Static Neovim Builder

This project builds a static binary of Neovim using GitHub Actions, making it easy to distribute and use Neovim without dependencies.

What it does

• Weekly builds: Automatically builds a static Neovim binary every Monday at 2 AM UTC
• Manual triggers: Can also be triggered manually via GitHub Actions UI
• Static compilation: Creates a fully self-contained binary with no external dependencies
• Cross-platform ready: Built on Ubuntu but the resulting binary works on most Linux distributions

Workflow Details

The GitHub Actions workflow consists of two jobs:

1. build-static-neovim

• Runs on Alpine Linux container
• Installs required build dependencies (cmake, build tools, etc.)
• Clones the stable branch of Neovim from GitHub
• Compiles with static linking (CMAKE_EXTRA_FLAGS="-DSTATIC_BUILD=1")
• Caches the binary for efficiency
• Uploads the binary as a GitHub Actions artifact

2. use-static-neovim

• Downloads the compiled binary artifact
• Makes it executable
• Tests the binary by running --version

Usage

Automatic Builds

The workflow runs automatically every week via cron schedule. No action needed.

Manual Builds

1. Go to the "Actions" tab in your GitHub repository
2. Select "Build Static Neovim" workflow
3. Click "Run workflow"

Downloading the Binary

1. After a build completes, go to the workflow run
2. Download the static-neovim artifact
3. Extract and use the nvim-static-x86_64 binary

Building Locally

If you want to build locally, the process is similar:

# Install dependencies (Alpine Linux example)
apk add build-base cmake coreutils curl gettext-tiny-dev git ninja-build

# Clone and build
git clone --depth 1 --branch stable https://github.com/neovim/neovim
cd neovim
make CMAKE_EXTRA_FLAGS="-DSTATIC_BUILD=1"

# The binary will be at build/bin/nvim

Binary Information

• Architecture: x86_64
• Branch: stable
• Type: Static binary (no external dependencies)
• Size: Typically ~15-20MB

Documentation

For more detailed build instructions and options, see the official Neovim build documentation: https://neovim.io/doc/build/

License

This workflow follows the same license as Neovim. The built binary includes all Neovim components and their respective licenses.