claude-nvim-bridge

A lightweight bridge between Neovim and Claude Code CLI, enabling real-time selection sharing without complex plugins.

Features

• Real-time selection tracking - Your Neovim selection is captured as you select
• Automatic context injection - Claude Code receives your selection when you send a message
• tmux statusbar integration - See your current selection in the tmux status bar
• Zero dependencies - Just Lua, Bash, and your existing tools
• Works with tmux - No need for Neovim splits; use your existing tmux panes

Architecture

┌─────────────────┐         ┌──────────────────────┐         ┌─────────────────┐
│     Neovim      │────────▶│  /tmp/nvim_selection │◀────────│   Claude Code   │
│  (visual mode)  │         │        .txt          │         │     (hook)      │
└─────────────────┘         └──────────────────────┘         └─────────────────┘
         │                            │
         │                            ▼
         │                   ┌──────────────────┐
         └──────────────────▶│  tmux statusbar  │
                             │   (real-time)    │
                             └──────────────────┘

Installation

Quick Install

git clone https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/claude-nvim-bridge.git
cd claude-nvim-bridge
./install.sh

Manual Install

1. Copy the Lua module to your Neovim config:

cp lua/claude-selection.lua ~/.config/nvim/lua/

2. Add to your init.lua:

require('claude-selection').setup()

3. Install Claude Code hooks:

mkdir -p ~/.claude/hooks
cp hooks/nvim-selection.sh ~/.claude/hooks/
chmod +x ~/.claude/hooks/nvim-selection.sh

4. Add to ~/.claude/settings.json:

{
  "hooks": {
    "UserPromptSubmit": [
      {
        "matcher": "",
        "hooks": [
          {
            "type": "command",
            "command": "~/.claude/hooks/nvim-selection.sh"
          }
        ]
      }
    ]
  }
}

5. (Optional) tmux statusbar integration:

cp hooks/tmux-selection.sh ~/.claude/hooks/
chmod +x ~/.claude/hooks/tmux-selection.sh

Add to ~/.tmux.conf:

# Claude selection in statusbar
set -g status-style 'bg=#1a1a1a fg=#888888'
set -g status-justify centre
set -g status-right-length 100
set -g window-status-current-format '#(~/.claude/hooks/tmux-selection.sh)'
set -g window-status-format ''
set -g status-interval 1

Reload tmux: Ctrl+b r or tmux source-file ~/.tmux.conf

Usage

1. Open Neovim in one tmux pane, Claude Code in another
2. Select text in Neovim (visual mode: v, V, or Ctrl-V)
3. The selection appears in your tmux statusbar in real-time
4. Send a message to Claude Code
5. Claude automatically sees your selection with file path and line numbers

Example of what Claude receives:

=== Neovim Selection ===
File: /path/to/file.py:42-48

def calculate_albedo(surface, wavelength):
    """Calculate surface albedo for given wavelength."""
    return surface.reflectance(wavelength)
=== End Selection ===

Configuration

Lua Options

require('claude-selection').setup({
  selection_file = '/tmp/nvim_selection.txt',  -- Where to write selections
  enable_autocmd = true,                        -- Auto-capture on cursor move
})

Customizing tmux Display

Edit ~/.claude/hooks/tmux-selection.sh to change:

• Colors (default: cyan for filename, white for content)
• Content preview length (default: 30 characters)
• Format of the display

How It Works

1. Neovim autocmd listens to CursorMoved events in visual mode
2. On each cursor movement, the current selection is written to /tmp/nvim_selection.txt
3. Claude Code hook (UserPromptSubmit) reads this file when you send a message
4. The file content is injected as context into your conversation
5. tmux statusbar (optional) polls the file every second for real-time display

Comparison with claudecode.nvim

Feature	claude-nvim-bridge	claudecode.nvim
Dependencies	None	WebSocket, snacks.nvim
Setup complexity	Simple	More complex
Real-time tracking	Yes (file-based)	Yes (WebSocket)
tmux integration	Built-in	Requires provider config
Selection injection	Via hook	Native protocol
Diff support	No	Yes
@ mentions	No	Yes

Use this if: You want a simple, hackable solution that works with tmux.

Use claudecode.nvim if: You need full IDE features (diffs, @ mentions, etc.)

Troubleshooting

Selection not appearing in Claude Code

1. Check the hook script is executable: chmod +x ~/.claude/hooks/nvim-selection.sh
2. Verify the file is being written: cat /tmp/nvim_selection.txt
3. Check Claude Code settings: cat ~/.claude/settings.json

tmux statusbar not updating

1. Reload tmux config: Ctrl+b r
2. Check script is executable: chmod +x ~/.claude/hooks/tmux-selection.sh
3. Test manually: ~/.claude/hooks/tmux-selection.sh

Selection is empty for single characters

This can happen with edge cases. Try selecting at least 2 characters.

Contributing

PRs welcome! Ideas for improvements:

• Support for multiple selection files (per-project)
• Integration with other AI tools (Copilot, Cursor, etc.)
• Vim support (not just Neovim)
• Better handling of very long selections

License

MIT License - See LICENSE

Acknowledgments

• Inspired by claudecode.nvim
• Built for use with Claude Code by Anthropic