drift.nvim

Let stray thoughts drift into a quiet buffer, then slip right back into your code.

A tiny, zen-like mental backlog for Neovim. Quickly jot down what you’re doing, what you’ll do next, or any fleeting idea, without leaving your editor or breaking flow.

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Features

• Instant scratch-style backlog buffer for your current session
• Single command / keymap to open, write, and close
• Lightweight, no external dependencies
• Simple, text-only interface that plays nice with your color scheme

Screencast.from.2026-02-03.13-14-16.webm

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Installation

Use your favorite plugin manager. Examples:

lazy.nvim

{
  "leo-alvarenga/drift.nvim",
  config = function()
    require("drift").setup({
      -- See Configuration section below
    })
  end,
  -- Or
  opts = {
    -- See Configuration section below
  },
}

packer.nvim

use({
  "leo-alvarenga/drift.nvim",
  config = function()
    require("drift").setup({
      -- See Configuration section below
    })
  end,
})

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Configuration

-- Everything is optional!

-- Default setup
require("drift-nvim").setup({
  storage = {
    -- Default storage file path: <data_dir>/drift-nvim/drift.txt
    path = vim.fn.stdpath("data") .. "/drift-nvim/",
  },

  win_opts = {
    width = 0.8,
    height = 0.8,
    row = nil,
    col = nil,
    border = nil,
    style = nil,
  },
})

-- Example with all options
require("drift-nvim").setup({
  keymaps = {
    ['<leader>od'] = { -- Toggle drift buffer
      action = 'toggle',
      desc = 'Toggle Drift backlog',
    }
  }

  notify = true, -- Enable notifications when auto-saving

  storage = {
    path = "~/Documents/drift/", -- Custom storage path
  },

  win_opts = {
    width = 0.6,
    height = 0.6,
    row = nil,
    col = nil,
    border = nil,
    style = nil,
    on_open = function()
      vim.notify("Drift buffer opened!")
    end,
    on_close = function()
      vim.notify("Drift buffer closed!")
    end,
  },
})

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Usage

Default commands:

• :Drift – Open or toggle the drift buffer.

You can map these in Lua yourself, for example:

vim.keymap.set("n", "<leader>od", "<cmd>Drift<CR>", { desc = "Toggle drift backlog" })

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Roadmap

• Support for multiple drift buffers/entries.
• Simple search or filter for past entries.
• Optional per-project drift buffers.

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License

MIT © 2026 Leonardo A. Alvarenga