README.md

January 5, 2026 · View on GitHub

😺 vim-kitty

(Neo)vim syntax highlighting for Kitty terminal configuration and session files.

Deprecation Notice

Note

Neovim v0.12+ now includes native Kitty syntax highlighting.

If you still find this plugin useful (e.g., for Vim support or keyword validation), let me know—I'll keep it updated. Otherwise, consider this project in maintenance mode and direct contributions to the Neovim project instead.

Keywords based on v0.44.0.

See screenshot for a visual explanation of what this plugin does.

Filetype detection

Any *.conf or *.session files in kitty's configuration directory is considered.

You can always add # vim:ft=kitty at the beginning of any file to make sure the syntax is loaded, or you can set it temporarily with :set ft=kitty.

Installation

lazy.nvim

Important

Lazy.nvim only works in Neovim and is the recommended method for it.

{
    "fladson/vim-kitty",
    ft = "kitty",
    tag = "*"  -- You can select a tagged version
}

vim-plug

Note

Recommended method for Vim. Also works in Neovim but this is Vimscript.

" You can select a tagged version
Plug 'fladson/vim-kitty', { 'tag': '*' }

Manual

For Vim:

git clone https://github.com/fladson/vim-kitty.git /tmp/vim-kitty
mkdir -p ~/.vim/after/syntax/
mv /tmp/vim-kitty/syntax/* ~/.vim/after/syntax/
rm -rf /tmp/vim-kitty

For Neovim:

git clone https://github.com/fladson/vim-kitty.git /tmp/vim-kitty
mkdir -p ~/.config/nvim/syntax
mkdir -p ~/.config/nvim/ftdetect
mkdir -p ~/.config/nvim/ftplugin
mv /tmp/vim-kitty/syntax/* ~/.config/nvim/syntax
mv /tmp/vim-kitty/ftdetect/kitty.vim ~/.config/nvim/ftdetect
mv /tmp/vim-kitty/ftplugin/kitty.vim ~/.config/nvim/ftplugin
rm -rf /tmp/vim-kitty