Neovim support for Factor

A Neovim plugin for the Factor programming language, providing vocabulary navigation, syntax highlighting, and auto-pairing support.

Features

• Vocabulary Navigation: Quickly navigate between Factor vocabularies and their related files (implementation, docs, tests)
• Syntax Highlighting: Full syntax highlighting for Factor code
• Auto-pairing: Smart bracket, quote, and parenthesis pairing (optional)
• File Type Detection: Automatic detection of Factor files and proper filetype setting
• Vocabulary Roots: Support for multiple vocabulary roots including custom paths

Installation

Using lazy.nvim

{
  "factor/factor.nvim",
  ft = { "factor", "factor.factor-docs" },
  config = function()
    require("factor").setup({
      -- Configuration options (see below)
    })
  end
}

Using packer.nvim

use {
  "factor/factor.nvim",
  ft = { "factor", "factor.factor-docs" },
  config = function()
    require("factor").setup({
      -- Configuration options (see below)
    })
  end
}

Configuration

The plugin can be configured by calling the setup function:

require("factor").setup({
  -- Path to your Factor installation (default: ~/factor/)
  resource_path = vim.fn.expand("~/factor/"),
  
  -- Default vocabulary roots
  default_vocab_roots = {
    "resource:core",
    "resource:basis", 
    "resource:extra",
    "resource:work"
  },
  
  -- Additional vocabulary roots (can also be set in ~/.factor-roots)
  additional_vocab_roots = nil,
  
  -- Function to determine the root for new vocabularies
  new_vocab_root = function()
    return "resource:work"
  end,
  
  -- Enable smart auto-pairing of brackets, quotes, etc.
  enable_autopairs = false,

  -- Install buffer-local navigation mappings in Factor buffers
  default_mappings = true,
  
  -- Characters to escape in glob patterns
  glob_escape = vim.loop.os_uname().sysname == "Windows" and "*[]?`{$" or "*[]?`{$\\"
})

Key Mappings

The plugin provides the following buffer-local mappings in Factor files. Existing mappings take precedence. Set default_mappings = false to disable these defaults and use commands or your own mappings.

Key	Description
<Leader>fi	Go to vocabulary implementation file
<Leader>fd	Go to vocabulary documentation file
<Leader>ft	Go to vocabulary tests file
<Leader>fv	Start :FactorVocab on the command line
<Leader>fn	Start :NewFactorVocab on the command line

Commands

Command	Description
:FactorVocab <name>	Navigate to a vocabulary by name
:NewFactorVocab <name>	Create a new vocabulary
:FactorVocabImpl	Go to the implementation file of the current vocabulary
:FactorVocabDocs	Go to the documentation file of the current vocabulary
:FactorVocabTests	Go to the tests file of the current vocabulary

Auto-pairing

When enable_autopairs is set to true, the plugin provides intelligent auto-pairing:

• [ → [] with cursor in between
• ( → () with cursor in between
• { → {} with cursor in between
• " → "" with cursor in between
• [ + = → [=|=] for literal arrays
• ( + Space → ( -- ) for stack effects
• Pressing Space inside brackets adds padding: [] → [ | ]
• Pressing Enter inside brackets creates a multi-line block
• Backspace intelligently removes paired characters

Existing insert mappings take precedence. Auto-pairing also removes trailing spaces before saving Factor buffers. Mappings and options are cleaned up when a buffer changes filetype.

File Structure

The plugin recognizes the following Factor file conventions:

• *.factor - Factor source files
• *-docs.factor - Documentation files
• *-tests.factor - Test files
• .factor-rc, factor-rc - Factor RC files
• ~/.factor-roots - File containing additional vocabulary roots

Vocabulary Roots

The plugin searches for vocabularies in the following locations:

1. Standard Factor directories (core, basis, extra, work) under your Factor installation
2. Custom paths defined in ~/.factor-roots (one path per line)
3. An explicit additional_vocab_roots list overrides ~/.factor-roots

Vocabulary roots can be specified using:

• resource: prefix - relative to Factor installation directory
• vocab: prefix - search in all vocabulary roots
• Absolute paths

resource_path accepts paths with or without a trailing separator. Calling setup() invalidates cached vocabulary roots. Configure mapping and pairing options before opening Factor files; reload a buffer's filetype to apply those options to an existing buffer.

See :help factor.txt for commands, counts, and configuration details.

Regenerating syntax definitions

From this directory, run the Factor language executable:

factor syntax/factor/generated.factor > syntax/factor/generated.vim

Use its full path if your system also has the Unix factor utility.

Development

Run the headless regression tests with Neovim:

sh tests/run.sh
# Or select a particular executable:
NVIM=/path/to/nvim sh tests/run.sh

CI runs the suite on Neovim 0.7.0 and 0.12.5.

Requirements

• Neovim 0.7.0 or higher
• Factor programming language (only for regenerating syntax definitions)

Credits

Based on the original factor.vim Vimscript plugin.