similar tools

[es183923]

You can check out Vimac and kindaVim.
Vimac does something slightly different, but you could take a look at its scrolling feature.
KindaVim is closed source, but you can check out how it works, and as an idea for how to implement certain features.

[FelixKratz]

I am not sure currently what the scope of this project is. I created this on two weekends, basically because I wanted
something like this for myself and was not happy with the implementation of prior approaches (rebuilding vim movements
by hand, no customizability, closed source, slow code etc.).

I will, however, not reiterate the work of prior projects, so I will not do any manual key combination overrides for textfields
that don't properly support the accessibility api (like vimMode.spoon, kindaVim, etc.) and I will not create a
system wide hinting mode (like vimac).

What I could imagine doing (because I want that for myself as well) is some simple keyboard centric navigation in
scroll views etc. This is already roughly implemented, but commented out

SketchyVim/src/ax.c

Line 226 in 36157ae

// NOTE: Disabled for now, till keys are infered from mapping

.
I would infer the movement keys from the vim configuration, so that it all is consistent.

I would appreciate some feedback if you have further ideas.

[es183923]

I'm just providing some examples of similar software that you can use as a sort of guide or as ideas. This also allows other users of SketchyVim to find alternatives that may better suit their needs.

[FelixKratz]

I have now opened the discussion section, there we can have more discussions like this.

[suliveevil]

vim-elsewhere app/manipulate GUI elements vim-way

Vimac aims to enhance Safari browsing.

KindaVim aims to reduce mouse/trackpad use when using the system.
They are both vim-elsewhere app and good at GUI instead of text editing.

text edit

SketchyVim is dealing with text edit outside Vim.
We all know Vim is the god of text editor, this is what makes SketchyVim brilliant and unique.

With SketchyVim you don't have to copy and paste text from your text edit field/area to Vim for editing then copy and paste back again, whether manually or using some automation workflow, because Vim is living in your text edit field/area !

[godbout]

to click somewhere you need Vimac yeah. kV is primarily Vim in text. but you can use it in UI too. so to go down dropdown, lists, emails, etc. you enter Normal Mode and press j, or G, etc. you delete your emails with dd, blah blah blah. the README has plenty of GIF, and there's a bunch of YouTube videos. but if you've missed this that's probably coz kV is not what you're looking for. that's all good.

[godbout]

btw @suliveevil you may want to check Vimari: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/vimari/id1480933944?mt=12
it's Vimium but for Safari. Vimac is Vimium for the whole macOS. Vimari is way, way faster than Vimac.

[FelixKratz]

kindaVim is a very nice app. And for most people the approach you are following is totally sufficient, but I have some special
vim mappings (jklö homerow movement ß=$ etc. for my german keyboard layout) and use the "more advanced" vim commands
a lot (selection commands, regex replace, etc.) such that all prior approaches (vimMode.spoon, kindaVim, etc.) felt short on that.
Apart from that, the idea to use the vim core to handle all the moves felt really elegant and nobody ever did it, so I wanted to do it.

That being said, kindaVim is a closed source commercial product and naturally the "polish" is different.
I will never include a GUI and expect the user to know a fair bit about how the system and my code works.
So I think the target audience of kindaVim and svim is very different.

[godbout]

So I think the target audience of kindaVim and svim is very different.

totally agreed.

for sure svim, in input fields that handle the macOS Accessibility, is golden. unbeatable. i wonder why people who are on macOS would still use browsers plugins like firenvim etc.

when i started in Oct 2020 i went the same way as yours, using a Vim backend. but i ended up spending more time having to troubleshoot stuff that were out of my control. and my ultimate goal was to deal with UI and non-accessible input fields too. this plus the fact that from day one it was decided this would be a commercial product that i will work on until i run out of money or lifetime, i decided to start from scratch, just by using Apple's APIs. so if i had to deal with stuff out of my control, at least it was due to the lowest level of macOS. it's a lot of work but also a lot of fun and meaning. and i've learned a lot about the quirks of Vim and Vim moves too. but yeah, that wasn't two weekends, that is 1.5 years 7 days a week 😂️😂️😂️ (-10/15 days of hangovers and migraines).

anyways, congrats on svim! 🥳️

P.S.: oh and yes. reading vimrcs, tougher moves, other modes etc. are in the plans. not sure which decade yet though...

[Bellavene]

I have KindaVim installed on my macOS, haven't got used to it. For example, I don't know how to use KindaVim click on this text field/area then write this reply. Vimac is a Safari-easymotion plugin for me, I'm quite satisfied with it, and I'm clicking the "Reply" button now.

For such use cases, vimium-c is even better, but sadly only for chromium browsers. It can a lot.

As for KindaVim, I was gladly trying it two years ago. And just was explaining godbout my thought's on the payment methods he has chosen, on homerow's discussion git page (another similar software). And he blasted furiously for no reason, after 30 min there was a spam attack on my email. I don't believe that it was a coincidence. So beware.

[godbout]

KindaVim is closed source, but you can check out how it works, and as an idea for how to implement certain features.

all the tests regarding the macOS Accessibility are open source: https://github.com/godbout/AccessibilityStrategyTestApp