📊 videre.nvim

June 24, 2026 · View on GitHub

Many editors have the option to view JSON, TOML, & YAML files as a graph. Neovim, with a terminal interface, does not have this luxury. While one can't create an interface like JSON Crack, it is possible to build a similar JSON explorer using Neovim's terminal interface.

╭──────────────────┬──╮ ╭──┬──┬──────────────────────────────────╮ ╭──┬──────┬───────────╮
│            Videre│[]├─╯  │ 1│··········"This is a great plugin"│ │  │  user│·"will try"│
│           Example│{}├─╮  │ 2│·············"Look at this number"│ │  │isTrue│"100% True"│
╰──────────────────┴──╯ │  │ 3│······························3467│ │  ╰──────┴───────────╯
                        │  │ 4│······························null│ │
                        │  │ 5│···"The Next lines will be hidden"│ │
                        │  ╪.....................................│ │
                        │  ╰──┴──────────────────────────────────╯ │
                        │                                          │
                        ╰──┬────────────┬────────────────────────╮ │
                           │ empty_array│······················[]│ │
                           │ empty_table│······················{}│ │
                           │        test│"This is some test data"├─╯
                           ╰────────────┴────────────────────────╯

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/e2e6d49a-4ab8-4718-a2a2-7839ca1ba4e2

🛠️ Features

Algorithmic Graph Rendering
Collapsible Units
Jumping Between Linked Units
Set Any Unit as Root
Customizable Styles
Support for Different Filetypes

⚙️ Setup

lazy.nvim (Suggested Setup): https://github.com/folke/lazy.nvim

return {
    "Owen-Dechow/videre.nvim",
    cmd = "Videre",
    dependencies = {
        "Owen-Dechow/graph_view_yaml_parser", -- Optional: add YAML support
        "Owen-Dechow/graph_view_toml_parser", -- Optional: add TOML support
        "a-usr/xml2lua.nvim", -- Optional | Experimental: add XML support
    },
    opts = {
        box_style = "sharp",
    }
}

vim.pack: https://neovim.io/doc/user/pack.html#_plugin-manager

vim.pack.add {
    "https://github.com/Owen-Dechow/videre.nvim",
    "https://github.com/Owen-Dechow/graph_view_yaml_parser", -- Optional: add YAML support
    "https://github.com/Owen-Dechow/graph_view_toml_parser", -- Optional: add TOML support
    "https://github.com/a-usr/xml2lua.nvim", -- Optional | Experimental: add XML support
}

require("videre").setup {
    box_style = "sharp",
}

🧩 Options

---@alias LineStyle "sharp"|"rounded"|"bold"|"double"
---@alias ColumnAlignment "top"|"center"|"bottom"
---@alias RowAlignment "left"|"center"|"right"

{
    ---@comment Character used between cells
    ---@type string
    outside_space = " ",

    ---@comment Character to pad the key column
    ---@type string
    key_space = " ",

    ---@comment Character to pad the value column
    ---@type string
    value_space = "·",

    ---@comment Alignment of cell columns
    ---@type ColumnAlignment
    column_alignment = "center",

    ---@comment Alignment of the keys within the cell
    ---@type RowAlignment
    key_alignment = "right",

    ---@comment Alignment of the values within the cell
    ---@type RowAlignment
    value_alignment = "right",

    ---@comment Space between connective lines (int: [0,99])
    ---@type integer
    connection_spacing = 2,

    ---@comment Space between cells (int: [0,99])
    ---@type integer
    cell_spacing = 1,

    ---@comment Number of lines shown by default in cell (int: [0,999])
    ---@type integer
    max_cell_lines = 5,

    ---@comment Character used to indicate call values beyond `max_cell_lines`
    ---@type string
    collapse_indication_character = ".",

    ---@comment Style of the connective lines
    ---@type LineStyle
    box_style = "rounded",

    ---@comment Style of the cells
    ---@type LineStyle
    line_style = "rounded",

    ---@comment Width of the editing character (int: [6, 999])
    ---@type integer
    editor_window_width = 60,

    ---@comment Number of spaces each tab character expands to (int: [1,16])
    ---@type integer
    tab_width = 4,

    ---@comment Toggle expansion of \t character
    ---@type boolean
    expand_tabs = false,

    ---@comment Toggle expansion of \n and \r\n characters
    ---@type boolean
    expand_newlines = false,

    ---@comment Max display width of string values in characters; 0 disables wrapping (int: [0, 9999])
    ---@type integer
    max_line_width = 40,

    keymaps = {
        ---@comment Expand lines beyond `max_cell_lines`
        ---@type string
        expand = "E",

        ---@comment Collapse lines beyond `max_cell_lines`
        ---@type string
        collapse = "E",

        ---@comment Move cursor to linked cell
        ---@type string
        jump_forward = "L",

        ---@comment Move cursor to parent cell
        ---@type string
        jump_back = "H",

        ---@comment Move cursor to cell above in cell column
        ---@type string
        jump_down = "J",

        ---@comment Move cursor to cell below in cell column
        ---@type string
        jump_up = "K",

        ---@comment Set cell as root cell
        ---@type string
        set_as_root = "R",

        ---@comment Return to the true root cell
        ---@type string
        return_to_parent_table = "H",

        ---@comment Change the key of a value
        ---@type string
        change_key = "C",

        ---@comment Change a value
        ---@type string
        change_value = "V",

        ---@comment Delete a value
        ---@type string
        delete_value = "D",

        ---@comment Add a value
        ---@type string
        add_value = "A",

        ---@comment Toggle type of cell between array-like and object-like
        ---@type string
        change_type = "T",

        ---@comment Undo a change 
        ---@type string
        undo = "u",

        ---@comment Redo a change i.e. undo an undo
        ---@type string
        redo = "<C-r>",

        ---@comment Open help menu
        ---@type string
        help = "g?",

        ---@comment Exit
        ---@type string
        close_window = "q",
    },

    ---@comment Type of window Videre will open in
    ---@type "split"|"floating"
    editor_type = "split",

    ---@comment Styles of floating window
    floating_editor_style = {
        ---@comment Space around floating window
        ---@type integer
        margin = 2,

        ---@comment Floating window border type
        ---@type "rounded"|"double"|"shadow"|"none"
        border = "rounded",

        ---@comment Floating window z-index
        ---@type integer
        zindex = 10
    },

    ---@comment Styles of v-split window
    split_editor_style = {
        ---@comment Where to open Videre
        ---@type "left"|"right"|"default"
        side = "right",

        ---@comment What percentage of window Videre covers (num: [0.1, 0.9])
        ---@type number
        fill_percentage = 0.7,
    },

    ---@comment Side scrolloff for Videre window (int: [0, 999])
    ---@type integer
    sidescrolloff = 20,

    ---@comment Scrolloff for Videre window (int: [0, 999])
    ---@type integer
    scrolloff = 10,

    ---@comment Set the indexing base i.e. 0, 1 or whatever else you want
    ---@type integer
    index_base = 0,
}

🚀 Running

To open a graph view, go to a json file and run :Videre. The Videre window will open in a plit window to the right. The Videre buffer will have a filetype of Videre.

✏️ Editing

The following actions are allowed for editing:

Adding fields
Deleting fields
Changing key of field
Changing value fo field
Toggling type of cell between array and object

🗂️ Different File Types

To enable different filetypes just add the correct parser plugin. Videre will automatically detect the installed plugin and allow you to explore that filetype.

Here are a list of supported parsers:

JSON: builtin
YAML: graph_view_yaml_parser
TOML: graph_view_toml_parser
XML (Experimental): xml2lua.nvim

If you would like to add a parser please open an issue or contribute a PR.

📄 License

🤝 Contributions

Contributions to this software are greatly appreciated. Please read CONTRIBUTING.md for further guidelines.