We recently, June 2016, started to migrate the MacVim backend (VimR-MacVim) to a NeoVim backend. It's a complete rewrite in Swift for which we use Objective-C when appropriate. We experimented with NeoVim a bit ([nvox](https://github.com/qvacua/nvox)) and now we are confident enough to think that VimR can be backed by NeoVim. It will take some time though till the transition/rewrite is complete. Bear with us!
If you are here for VimR-MacVim, use the [macvim/master](https://github.com/qvacua/vimr/tree/macvim/master) branch and the version [0.8.0 (32)](https://github.com/qvacua/vimr/releases/tag/v0.8.0-32).
Project VimR is an attempt to refine the Vim experience. The goal is to build an editor that uses NeoVim inside with many of the convenience GUI features similar to those present in modern editors.
There are other working NeoVim GUIs for OS X, e.g. [NyaoVim](https://github.com/rhysd/NyaoVim), [neovim-dot-app](https://github.com/rogual/neovim-dot-app), etc., why another?
- play around (obviously) with [NeoVim](https://github.com/qvacua/neovim),
- play around with Swift (and especially with [RxSwift](https://github.com/ReactiveX/RxSwift)) and
[SwiftNeoVim](https://github.com/qvacua/vimr/tree/master/SwiftNeoVim) is VimR's Cocoa Framework which bundles everything, e.g. NeoVim's `runtime`-files, needed to embed NeoVim in a Cocoa App. It is really easy to embed NeoVim in your own App: Just add an instance of `NeoVimView` somewhere in your App and that's it! 😎 (You can treat it as any other `NSView`-subclasses)
If you want to support VimR financially, you can use [Bountysource](https://www.bountysource.com/teams/vimr). Big thanks to [all](https://www.bountysource.com/teams/vimr/backers) who did support: We've spent the first 99€ for a year's worth of Apple's Developer Program as you may have noticed from the code-signed snapshot builds. Seriously you guys@Apple; You should make it free for free App makers and open source developers.
The following are features we _plan_ to implement (some of which are already present in VimR-MacVim). Bear in mind that we only recently started to completely rewrite VimR, which means it will take some time to have them all implemented. In no particular order:
* Improved rendering and input handling, especially Hangul/Hanja (Why is Korean so important? 🤔): The current implementation is really ugly and messy...
* File browser
* Preview for some file types, e.g. Markdown, HTML, etc.
* ...
We will gradually create [issues](https://github.com/qvacua/vimr/issues) with more details.
### Stuff with Question Marks
* Minimap
* Some kind of plugin system which utilizes the preview and the workspace model (does NSBundle-loading work in Swift, too? If yes, how does it go with code signing?)
* The library `libiconv` is linked by the linker flag `-liconv`. The version bundled with OSX will be linked.
* The library `libintl` should be installed by `homebrew` and is statically linked by explicitly using the linker flag `/usr/local/opt/gettext/lib/libintl.a`.
* Other libraries used by NeoVim, which are automatically built by building `libnvim`, are linked by adding them to the Xcode project.