highlight-current-n

See demo configuration.

highlight-current-n highlights the current /, ? or * match under your cursor when pressing n or N and gets out of the way afterwards.

Neovim 0.9+

You may not need this plugin any more if you are using Neovim 0.9+, as it includes an CurSearch highlight group, and a :nohlsearch command.

You can replicate something similar to highlight-current-n with:

;; See https://fennel-lang.org/see to convert from fennel to lua

;; Copy search highlight group definition so we can clear and re-link to it
;; when in different states of searching.
(vim.api.nvim_create_autocmd
  :ColorScheme
  {:callback #(let [search (vim.api.nvim_get_hl 0 {:name :Search})]
                (vim.api.nvim_set_hl 0 :CurSearch {:link :IncSearch})
                (vim.api.nvim_set_hl 0 :SearchCurrentN search)
                (vim.api.nvim_set_hl 0 :Search {:link :SearchCurrentN}))})

(vim.api.nvim_create_autocmd
  :CmdlineEnter
  {:pattern "/,\\?"
   :callback (fn []
               ;; When searching via :/, enable all search highlights
               (set vim.opt.hlsearch true)
               (set vim.opt.incsearch true)
               (vim.api.nvim_set_hl 0 :Search {:link :SearchCurrentN}))})

(vim.api.nvim_create_autocmd
  :CmdlineLeave
  {:pattern "/,\\?"
   :callback (fn []
               ;; When leaving after :/, clear Search highlights (NOT CurSearch).
               ;; May have side effects if plugins link to Search
               (vim.api.nvim_set_hl 0 :Search {})
               ;; turn on hlsearch after the cursor move runs nohlsearch
               ;; Could also use a shared guard flag variable
               (vim.defer_fn #(set vim.opt.hlsearch true) 5))})

(vim.api.nvim_create_autocmd
  [:InsertEnter :CursorMoved]
  ;; Must run :nohlsearch outside of autocmd, see :h autocmd-searchpat
  {:callback #(vim.schedule #(vim.cmd :nohlsearch))})

(fn handle-n-N [key]
  (let [other #(case $1 :n :N :N :n)
        feed #(vim.api.nvim_feedkeys $1 :n true)]
    (case vim.v.searchforward
      0 (feed (other key))
      1 (feed key)))
  ;; Wait a moment, so the cursor moves, the CursorMoved autocmd triggers, then
  ;; we flip hlsearch back on.
  ;; You may prefer to use a flag var instead of defer_fn.
  (vim.defer_fn #(set vim.opt.hlsearch true) 5))

(vim.keymap.set [:n] :n #(handle-n-N :n))
(vim.keymap.set [:n] :N #(handle-n-N :N))

Installation

Requirements

• Neovim 0.5

your_package_manager "rktjmp/highlight-current-n.nvim"

Setup & Usage

Configuration

Default options are shown, calling setup is not required unless you are changing an option.

require("highlight_current_n").setup({
  highlight_group = "IncSearch" -- highlight group name to use for highlight
})

See also demo configuration for important information regarding highlighting / and ? searches.

Maps

highlight-current-n provides 2 <Plug> keymaps for your use.

Note: You want to use nmap, not nnoremap for <Plug> mappings.

<Plug>(highlight-current-n-n) should be mapped to n.

nmap n <Plug>(highlight-current-n-n)

<Plug>(highlight-current-n-N) should be mapped to N.

nmap N <Plug>(highlight-current-n-N)

Consistent Search Direction

To always search "up and down" vs "ahead and back" (as dictated by / and ?), you can use these mappings:

local function _1_()
  local hcn = require("highlight_current_n")
  local feedkeys = vim.api.nvim_feedkeys
  local _2_ = vim.v.searchforward
  if (_2_ == 0) then
    return hcn.N()
  elseif (_2_ == 1) then
    return hcn.n()
  else
    return nil
  end
end
vim.keymap.set("n", "n", _1_)

local function _4_()
  local hcn = require("highlight_current_n")
  local feedkeys = vim.api.nvim_feedkeys
  local _5_ = vim.v.searchforward
  if (_5_ == 0) then
    return hcn.n()
  elseif (_5_ == 1) then
    return hcn.N()
  else
    return nil
  end
end
return vim.keymap.set("n", "N", _4_)

Functions

highlight-current-n provides 3 functions, but probably only 1 is useful.

require("highlight_current_n").n()

Executes feedkeys(n) and applies highlight when appropriate. Normally best run via the provided <Plug> mapping.

require("highlight_current_n").N()

Executes feedkeys(N) and applies highlight when appropriate. Normally best run via the provided <Plug> mapping.

require("highlight_current_n")["/,?"]()

Applies highlight at cursor, most useful when used in combination with the following autocommand, be careful when escaping \? in lua configurations.

autocmd CmdlineLeave /,\? lua require('highlight_current_n')['/,?']()

Demo Configuration

highlight-current-n only provides two maps to show highlights, but the following configuration may be preferred in real world use, especially the last CmdlineLeave autocommand.

" Map keys
nmap n <Plug>(highlight-current-n-n)
nmap N <Plug>(highlight-current-n-N)

" If you want the highlighting to take effect in other maps they must
" also be nmaps (or rather, not "nore").
"
" * will search <cword> ahead, but it can be more ergonomic to have *
" simply fill the / register with the current <cword>, which makes future
" commands like cgn "feel better". This effectively does that by performing
" "search ahead <cword> (*), go back to last match (N)".
nmap * *N

" Some QOL autocommands
augroup ClearSearchHL
  autocmd!
  " You may only want to see hlsearch /while/ searching, you can automatically
  " toggle hlsearch with the following autocommands
  autocmd CmdlineEnter /,\? set hlsearch
  autocmd CmdlineLeave /,\? set nohlsearch
  " this will apply similar n|N highlighting to the first search result
  " careful with escaping ? in lua, you may need \\?
  autocmd CmdlineLeave /,\? lua require('highlight_current_n')['/,?']()
augroup END

Issues

highlight-current-n works by setting a highlight group at your cursor position after searching. This highlight is not "wrap aware", it begins at the start of the match and extends for length(search_string) characters. Sometimes you may see the the highlight "stick out" past the edge of a wrapped line. This is pretty uncommon in my experience but it probably depends on your typical terminal and content size