nvim-filetype

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A fast and convenient Neovim plugin for quickly changing the filetype of the current buffer.

Requires Neovim >= 0.7

✨ Features

• 🚀 Quick filetype switching with an interactive picker
• 📋 Pinned filetypes shown first, rest listed alphabetically
• 🎯 Visual indicator for the current filetype
• ⚙️ Simple, minimal configuration
• 🔍 Support for all Neovim filetypes

📦 Installation

lazy.nvim

Zero-config (no setup() needed)

{
    "NewbieAndy/nvim-filetype",
    cmd = "FTSelect",
    keys = {
        { "<leader>ft", "<cmd>FTSelect<cr>", desc = "Select Filetype" },
    },
}

With custom configuration

{
    "NewbieAndy/nvim-filetype",
    cmd = "FTSelect",
    keys = {
        { "<leader>ft", "<cmd>FTSelect<cr>", desc = "Select Filetype" },
    },
    opts = {
        -- Commonly used filetypes, prioritized in the selection list
        filetypes = { "lua", "python", "javascript", "typescript" },
        -- Whether to show all available filetypes
        -- If false, only configured filetypes are shown
        show_all_filetypes = true,
        -- Icon displayed next to the current filetype
        selected_icon = "✓",
    },
}

packer.nvim

use { "NewbieAndy/nvim-filetype" }

-- Optional: customize with setup()
require("nvim-filetype").setup({
    filetypes = { "lua", "python", "javascript" },
    show_all_filetypes = true,
    selected_icon = "✓",
})

vim-plug

Plug 'NewbieAndy/nvim-filetype'

" Optional: customize with setup() after plug#end()
lua << EOF
require("nvim-filetype").setup({
    filetypes = { "lua", "python", "javascript" },
    show_all_filetypes = true,
    selected_icon = "✓",
})
EOF

⚙️ Configuration

Default Configuration

require("nvim-filetype").setup({
    -- Pinned filetypes always shown first, in the order listed
    filetypes = {},

    -- Show all available Neovim filetypes
    -- When true:  pinned first, then all others alphabetically
    -- When false: only pinned filetypes are shown
    show_all_filetypes = true,

    -- Icon displayed next to the currently active filetype
    selected_icon = "*",
})

Configuration Options

Option	Type	Default	Description
filetypes	string[]	{}	Pinned filetypes always shown first
show_all_filetypes	boolean	true	Show all Neovim filetypes, or only pinned ones
selected_icon	string	"*"	Icon shown next to the current filetype

Example Configurations

Pin your most-used filetypes

require("nvim-filetype").setup({
    filetypes = { "lua", "python", "javascript", "typescript" },
    selected_icon = "✓",
})

Only show specific filetypes

require("nvim-filetype").setup({
    filetypes = { "lua", "python", "javascript", "typescript", "go", "rust" },
    show_all_filetypes = false,
})

🚀 Usage

Command

After installation, use the following command to open the filetype picker:

:FTSelect

Recommended Keymapping

Add a keymapping for quick access:

vim.keymap.set("n", "<leader>ft", "<cmd>FTSelect<cr>", { desc = "Select Filetype" })

Or in Vimscript:

nnoremap <leader>ft :FTSelect<CR>

Workflow

1. Open any buffer
2. Execute :FTSelect or use your keymapping
3. Type to filter filetypes (fuzzy matching supported if using a fuzzy picker)
4. Select the desired filetype
5. The buffer's filetype is immediately updated

The picker list order is: pinned (your filetypes config, in declared order) → all others alphabetically.

🎯 Use Cases

• Quick Syntax Highlighting: Change syntax highlighting without reopening files
• Testing Syntax: Test how code looks with different syntax highlighting
• File Identification: Help Neovim properly identify file types
• Development Workflow: Quickly switch between related filetypes (e.g., JavaScript ↔ TypeScript)

🔧 Troubleshooting

Filetype Picker Not Showing Up

Ensure you have a UI picker installed. The plugin uses vim.ui.select(), which requires:

• A UI picker plugin like telescope.nvim with telescope-ui-select.nvim, or
• dressing.nvim for enhanced UI

Filetype Not Changing

Make sure the filetype you're selecting is valid. You can check available filetypes with:

:echo getcompletion('', 'filetype')

Custom Filetypes Not Appearing

If you have custom filetypes defined in your configuration, ensure they are properly loaded before calling :FTSelect.

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Feel free to:

• Report bugs
• Suggest new features
• Submit pull requests

📝 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

🙏 Acknowledgments

Thanks to all contributors and users of this plugin!