AhoiCpp

Ahoi Labs presents AhoiCpp.

AhoiCpp is a way to start cross-platform C++ projects in Neovim. AhoiCpp lets you create classes, libraries and your own app entrypoint with the respective build process.

Dependencies

AhoiCpp assumes you have a C++ compiler (I use g++ 14.3.0 on my development environment), cmake, git and python installed. If not, you should do it first. Of course you have to have Neovim as well, version 0.11 or higher is recommended, since some vim.api and vim.fn functions are new.

 

Installation

Using lazy.nvim

{
    'martuscellifaria/ahoicpp.nvim',
    config = function()
      require('ahoicpp').setup()
    end,
}

Using Luarocks

luarocks install ahoicpp.nvim

After installation, you will have to add the following in your Neovim configuration:

{
      require('ahoicpp').setup()
}

Manual Installation

Clone the repository and add it to your Neovim runtime path:

git clone https://github.com/martuscellifaria/ahoicpp.nvim ~/.config/nvim/pack/plugins/start/ahoicpp.nvim

 

Usage

Default Keymaps

Command	Description
<leader>cpa	Creates C++ application with respective CMake files and scripts
<leader>cph	Opens the about/help menu from AhoiCpp
<leader>cpm	Creates C++ class within modules directory and add CMake files
<leader>cpd	Creates C++ class within custom named directory and add CMake files
<leader>cpc	Compiles the current C++ project
<leader>cpe	Clones external Git repository to the externals directory of the C++ project
<leader>cpf	Fetches more complex external dependencies by running a script in background
<leader>cpt	Toggles autocompilation at module and/or app creation (enabled by default)
<leader>cpb	Toggles build type (release/debug)
<leader>cpx	Executes the compiled binary
<leader>cec	Generates code with Escafandro
<leader>cee	Get Escafandro to explain the code selected
<leader>cet	Toggle Escafandro debug assist functionality

Configuration

AhoiCpp provides a configurable interface. An example follows:

{
    autocompile_on_create = true,
    cpp_version = 23,
    enable_popups = true,
    git_init = true,
    keymaps = {
        group_c = "<leader>c",
        group_cp = "<leader>cp",
        create_app = "<leader>cpa",
        help = "<leader>cph",
        create_module = "<leader>cpm",
        create_module_dir = "<leader>cpd",
        compile = "<leader>cpc",
        clone_external = "<leader>cpe",
        fetch_external = "<leader>cpf",
        toggle_autocompile = "<leader>cpt",
        toggle_debug_compilation = "<leader>cpb",
        execute_app = "<leader>cpx",
        escafandro_coding = "<leader>cec",
        escafandro_explain = "<leader>cee",
        toggle_escafandro_debug_assist = "<leader>cet",
    },
    escafandro = {
        ip = "127.0.0.1:8080",
        engine = "llamacpp",
        model = "qwen2.5-coder-7b-instruct-q4_k_m",
        max_tokens = 500,
        debug_assist = true,
    },
}

You are also able to override the keymap bindings or options, for example:

{
    'martuscellifaria/ahoicpp.nvim',
    config = function()
      require('ahoicpp').setup({ autocompile_on_create = false, keymaps = { compile = "<leader>cc" } })
    end,
}

Fetching external dependencies

You have a few options to fetch external dependencies with AhoiCpp. If you need a header only library or something not much complex, you can run <leader>cpe and write the git URL to fetch it. However, if you would like to add a more complex dependency such as opencv or postgresql for example, I recommend creating a python script based on the scripts provided at the .fetchers directory. The fetchers scripts are designed on a way they can also compile and make the libraries available globally for the project. AhoiCpp will not install anything on your system, keeping all dependencies inside the project itself.

Current fetchers

AhoiCpp is trying to deal with the problematic of external dependencies and will provide a curated list of scripts to get everything in a "batteries included" fashion. Currently the scripts are:

botan_fetcher.py
curl_fetcher.py
eigen_fetcher.py
grpc_fetcher.py
libpqxx_fetcher.py
open62541_fetcher.py
opencv_fetcher.py
protobuf_fetcher.py
spdlog_fetcher.py

Suggestions and problems are also welcomed.

Escafandro coding agent

AhoiCpp is introducing sort of a coding agent functionality called Escafandro. This is still experimental and based on TJ DeVries presentation at Omacon 2026 idea for just in time software without having to search online. By running <leader>cec you will be asked what piece of C++ code Escafandro should generate for you. With a few instructions, it will produce the code where your cursor was placed at the moment you run it. Escafandro can also try to refactor selected code (without deleting it). This is done by running the same <leader>cec while having something selected in visual mode. Other feature is producing additional debug help besides the already present build.log file. Interpreting C++ compiler error messages is not the most exciting experience of the daily basis, so Escafandro also gives some hints when something is wrong, at which file, line and so on.

Escafandro is targeted for local LLMs, using llamacpp or ollama as its engines, so you will have to configure a few things at the installation setup. Otherwise, AhoiCpp will just work as usual. If Escafandro is active

Project structure

After running <leader>cpa YourApp:

YourApp/
├── .fetchers/
├── .git/
├── .gitignore
├── AhoiCppExternals.cmake
├── AhoiCppProject.cmake
├── ahoicpp_project.json
├── build.py
├── CMakeLists.txt
├── App/
│   ├── AhoiCppSubdirs.cmake
│   ├── CMakeLists.txt
│   ├── src/
│   │   └── YourApp.cpp
│   └── version.h.in (or version.rc.in)
├── Modules/           (created when you add modules)
└── externals/         (created for Git dependencies)
    └── README.md

Demo

Creating and getting your first C++ app compiled

Adding new classes to your project

Adding external dependencies from git repositories

Check Health

For health status of AhoiCpp, you can always run :checkhealth ahoicpp from the Neovim command line.

Tests

Running tests

AhoiCpp uses plenary.nvim for testing. To run the tests:

1. Ensure Plenary.nvim is installed.
2. Navigate to the plugin directory: 
```bash
cd ~/.local/share/nvim/lazy/ahoicpp.nvim
```
3. Run the tests from the command line:
```bash
nvim --headless -c "lua require('plenary.test_harness').test_directory('tests/spec', { minimal_init = 'tests/minimal_init.lua' })" -c "qa"
```

You can of course run the tests from inside Neovim. Just navigate to the directory where ahoicpp is installed, open neovim and then run:

:lua require('plenary.test_harness').test_directory('tests/spec', { minimal_init = 'tests/minimal_init.lua' })

For single file testing, you can use:

:lua require('plenary.test_harness').test_file('tests/spec/utils_spec.lua', { minimal_init = 'tests/minimal_init.lua' })

Test tree

The tests for AhoiCpp are structured as follows:

tests/
├── minimal_init.lua       # Test environment setup
└── spec/
    ├── utils_spec.lua     # Filesystem and validation tests
    ├── config_spec.lua    # Configuration tests
    ├── templates_spec.lua # Template generation tests
    ├── project_spec.lua   # Project creation tests
    └── build_spec.lua     # Build system tests

Troubleshooting

Error	Solution
"AhoiCpp is not initialized"	Run <leader>cpa first
"Python not found"	Install Python and ensure it's in PATH
Compilation fails	Check build/build.log

License

MIT (see LICENSE for details)