lazy.nvim and the Lockfile

lazy.nvim and the Lockfile

Bootstrap#

lua/config/lazy.lua installs the manager itself if missing, puts it on the runtime path, and points it at your plugin specs:

local lazypath = vim.fn.stdpath("data") .. "/lazy/lazy.nvim"
-- (clone lazy.nvim into lazypath here if it does not exist)
vim.opt.rtp:prepend(lazypath)

require("lazy").setup({ spec = { { import = "plugins" } } })

import = "plugins" means: load every file in lua/plugins/ as a plugin spec. One file per concern — ui.lua, git.lua, lsp.lua — and adding a plugin never touches init.lua again.

A spec file#

lua/plugins/ui.lua:

return {
  { "nvim-lualine/lualine.nvim", opts = {} },
}

A spec is a plain Lua table returned from the file. opts = {} tells lazy to call the plugin’s setup() with those options. Specs can also declare lazy-loading triggers (event, cmd, keys, ft) so plugins cost nothing until used.

Open the manager any time:

:Lazy

The lockfile is the point#

lazy.nvim writes lazy-lock.json next to your config — every plugin pinned to an exact commit. Commit that file to your dotfiles repo and any machine rebuilds the identical editor: clone, open Neovim once, done.

That is exactly how the course companion repo works — its nvim/lazy-lock.json pins the versions used on screen, and :Lazy restore reproduces them anywhere.