I used neovim but recently switched to helix and highly recommend it. If you haven't tried nvim yet, give helix a try before deciding. A good way to compare is do the tutorial of each and see which you like more nvim +Tutor and hx --tutor (orhelix --tutor).
If you're a current vim user the helix keybindings are only a small learning curve after the tutorial, and feel a lot smoother imo
I love Helix. I like that it pretty much works out of the box and the only thing you have to do is install language servers and in some cases configure them, but that's (mostly) well documented. No need to install plugins or use a preset "distribution" like with NeoVim. I also like the built-in keyboard shortcut hints, for example when you press g (goto) it shows you what key will do what.
The way Helix does "select first, then act" is subjective, but I like it.
Agree on all counts. I didn't like finding and comparing plugins for neovim, and then wrestling with environment stuff to get them to work, and having to change a bunch of options to get nvim to work how I want. With helix, my config of things I've changed from default is very small, and there's no wrestling with plugins.
And yeah, "select then act" feels a lot smoother and more intuitive to me. If you like that and like plugins tho, check out kakuone
I've used helix for a few months and liked a few default keybindings. Didn't like the reversed sequences (movement then action) so switched back to neovim and configured helix like bindings for some actions.
I tried out Helix, but I think the biggest issue that I have is that with (neo)vim, I can use the keybindings in most of the editors I use through a plugin (such as IdeaVim for the JetBrains suite) - but I do not think the concept of Helix keybinding plugins have really hit anywhere.
Helix itself seemed really cool when I was playing around with the tutor mode though.
That's me as well, I've used vim for simple edits over the years but more and more just used nano for most of my terminal based edits. Finally ran vimtutor (mainly because I wasn't aware of it) and wow, I should have done that years ago.
The learning curve is absolutely colossal, especially if you want to use it as a full IDE. Even with the legend panel it still doesn't tell you have the story