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.