Echasnovski (pt 2): Linux, Terminals, and Tools (Ghostty vs Kitty, NixOS, Arch)

Part 2 of my 3+ hour chat with Echasnovski (mini.nvim / MiniMax) goes full Linux and tooling mode. We continue our Neovim discussion, then we get to know the nvim-mini team, talk about EndeavourOS + Arch (and the Ubuntu-to-Arch jump), how he approaches updates, thoughts on NixOS, and the macOS “it’s expensive” misconception. Then we get into terminals: why Ghostty over Kovid Goyal’s Kitty, whether the performance difference is real, and his thoughts on Kovid. If you’re into distros, terminals, and practical dev workflows, this one is for you.

Video:

https://youtu.be/UqlkKK7imjo

What's the best way to support me?

https://linkarzu.com/about/#youre-a-fraud-why-do-you-ask-for-money-isnt-youtube-ads-enough

Timeline:

00:00:00 - Highlights

00:01:58 - MiniMax LSP config

00:06:19 - The team behind the nvim-mini project

00:08:40 - Are you a dictator like Justin and Kovid?

00:10:51 - Why do you do all this. Accept donations?

00:13:01 - Is each plugin a separate repo? How does that work?

00:14:46 - Why each plugin was moved to a separate repo?

00:17:43 - Background, studies, job

00:22:24 - Echasnovski needs support

00:24:27 - Are you part of the Neovim Core team?

00:25:03 - Contributions to Neovim

00:27:03 - Why this love for Neovim?

00:28:06 - Thoughts on Tmux and neovim tabs

00:29:31 - Relative line numbers?

00:33:23 - Thoughts on purists saying you have to stick to defaults

00:35:04 - Thoughts on extending Neovim

00:36:32 - Gregory Anders beef with the .setup call

00:46:45 - Thoughts on AI generated PRs

00:48:30 - Thoughts on AI, or should we say LLMs?

00:52:20 - Why Ghostty and not king Goyal's terminal?

00:55:58 - Felt performance difference between Ghostty and Kitty?

00:57:38 - Are you a fangirl of Kovid? (Kitty and Calibre creator)

00:58:59 - Which Linux distro do you use? EndeavourOS

01:01:10 - From Ubuntu to Arch

01:04:52 - Do regular updates on a day you have time

01:09:21 - Thoughts on NixOS

01:10:17 - Thoughts on macOS and the misconception that its expensive

01:15:17 - Thoughts on Echasnovski's accent

01:17:35 - From LazyVim to MiniMax?