Streamline CodeCompanion Access in Neovim with a Simple Alias

[Eckii24]

If you use CodeCompanion in Neovim for general questions or MCP integration, but find it inconvenient to always start Neovim, navigate to CodeCompanion, and work in split view, here’s a small enhancement you can try. There are other ways to achieve this, but this setup is quick and easy.

This acts as an additional "command" - your regular Neovim workflow for coding stays unchanged.

Add this to your shell config:

alias ai='CC_LAYOUT_OVERRIDE=buffer nvim +"CodeCompanionChat Toggle"'

And make sure your CodeCompanion config supports layout overrides:

opts = function()
  local layout = vim.env.CC_LAYOUT_OVERRIDE or "vertical"
  return {
    display = {
      chat = {
        window = {
          layout = layout,
        },
      },
    },
    -- other config...
  }
end

Benefits:

• Instantly open CodeCompanion chat in buffer layout
• Great for general questions and MCP workflows
• Minimal setup; just type ai in your terminal
• Your usual Neovim coding experience remains unchanged