<leader>ff etc.

Related

• Picker, Explorer & Workflow
• Completion & Snippets
• LazyVim Cheatsheet