> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://aidocs.zorid.app/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Neovim & lazy.nvim comparison

> What Zorid's plugin host borrows from Neovim's core/runtime split and lazy.nvim's lazy-loading model, and where the architectures intentionally diverge.

Zorid's architecture takes deliberate cues from **Neovim** and **lazy.nvim** without literally turning every feature into a plugin.

## What Neovim gets right

```text theme={null}
Core editor engine
  commands / keymaps / autocmds / API / runtimepath

Bundled standard plugins / runtime features
  useful official features built on extension points

External plugins
  user-installed ecosystem
```

**Lesson Zorid copies:** a small, stable programmable core with clear extension points, then layer official and community features on top.

## What Zorid *doesn't* copy

* Vimscript / Lua-only API surface — Zorid uses TypeScript + framework-neutral plugin UI.
* Buffer-everywhere mental model — Zorid uses files-on-disk + a SQLite index.
* Modal editing — not a Zorid concern.

## What lazy.nvim gets right

* Plugins declare **triggers** for activation: commands, file types, keymaps, events.
* The plugin manager registers **placeholders** for those triggers and only loads the real plugin on first use.
* Dependency graphs are explicit; load order is deterministic.

## Zorid's lazy activation

Zorid's plugin manifest declares activation triggers:

```json theme={null}
"activation": {
  "commands":   ["data-views.open"],
  "viewTypes":  ["table", "list"],
  "objectTypes":["zbase"],
  "events":     []
}
```

The plugin host registers placeholders, dynamically imports the plugin on first trigger, calls `activate(ctx)`, then replays the original action. See [Kernel & plugin host](/architecture/kernel-and-plugin-host) for the full sequence.

<Card title="Source" icon="github" href="https://github.com/zorid-app/Zorid/blob/main/docs/architecture/neovim-lazy-comparison.md">
  Full comparison and design rationale on GitHub.
</Card>