Oni is a new kind of text editor - combining the editing efficiency of modal editors like Vim with the conveniences of the modern generation of code editors like VSCode and Atom.
Today, if you're hooked on modal editing, you really have two options:
- Go full on-vim/neovim
- Use an emulation plugin in another editor
If you go the full vim/neovim path, you get to enjoy the unbridled power of modal editing. The tradeoff, though, is you do not get the out-of-box experience that editors like VSCode and Atom provide - instead, you'll be spending significant time carefully crafting and debugging your configuration. Unfortunately, even the best configurations don't provide a comparable language experience to editors like Visual Studio or VSCode.
If instead you decide to bring Vim to your editor of choice, by using a vim emulation plugin, you get to enjoy the out-of-box conveniences that editors like VSCode provide. However, none of the emulators perfectly replicate the experience - your muscle memory doesn't work the same in these emulation environments - leading to a frustrating experience, especially if you jump back and forth between editors.
Oni is an experiment to see if it is possible to bring these worlds together - and get the best features of both environments, without making compromises. Oni is also easy to learn for those new to modal editing, so if you've ever been curious about Vim or modal editing, Oni is a great way to get started!