p5.nvim 🎨

Better editor support for p5.js sketchspaces in Neovim.

Table of Contents

• Features
• Requirements
• Installation
• Quick Start
• Commands
• Configuration
• Auto Commands
• Keyboard Shortcuts
• Troubleshooting
• License

Features ✨

• Live Server 🚀 - Auto-reload preview in browser
• Package Management 📦 - Install contributor libraries
• Sketchspace 📁 - Minimal project structure
• GitHub Gist 🔗 - Share sketches (synced to sketchspace)
• Console 📺 - View browser logs in Neovim
• p5.js Docs 📖 - Built-in reference via snacks.picker

Requirements 📋

• Neovim >= 0.9.0
• Python 3.7+ (for development server)
• websockets Python package (python3-websockets on Debian/Ubuntu, or pip install websockets)
• curl (for console streaming)

Installation 💾

-- lazy.nvim (installs latest release)
{
  "prjctimg/p5.nvim",
  dependencies = {
    "nvim-lua/plenary.nvim",
  },
  config = function()
    require("p5").setup({})
  end
}

Quick Start 🚀

:P5 create my-sketch
:P5 server
:P5 console

Or use the interactive picker:

Commands 📖

:P5 create [name]

Create a new sketchspace.

:P5 create my-sketch
:P5 create

:P5 setup

Setup assets in current sketchspace.

Downloads files from gist (if configured), creates default sketch.js if missing, copies assets, generates libs.js, and installs configured libraries.

:P5 setup

:P5 install [libs...]

Install contributor libraries. Use picker or specify directly.

:P5 install ml5
:P5 install ml5 rita p5play
:P5 install

:P5 uninstall [libs...]

Remove installed libraries.

:P5 uninstall ml5
:P5 uninstall

:P5 server [port]

Start/stop the development server (toggle). Opens browser automatically and enables live reload.

:P5 server
:P5 server 8080

:P5 console

Toggle browser console to view console.log, errors, and warnings in Neovim.

:P5 console

:P5 sync [gist|libs]

Sync gist or libraries.

:P5 sync gist
:P5 sync libs
:P5 sync

:P5 gist [desc]

Create a GitHub Gist from your sketchspace.

:P5 gist "My awesome sketch"
:P5 gist

:P5 docs

Open p5.js documentation via snacks.picker.

:P5 docs

Configuration ⚡

require("p5").setup({
  -- Server settings
  server = {
    port = 8000,                    -- Server port
    auto_start = false,             -- Auto start server when opening sketch.js
    auto_open_browser = true,      -- Open browser automatically
    ready_timeout = 5000,           -- Server ready timeout (ms)
    fallback_ports = {8001, 8002, 8003},  -- Ports to try if default is busy

    -- Live reload settings
    live_reload = {
      enabled = true,               -- Enable live reload
      port = 12002,                -- Live reload port
      debounce_ms = 300,           -- Debounce delay
      watch_extensions = {".js", ".css", ".html", ".json"},  -- Files to watch
      exclude_dirs = {".git", "node_modules", "dist", "build"}  -- Exclude directories
    }
  },

  -- Console settings
  console = {
    position = "below",             -- Window position: below, above, left, right
    height = 10,                    -- Window height (lines)
  },

  -- Library settings
  libraries = {
    auto_update = false            -- Auto update libraries on setup
  }
})

Auto Commands 🔌

Auto-start server when opening a sketch.js file:

-- Auto-start server when opening sketch.js
vim.api.nvim_create_autocmd({ "BufEnter" }, {
  pattern = "sketch.js",
  callback = function()
    vim.cmd("P5 server")
  end
})

-- Auto-open console when server starts
vim.api.nvim_create_autocmd({ "User", "P5ServerStarted" }, {
  callback = function()
    vim.cmd("P5 console")
  end
})

Keyboard Shortcuts ⌨️

Recommended keybindings using <leader>p prefix:

-- General
vim.keymap.set("n", "<leader>p5", ":P5<CR>", { desc = "Open p5.nvim picker" })

-- Project
vim.keymap.set("n", "<leader>pc", ":P5 create ", { desc = "Create project" })
vim.keymap.set("n", "<leader>ps", ":P5 setup<CR>", { desc = "Setup project" })

-- Server
vim.keymap.set("n", "<leader>pss", ":P5 server<CR>", { desc = "Toggle server" })
vim.keymap.set("n", "<leader>pso", ":P5 console<CR>", { desc = "Toggle console" })

-- Libraries
vim.keymap.set("n", "<leader>pi", ":P5 install ", { desc = "Install library" })
vim.keymap.set("n", "<leader>pu", ":P5 uninstall ", { desc = "Uninstall library" })
vim.keymap.set("n", "<leader>pU", ":P5 sync libs<CR>", { desc = "Update libraries" })

-- Gist
vim.keymap.set("n", "<leader>pg", ":P5 gist ", { desc = "Create gist" })
vim.keymap.set("n", "<leader>pgg", ":P5 sync gist<CR>", { desc = "Sync gist" })

-- Docs
vim.keymap.set("n", "<leader>pd", ":P5 docs<CR>", { desc = "Open p5.js docs" })

Troubleshooting 🔧

Server Won't Start

Symptoms: Running :P5 server shows an error or nothing happens.

Solutions:

1. Ensure Python 3 is installed:

   python3 --version

2. Check if the port is already in use:

   lsof -i :8000

3. Try a different port:

   :P5 server 8080

4. Check Neovim notifications for specific error messages

Downloads Not Working

Library installation fails or downloads timeout.

Solutions:

1. Ensure curl is installed:

   curl --version

2. Check internet connection:

   curl -I https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com

3. Verify firewall isn't blocking localhost connections

4. Check that you're in a valid sketchspace (has p5.json)

Gist Upload/Sync Fails

:P5 gist or :P5 sync gist shows an error.

Solutions:

1. Ensure GitHub CLI is installed:

   gh --version

2. Authenticate with GitHub:

   gh auth login

3. Verify gist URL in p5.json is valid:

   :edit p5.json

4. For sync failures, the gist may have been deleted - run :P5 gist to create a new one

Library Install/Uninstall Fails

:P5 install or :P5 uninstall shows an error.

Solutions:

1. Verify you're in a sketchspace (has p5.json):

   ls p5.json

2. Check assets/libs directory is writable:

   ls -la assets/libs

3. Run setup first to initialize:

   :P5 setup

p5.json Format

{
  "version": "1.9.0",
  "libs": {
    "ml5": "latest"
  },
  "includes": ["sketch.js"],
  "gist": "https://gist.github.com/..."
}

• version: p5.js version to use
• libs: Object with library names as keys and their versions as values
• includes: Files to include in the Gist (default: ["sketch.js"])
• gist: URL of associated GitHub Gist (optional)

You can also find the project's devlog here

License 📜

(c) 2026, Dean Tarisai
This is free software, released under the GPL-3.0 license.