Ghostty + tmux + Neovim: Full Environment Setup (Gruvbox)

Once again, after resetting my laptop, I decided to set everything up properly and keep all the configs in one place. I like the Gruvbox theme — warm, easy on the eyes, and readable at any time of day. I started there. Then I looked for a lighter terminal: I used iTerm2 before, but it got too heavy and slow to start — so I chose Ghostty.

This article covers why this stack, how to set it up, and what settings to use for a ready-made development and DevOps environment.

Why This Stack

Ghostty — a fast, cross-platform terminal with native UI and GPU acceleration. Starts instantly, doesn’t use much memory, supports ligatures, themes, and low input latency. After iTerm2, the responsiveness difference is very noticeable.

tmux — terminal multiplexer: sessions, windows, and panes in one place. You can detach from a session and reattach from another device — everything stays where it was. Handy for long-running tasks, logs, and multiple projects at once.

Neovim — editor with LSP, completion, and familiar vim-style controls. Works the same locally and over SSH, which matters for a single workflow.

zsh + Oh My Zsh + Powerlevel10k — comfortable shell and informative prompt without much setup.

Together this gives one environment: one terminal, one theme (Gruvbox), one set of key bindings. Ideal for daily development and DevOps: code in Neovim, logs in a tmux pane, commands in another.

Contents

• Installing dependencies
• Ghostty configuration (Gruvbox)
• tmux configuration
• zsh + Oh My Zsh + Powerlevel10k
• Neovim setup (vim-plug, Gruvbox, LSP)
• LSP servers
• Plugins and extensions: where and why
• Hotkey cheatsheet
• Typical DevOps workflow

Installing Dependencies

Install Homebrew if you don’t have it:

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

Install the tools:

brew install tmux neovim git fzf bat eza node
brew install --cask ghostty font-jetbrains-mono-nerd-font

JetBrains Mono Nerd Font is needed for prompt icons and code ligatures.

Ghostty Configuration (Gruvbox)

Config file:

~/.config/ghostty/config

Create the directory and file:

mkdir -p ~/.config/ghostty
nano ~/.config/ghostty/config

Example Gruvbox config:

font-family = JetBrainsMono Nerd Font
font-size = 14

window-padding-x = 6
window-padding-y = 6

background-opacity = 1.0

copy-on-select = false

scrollback-limit = 10000000

cursor-style = block

term = xterm-256color

macos-option-as-alt = true

background = #282828
foreground = #ebdbb2

cursor-color = #ebdbb2

selection-background = #3c3836
selection-foreground = #ebdbb2

palette = 0=#282828
palette = 1=#cc241d
palette = 2=#98971a
palette = 3=#d79921
palette = 4=#458588
palette = 5=#b16286
palette = 6=#689d6a
palette = 7=#a89984
palette = 8=#928374
palette = 9=#fb4934
palette = 10=#b8bb26
palette = 11=#fabd2f
palette = 12=#83a598
palette = 13=#d3869b
palette = 14=#8ec07c
palette = 15=#ebdbb2

Restart Ghostty after saving — the theme will apply.

tmux Configuration

Config file: ~/.tmux.conf

Example settings for Ghostty and 256 colors:

set -g mouse on
set -g history-limit 200000

set -g default-terminal "screen-256color"

set -ga terminal-overrides ",xterm-256color:Tc"
set -ga terminal-overrides ",xterm-ghostty:Tc"

set -sg escape-time 0

set -g focus-events on

bind r source-file ~/.tmux.conf \; display "reloaded"

Reload config without leaving tmux: Ctrl+b, then r.

zsh + Oh My Zsh + Powerlevel10k

Install Oh My Zsh:

sh -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ohmyzsh/ohmyzsh/master/tools/install.sh)"

Install Powerlevel10k theme:

git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/romkatv/powerlevel10k.git \
  ${ZSH_CUSTOM:-$HOME/.oh-my-zsh/custom}/themes/powerlevel10k

In ~/.zshrc set the theme:

ZSH_THEME="powerlevel10k/powerlevel10k"

After restarting the terminal, run the prompt configurator:

p10k configure

Neovim Setup (vim-plug, Gruvbox, LSP)

Create config:

mkdir -p ~/.config/nvim
nano ~/.config/nvim/init.vim

Minimal example with Gruvbox, LSP, and Telescope:

set number
set relativenumber
set mouse=a
set expandtab
set tabstop=2
set shiftwidth=2
set termguicolors

let mapleader=" "

call plug#begin(stdpath('data') . '/plugged')

Plug 'morhetz/gruvbox'
Plug 'neovim/nvim-lspconfig'
Plug 'hrsh7th/nvim-cmp'
Plug 'hrsh7th/cmp-nvim-lsp'
Plug 'nvim-lua/plenary.nvim'
Plug 'nvim-telescope/telescope.nvim'

call plug#end()

colorscheme gruvbox

Install vim-plug:

curl -fLo ~/.local/share/nvim/site/autoload/plug.vim --create-dirs \
  https://raw.githubusercontent.com/junegunn/vim-plug/master/plug.vim

Install plugins: open Neovim and run :PlugInstall, or from the terminal:

nvim +PlugInstall +qall

LSP Configuration (Neovim 0.11+)

Add this block to the same init.vim for LSP (TypeScript and Python):

lua << EOF
local capabilities = require("cmp_nvim_lsp").default_capabilities()

vim.lsp.config("ts_ls", {
  capabilities = capabilities,
})

vim.lsp.config("pyright", {
  capabilities = capabilities,
})

vim.lsp.enable({
  "ts_ls",
  "pyright",
})
EOF

Install LSP servers globally (or via Mason, etc.):

npm install -g typescript typescript-language-server
npm install -g pyright

Plugins and extensions: where and why

In this stack, plugins are used in zsh (Oh My Zsh + themes) and Neovim. Ghostty and tmux use config only, with no separate plugin system.

zsh: Oh My Zsh and Powerlevel10k

The other tools from brew install (fzf, bat, eza) are standalone programs in PATH, not plugins: fzf for fuzzy file and history search, bat for syntax-highlighted terminal output, eza as a modern ls replacement.

Neovim: plugins (vim-plug)

Summary: vim-plug installs and loads plugins, gruvbox provides the theme, nvim-lspconfig wires up LSP, nvim-cmp and cmp-nvim-lsp handle LSP completion, plenary.nvim is a dependency, telescope.nvim is for quick file and text navigation.

Hotkey cheatsheet

A full reference for daily use with Ghostty + tmux + Neovim.

Ghostty

Windows and tabs

Move window (when titlebar is hidden): Cmd + drag with mouse.

Copy / paste: Cmd+C / Cmd+V.

tmux

Prefix: Ctrl+b

Sessions

Windows

Split panes

Resize panes: Ctrl+b Ctrl+←/→/↑/↓

Copy mode: enter — Ctrl+b [, select — Space, copy — Enter, paste — Ctrl+b ].

Neovim

Modes: Normal — Esc, Insert — i, Visual — v, Command — :

Save and quit

Navigation: up k, down j, left h, right l, line start 0, line end $, file start gg, file end G.

Editing: delete line dd, delete word dw, undo u, redo Ctrl+r, yank line yy, paste p. Delete all: ggdG.

Search: search /text, next n, previous N.

LSP: go to definition gd, hover K, references gr, rename Space+rn, code action Space+ca.

Telescope: find file Space+f, search text Space+g.

Example DevOps workflow

Create session: tmux new -s dev. Split: Ctrl+b %. Left pane: nvim ., right pane: kubectl logs -f pod/.... Detach: Ctrl+b d. Reattach: tmux attach -t dev.

Most important shortcuts

Ghostty: Cmd+T, Cmd+W, Cmd+drag.

tmux: Ctrl+b c, Ctrl+b %, Ctrl+b d.

Neovim: i, Esc, :w, :q, dd, gg, G, gd, K.

Typical DevOps Workflow

One Ghostty terminal, one tmux session, several panes:

Ghostty
 └── tmux (session dev)
      ├── Neovim — code
      ├── kubectl logs / tail
      ├── terraform / ansible
      └── shell

This keeps the editor, logs, and commands in one place, and you can detach and reattach when needed.

Summary

The stack is ready to use:

• Ghostty — fast terminal with Gruvbox theme
• tmux — sessions and panes without losing context
• Neovim — editor with LSP and completion
• Powerlevel10k — convenient prompt
• Gruvbox — one theme across the whole environment

If you want more detail on any of the configs or to adapt them, say so in the comments — we can spin that into separate posts.