List All Neovim Instances

Purpose

Display all running neovim instances with their working directories, socket paths, and process IDs. Useful for understanding which projects have active editors and troubleshooting multi-project setups.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when the user wants to see all neovim instances across all projects:

"List all neovim instances"
"Show me all running nvim"
"What neovim processes are active?"
"Which projects have editors open?"
"Show all active neovim sessions"

Active Instances (Auto-Captured)

Total Instances: !nvr --serverlist 2>/dev/null | wc -l Current Directory: !pwd

How to Use

Invoke the list script:

bash $CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT/skills/list/scripts/list.sh

No arguments needed - the script discovers and lists all active neovim instances.

Success Output

When instances are found:

Active neovim instances:

[/home/user/project-A]
  Socket: /run/user/1000/nvim.123.0
  PID: 123

[/home/user/project-B]
  Socket: /run/user/1000/nvim.456.0
  PID: 456

Present this information to the user, optionally highlighting which instance corresponds to the current working directory.

No Instances Output

When no instances are running:

No neovim instances found

Inform the user that no neovim processes are currently running and suggest starting neovim if needed.

Use Cases

Use Case 1: Multi-Project Overview

User: "Show me all my neovim instances" Action: Run list script Response: Display all instances with their project directories

Use Case 2: Troubleshooting Wrong Instance

User: "Why is the wrong neovim opening my files?" Action: Run list script to show all instances Response: Help user identify which instance is for which project

Use Case 3: Before Starting New Instance

User: "Should I start neovim for this project?" Action: Run list script to check existing instances Response: Show if an instance already exists for this project or directory

Use Case 4: Understanding Project Layout

User: "Which projects am I working on?" Action: Run list script to see all active projects Response: Show all projects with open neovim instances

Implementation Details

The list script:

Checks if nvr is installed
Queries all active sockets: nvr --serverlist
For each socket, queries:
- Working directory: nvr --remote-expr 'getcwd()'
- Process ID: nvr --remote-expr 'getpid()'
Formats and displays all instances

Interpreting Results

Identifying Current Project

When displaying results, indicate which instance corresponds to the current working directory:

Active neovim instances:

[/home/user/project-A] ← Current directory
  Socket: /run/user/1000/nvim.123.0
  PID: 123

[/home/user/project-B]
  Socket: /run/user/1000/nvim.456.0
  PID: 456

Multiple Instances Same Directory

If multiple instances have the same working directory:

Active neovim instances:

[/home/user/project-A]
  Socket: /run/user/1000/nvim.123.0
  PID: 123

[/home/user/project-A]
  Socket: /run/user/1000/nvim.789.0
  PID: 789

Inform the user that multiple instances exist for the same directory. The nvr-discover utility will use the first match.

Manual Invocation

Users can manually invoke this skill:

/nvr:list

Show the results directly in a clear, formatted manner.

Related Skills

nvr:status - Show only the active instance for current directory
nvr:open - Open files in the discovered instance
nvr:workspace - Show current workspace with neovim info

Presenting Results

Format the output clearly:

Show total count first: "You have 3 neovim instances running:"
List each instance with its project directory
Highlight the current directory's instance if applicable
Note if no instances found

Combining with Other Skills

After listing instances:

If user wants details about current instance, suggest /nvr:status
If user wants to open a file, proceed with /nvr:open
If user wants full workspace context, suggest /nvr:workspace

Error Handling

nvr Not Installed

If nvr is not available:

Error: nvr not found

Inform the user they need to install neovim-remote:

pip install neovim-remote

Socket Communication Failure

If a socket exists but doesn't respond:

Skip that socket
Continue listing other instances
Note the issue to the user if all sockets fail

Summary

Use this skill to provide a comprehensive overview of all running neovim instances. It's particularly useful for multi-project workflows and troubleshooting editor connectivity across different projects.

nvr-list