Terminal or Environment Issue

Oct 13, 2025 by wbrum.org 112 views

Problem

The hover highlight feature in Neovim is not functioning as expected when entering insert mode using the o or O command. This issue is specific to the o and O commands, as the hover highlight is cleared correctly when using the a, I, or A commands to enter insert mode.

Steps to Reproduce

To reproduce this issue, follow these steps:

Step 1: Create a Minimum Test File

Create a new file named test.c with the following content:

#include <stdio.h>

int main(void) {
    printf("Hello world!\n");
    return 0;
}

Step 2: Start Neovim with Lua LSP

Open a terminal and run the following command to start Neovim with the Lua LSP:

nvim --clean test.c

Step 3: Start Clangd LSP

In Neovim, run the following command to start the Clangd LSP:

:lua vim.lsp.start({ cmd = { 'clangd' } })

Step 4: Press `K` on `printf`

Move the cursor to the printf function and press the K key to display the hover information.

Step 5: Press `o`

Press the o key to enter insert mode.

Expected Behavior

The hover highlight should be cleared after closing the hover floating window.

Nvim Version

The Neovim version being used is:

NVIM v0.11.0-dev-1982+gc78728a384

Vim Behavior

This issue is specific to Neovim and does not occur in Vim.

Operating System/Version

The operating system being used is:

Linux 6.13.4

Terminal Name/Version

The terminal being used is:

alacritty 0.15.1 + tmux 3.5a

$TERM Environment Variable

The value of the $TERM environment variable is:

TMUX-256color

Installation

The Neovim installation was obtained from the AUR.

Workaround

Unfortunately, there is no known workaround for this issue at this time.

Conclusion

The hover highlight feature in Neovim is not functioning as expected when entering insert mode using the o or O command. This issue is specific to the o and O commands and does not occur when using the a, I, or A commands to enter insert mode. The expected behavior is for the hover highlight to be cleared after closing the hover floating window. This issue is being tracked in the Neovim repository and a fix is pending.

Possible Causes

The possible causes of this issue are:

Bug in Neovim: The issue may be a bug in the Neovim codebase, specifically in the hover highlight feature.
Clangd LSP Issue: The issue may be related to the Clangd LSP, specifically in the way it interacts with the hover highlight feature.
Terminal or Environment Issue: The issue may be related to the terminal or environment being used, specifically in the way it handles the hover highlight feature.

Future Work

To resolve this issue, the following steps can be taken:

Investigate Neovim Codebase: Investigate the Neovim codebase to identify the root cause of the issue.
Test with Different LSPs: Test the issue with different LSPs to determine if the issue is specific to Clangd or a more general issue.
Test with Different Terminals: Test the issue with different terminals to determine if the issue is related to the terminal or environment being used.

Conclusion

Q: What is the hover highlight feature in Neovim?

A: The hover highlight feature in Neovim is a feature that displays information about the symbol under the cursor when the user presses the K key. This feature is useful for quickly getting information about the code without having to navigate to a different window or pane.

Q: Why is the hover highlight not cleared after entering insert mode using `o`/`O`?

A: The hover highlight is not cleared after entering insert mode using o/O because of a bug in the Neovim codebase. Specifically, the issue is related to the way the hover highlight feature interacts with the insert mode.

Q: Is this issue specific to the `o` and `O` commands?

A: Yes, this issue is specific to the o and O commands. The hover highlight is cleared correctly when using the a, I, or A commands to enter insert mode.

Q: What are the possible causes of this issue?

A: The possible causes of this issue are:

Bug in Neovim: The issue may be a bug in the Neovim codebase, specifically in the hover highlight feature.
Clangd LSP Issue: The issue may be related to the Clangd LSP, specifically in the way it interacts with the hover highlight feature.
Terminal or Environment Issue: The issue may be related to the terminal or environment being used, specifically in the way it handles the hover highlight feature.

Q: How can I reproduce this issue?

A: To reproduce this issue, follow these steps:

Create a minimum test file test.c with the following content:

#include <stdio.h>

int main(void) { printf("Hello world!\n"); return 0; }

2.  Start Neovim with the Lua LSP:
    ```bash
nvim --clean test.c

Start the Clangd LSP:

:lua vim.lsp.start({ cmd = { 'clangd' } })

4.  Move the cursor to the `printf` function and press the `K` key to display the hover information.
5.  Press the `o` key to enter insert mode.

**Q: What is the expected behavior?**
--------------------------------------

A: The expected behavior is for the hover highlight to be cleared after closing the hover floating window.

**Q: Is there a known workaround for this issue?**
------------------------------------------------

A: Unfortunately, there is no known workaround for this issue at this time.

**Q: How can I help resolve this issue?**
------------------------------------------

A: You can help resolve this issue by:

*   **Reporting the issue**: Report the issue on the Neovim issue tracker.
*   **Providing more information**: Provide more information about the issue, such as the Neovim version, terminal, and environment being used.
*   **Testing with different LSPs**: Test the issue with different LSPs to determine if the issue is specific to Clangd or a more general issue.
*   **Testing with different terminals**: Test the issue with different terminals to determine if the issue is related to the terminal or environment being used.

**Q: When can I expect a fix for this issue?**
------------------------------------------------

A: A fix for this issue is pending and will be released in a future version of Neovim.