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Earlier quoted context omitted.
Haskell can build self-contained binaries that don't require a 700MB compiler. Look for /-bin$/ packages.
That depends upon such a package already being available -- it doesn't appear that Yi has any.
This approach means that Yi has to depend on the entire Haskell toolchain :(
looking at these config files I do feel like we're still missing a style to write nice config files in a language like Haskell. I don't think it's a language issue, but there's still a bit of difficulty in the building blocks given by things like xmonad or yi.
Basically, the idea is that Yi is actually a Haskell library, and your "config file" is really a Haskell program that uses this library to build an editor.
This is similar to how many suckless tools are written. If you want to configure them, edit the source: It's designed to be approachable and easy to modify.
This style of configuration is extremely nice IMHO. It gives you complete control over everything in one of the cleanest, most expressive languages around. It also means that you don't need to maintain a separate configuration language, and people that use your software are already taking steps towards becoming contributors.
I have tried a few times in the last year to find someone who something crazier than Yi: a Haskell program that is text editor, IDE, and integrated Webkit browser, all in Haskell. The dev was a former Emacs enthusiast. It looked really cool, but I forgot to bookmark. It is not Yi, but does anyone know what I am talking about?
Are you thinking of Manatee? http://hackage.haskell.org/package/manatee