minified test

flake.nix

@@ -226,59 +226,15 @@
                       (builtins.filter (n: builtins.substring 0 12 n == "nvim_plugin-") (builtins.attrNames inputs));
                 });
 
-          # These are appended at the start of the path so that they take precedence over local install tools
+          # All runtime dependencies are now optional and checked at runtime by plugins
+          # This keeps the neovim flake lean and allows project devShells to provide tools
+          # Core dependencies that neovim itself might need can still be added here
           runtimeDependencies = with pkgs; [
-            # tools
+            # Keeping ripgrep and fd as they're core to telescope functionality
-            ripgrep # search
+            ripgrep # search - used heavily by telescope
-            fd # search
+            fd # file finding - used by telescope
-            fzf # search fuzzy
+            # All other tools (LSPs, formatters, linters, glow, sshfs, etc.) are now optional
-            tree-sitter
+            # and will show helpful errors when missing
-            glow # markdown renderer
-            curl # http requests
-            sshfs # remote dev for nosduco/remote-sshfs.nvim
-            # nodePackages.cspell TODO check out `typos` rust checker instead?
-          ];
-
-          # These are appended at the end of the PATH so any local installed tools will take precedence
-          defaultRuntimeDependencies = with pkgs; [
-            # linters
-            markdownlint-cli
-            biome # (t|s)j[x]
-            # formatters
-            stylua
-            nixfmt-rfc-style
-            nodePackages.prettier
-            rustywind
-            markdownlint-cli2
-            sql-formatter
-            libsForQt5.qt5.qtdeclarative # qmlformat
-            # LSPs
-            # python312Packages.tiktoken # needed for copilot chat
-            nil # nix
-            lua-language-server
-            vscode-langservers-extracted # HTML/CSS/JSON/ESLint
-            nodePackages.typescript-language-server
-            nodePackages.svelte-language-server
-            tailwindcss-language-server
-            python312Packages.python-lsp-server
-            rust-analyzer
-            marksman # markdown
-            taplo # toml
-            yaml-language-server
-            lemminx # xml
-            gopls # go
-            # ocamlPackages.ocaml-lsp # ocaml
-            # Other
-            typescript
-            nodejs_24
-            clang
-            # zig
-            (pkgs.rust-bin.stable.latest.default.override {
-              extensions = [
-                "rust-src"
-                "rust-analyzer"
-              ];
-            })
           ];
 
         in
@@ -299,16 +255,12 @@
                 generatedWrapperArgs =
                   old.generatedWrapperArgs or [ ]
                   ++ [
-                    # Add runtime dependencies to neovim path
+                    # Add minimal runtime dependencies to neovim path
-                    "--prefix"
+                    # Most tools are now optional and checked at runtime
-                    "PATH"
-                    ":"
-                    "${lib.makeBinPath runtimeDependencies}"
-                    # Some we will suffix so we pick up the local dev shell intead and default to these otherwise
                     "--suffix"
                     "PATH"
                     ":"
-                    "${lib.makeBinPath defaultRuntimeDependencies}"
+                    "${lib.makeBinPath runtimeDependencies}"
                   ]
                   ++ [
                     # Set the LAZY env path to the nix store, see init.lua for how it is used

lua/plugins/conform_formatter.lua

@@ -50,6 +50,30 @@ end
 
 return {
 	"stevearc/conform.nvim",
+	init = function()
+		-- Check for common formatters and warn if missing
+		local formatters_to_check = {
+			{ cmd = "stylua", desc = "Lua formatting" },
+			{ cmd = "nixfmt", desc = "Nix formatting" },
+			{ cmd = "prettier", desc = "JS/TS/Svelte formatting (alternative: prettierd)" },
+			{ cmd = "rustywind", desc = "Tailwind class sorting" },
+			{ cmd = "markdownlint-cli2", desc = "Markdown formatting" },
+			{ cmd = "sql-formatter", desc = "SQL formatting" },
+			{ cmd = "rustfmt", desc = "Rust formatting" },
+		}
+		
+		for _, formatter in ipairs(formatters_to_check) do
+			if not U.cmd_executable(formatter.cmd) then
+				-- Only warn once on startup, not on every format attempt
+				vim.schedule(function()
+					vim.notify(
+						string.format("Formatter '%s' not found. Used for: %s", formatter.cmd, formatter.desc),
+						vim.log.levels.WARN
+					)
+				end)
+			end
+		end
+	end,
 	opts = {
 		-- https://github.com/stevearc/conform.nvim?tab=readme-ov-file#setup
 		notify_on_error = true,

lua/plugins/lint.lua

@@ -2,6 +2,24 @@
 return {
 	"mfussenegger/nvim-lint",
 	event = { "VeryLazy", "BufWritePost", "BufReadPost", "InsertLeave" },
+	init = function()
+		-- Check for common linters and warn if missing
+		local linters_to_check = {
+			{ cmd = "markdownlint", desc = "Markdown linting" },
+			{ cmd = "biome", desc = "JS/TS linting" },
+		}
+		
+		for _, linter in ipairs(linters_to_check) do
+			if not U.cmd_executable(linter.cmd) then
+				vim.schedule(function()
+					vim.notify(
+						string.format("Linter '%s' not found. Used for: %s", linter.cmd, linter.desc),
+						vim.log.levels.WARN
+					)
+				end)
+			end
+		end
+	end,
 	opts = {
 		-- Event to trigger linters
 		events = { "BufWritePost", "BufReadPost", "InsertLeave", "CursorHold", "CursorHoldI" },

lua/plugins/lsp.lua

@@ -219,7 +219,16 @@ return {
 			for _, server_name in ipairs(lsp_servers) do
 				local server_opts = servers[server_name] or {}
 				vim.lsp.config(server_name, server_opts)
+				-- Try to enable LSP and show helpful error if server not found
+				local ok, err = pcall(function()
 					vim.lsp.enable(server_name)
+				end)
+				if not ok then
+					vim.notify(
+						string.format("LSP '%s' failed to start. Install it in your project devShell.\nError: %s", server_name, err),
+						vim.log.levels.ERROR
+					)
+				end
 			end
 		else
 			-- TODO test this out on a non nix setup...

lua/plugins/markdown_glow.lua

@@ -1,5 +1,14 @@
 return {
   "lnc3l0t/glow.nvim",
+  init = function()
+    -- Check if glow is available
+    if not U.cmd_executable("glow") then
+      vim.notify(
+        "'glow' not found on PATH. Required for markdown preview with :Glow",
+        vim.log.levels.INFO
+      )
+    end
+  end,
   opts = {
     default_type = "keep",
   },

lua/plugins/remote-sshfs.lua

@@ -1,5 +1,14 @@
 return {
 	"nosduco/remote-sshfs.nvim",
+	init = function()
+		-- Check if sshfs is available
+		if not U.cmd_executable("sshfs") then
+			vim.notify(
+				"'sshfs' not found on PATH. Required for RemoteSSHFS commands",
+				vim.log.levels.INFO
+			)
+		end
+	end,
 	cmd = {
 		"RemoteSshfs",
 		"RemoteSSHFSConnect",

lua/plugins/telescope.lua

@@ -7,11 +7,17 @@ return {
 		{ "aznhe21/actions-preview.nvim", event = "VeryLazy" },
 	},
 	init = function()
+		-- Check for essential telescope tools
 		U.cmd_executable("rg", {
 			[false] = function()
-				vim.notify("rg not installed, live grep will not function.", 2)
+				vim.notify("'rg' (ripgrep) not found. Required for telescope live grep. Install it in your environment.", vim.log.levels.ERROR)
 			end,
 		})
+		
+		-- fd is optional but improves file finding performance
+		if not U.cmd_executable("fd") then
+			vim.notify("'fd' not found. Telescope will use 'find' instead (slower). Consider installing fd.", vim.log.levels.INFO)
+		end
 	end,
 	cmd = "Telescope",
 	opts = function()

lua/util.lua

@@ -38,6 +38,23 @@ function M.cmd_executable(cmd, callback)
 	return executable
 end
 
+-- Check if command exists and show helpful error if not
+-- @param cmd string: The command to check for
+-- @param feature_name string: Human-readable description of what needs this command
+-- @param level number: vim.log.levels (ERROR, WARN, INFO, etc.) - defaults to ERROR
+-- @return boolean: true if command exists, false otherwise
+function M.require_cmd(cmd, feature_name, level)
+	level = level or vim.log.levels.ERROR
+	if vim.fn.executable(cmd) ~= 1 then
+		vim.notify(
+			string.format("'%s' not found on PATH. Required for: %s", cmd, feature_name),
+			level
+		)
+		return false
+	end
+	return true
+end
+
 --     [1]: (string) lhs (required)
 --     [2]: (string|fun()) rhs (optional)
 --     mode: (string|string[]) mode (optional, defaults to "n")