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Show HN: I built a web app for learning Vim from the browser as a 17-year-old

vimninja.com

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Show HN: I built a web app for learning Vim from the browser as a 17-year-old

#1
Hey HN!

After my own experiences with learning Vim, I wanted to skip the frustrating process of configuring a new tool before even learning how to use it. In an attempt to solve this problem, I started working on Vim Ninja, a web app that would allow developers to learn Vim through interactive lessons in the browser. It’s been a couple of months, and I’m proud to say that I’ve finally released https://VimNinja.com!

Check out a demo of the app here: https://youtu.be/reukQHKqMZE.

On the technical side of things, I used SvelteKit to build the entire app and Tailwind, which turned out to be an amazing decision. I actually really like SvelteKit’s filesystem-based router as well as Svelte’s brevity, and Tailwind actually makes styling a fun task for me. I’m using CodeMirror 6 as a base for Vim Ninja’s code editor, and I really prefer it over more feature-packed alternatives like the Monaco Editor, which is what I started out with but soon abandoned due to its worse performance when compared to alternatives like CM6 and the sheer amount of bells and whistles that I just didn’t need.

Show HN: I built a web app for learning Vim from the browser as a 17-year-old
vimninja.com

Re: Show HN: I built a web app for learning Vim from the browser as a 17-year-old

#5
>I’m using CodeMirror 6 as a base for Vim Ninja’s code editor

Interesting. I'd assumed you would have gone with a WASM implementation of Vim, since perhaps more advanced tutorials might need more than just vim-like keybindings. Though I suppose that wouldn't come up until much later.

Re: Show HN: I built a web app for learning Vim from the browser as a 17-year-old

#10
post #8

The site looks great and I always love to see some Svelte love. But the "Sign in with Google" is a deal breaker for me. Also seems strange to charge $15 for this when so many free Vim resources exist.

One could argue that it seems strange to charge X for anything when free alternatives exist.

Ultimately, it is up to anyone to decide whether the "package looks pretty" and the proposed value seems worth it, or whether they want to keep on searching and/or try to build some GitHub repo.

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