Project Overview

Pulse was built to reduce context switching in Neovim. Instead of remembering multiple commands and keymaps for different pickers, Pulse provides one entry point with predictable keyboard-driven behavior.

It acts like a single command center for common navigation and search tasks:

• Files
• Commands
• Git status
• Diagnostics
• Buffer symbols
• Workspace symbols
• Live grep
• Fuzzy search in current buffer

Interaction Model

The core design is a prefix-based mode switch. A single panel changes behavior based on the first character typed, which keeps the interface compact while still supporting multiple workflows.

Examples:

• : for command execution
• ~ for git status
• ! for diagnostics
• @ for buffer symbols
• # for workspace symbols
• $ for live grep
• ? for fuzzy search
• no prefix for file search

This approach keeps the mental model simple: open once, switch mode with a prefix, type a query, and jump.

UX and Workflow Focus

I optimized the plugin around fast navigation loops:

• Real-time filtering as you type
• Keyboard-only selection and execution
• Preview while browsing results
• Consistent behavior across every mode

The goal was not just feature parity with existing tools, but a cleaner and more predictable daily workflow for code navigation.

Technical Notes

Pulse is implemented in Lua and designed to work with standard Neovim setups. It integrates with nvim-web-devicons, supports keymap-based invocation, and is lightweight enough to stay responsive during frequent use.

{
  "willyelm/pulse.nvim",
  dependencies = { "nvim-tree/nvim-web-devicons" },
  opts = {},
  keys = {
    { "<leader>p", "<cmd>Pulse<cr>", desc = "Open Pulse" },
  },
}

Outcome

Pulse gives me one consistent command palette for navigation and search in Neovim, with less cognitive overhead and fewer mode-specific keymaps to manage. It is now the default way I jump through files, symbols, and code context.