Toward the Unknown, Arch and I.

Ronald López — Sun, 12 Jul 2026 18:13:00 +0000

Finally Made the Jump to Arch

I finally made the jump to Arch. It was rushed, I have to say, considering that just two weeks ago I had installed Mint (because Ubuntu was having issues) and after that time I realized I was doing the same thing I did on Mac: trying to emulate everything I already knew, but on a different operating system. And that wasn't what I wanted. I wanted to learn something new, use the terminal, not depend so much on graphical interfaces to get around.

It's similar to what happened to me when I made the jump to Neovim: I wanted something completely different, something that wouldn't make me depend on a file browser or anything so visual. One could ask why, if everything is already solved, to go back and learn something from scratch trying to optimize something that perhaps didn't even need it (I'll talk about that in another post). For now, I managed to install Arch after Wi-Fi gave me more than one headache, and install Hyprland and Waybar.

So Much to Do, Too Much...

I don't know why I keep ignoring the abstraction of programs and operating systems to look for something more low-level. Maybe it's a mental issue, or maybe I just want to try different things. Who knows. For now things look good: it's just a matter of configuring the audio drivers, Bluetooth, the keyboard (a Corne) and whatever else there is left to discover.

This time I'm going to try to do things differently. Let the process be like the one with Neovim: use the terminal more, navigate with it, move and delete files without depending on a folder interface. That's what Arch is for, otherwise I would have stuck with Mac.

More than fun, I hope it's all chaotic. Installing things that don't work, breaking the system, reinstalling everything. That's part of the process, and in part that's why I'm here, on the verge of venturing into the unknown.

NeoVim, Split Keyboards and a New World.

Ronald López — Sat, 11 Jul 2026 00:02:53 +0000

The First Step Toward the Terminal

It was around 2023 or 2024—I can't quite remember—but I was tired of doing the same thing over and over in programming: VS Code, JavaScript, React, TypeScript, always the same. I wanted to try something different, something that would help me rediscover my passion for programming and the desire to learn new things.

That's when ThePrimeagen appeared with a completely different programming style from the traditional one, where everything was a boring YouTube tutorial teaching you how to build a CRUD in VS Code. This guy was really good at what he did, but there was something unusual about him: a keyboard split in two, and his editor wasn't VS Code but one in the terminal, like in The Matrix. I was impressed. I watched many of his videos and couldn't understand how he navigated between editors and files without using the mouse. I had heard something about this years before, but it was the first time I saw someone do it so fluidly and so fast.

And something inside me said: this is what I've been missing. Not continuing to build CRUDs or projects that would lead me to the same place as everyone else, but something that would truly motivate me to step out of my comfort zone. And so I started.

My First Experience with a Split Keyboard and Neovim

Since I had no idea about the terminal—beyond running npm install and things like that—and even less about split keyboards, I searched to see if they sold anything in Chile so I wouldn't have to buy from abroad. That's when I found Zone Keyboards, with various and affordable options, so I went for the least aggressive choice: a Sofle RGB, my first split keyboard.

I think it took me almost a full year to master it completely: typing without looking at each key, learning new shortcuts, using all my fingers, getting used to the new hand position. But after that, everything was faster. I didn't have to think about each movement, I didn't have to do Cmd + Shift to search for what program to open. I thought and I executed, no pauses, just executing. It was wonderful.

From Comfort to Frustration

The next step was missing: learning to use the terminal. I realized the editor was called Vim and that it came on almost every operating system, but ThePrimeagen was using Neovim, which is basically the same thing but on steroids. I installed it and after some failures I understood it would take me another couple of months to learn, but this time I was more motivated. My .config folders and I became best friends; now I did and undid things, without depending on some weird VS Code plugin.

At several points I came across pre-made configurations, but that was my moment to say: no, I'm going to understand this from the inside. I want to know why, when, and for what each thing executes, not just install and be done with it.

From Here On Out

Now my days are 100% Neovim. VS Code is something I look at fondly, but I don't plan to go back to using the mouse or failing at text selection because my hand is shaky. A V + i + "" and done. My friends think I'm crazy for using that editor and a keyboard (now a Corne V3) without symbols on the keys, but for me it's the best thing that could have happened: it's comfortable and I love it.

Now I'm on Linux and other things, but that's a story for another post. For now, I'm happy with my setup, Neovim, and my Corne V3.

More about me 👋

Personal -> https://proyect-proxima.com/
Coding -> https://github.com/rlopezse
Profesional -> https://www.linkedin.com/in/rlopezse/

DEV Community: Ronald López