im-switch.nvim

im-switch.nvim automatically switches your input method (IM) in Neovim based on events (e.g. InsertLeave, InsertEnter). It helps when you frequently switch between English and non-English IMs while coding.

✨ Features

• 🔄 Switch input method according to Neovim events
• 📦 No need to install other tools to switch input method like im-select
• 🖥️ Works on Windows/WSL2/macOS/Linux

⚡️ Requirements

OS	Requirements
All OS	Neovim >= 0.10.0
Linux	An input method framework (e.g., fcitx5, ibus)

Note

The plugin automatically downloads the im-switch CLI binary during installation. No manual setup is required for Windows/WSL2/macOS. On Linux, the CLI supports fcitx5 and ibus natively, but you can also use custom commands for other frameworks.

📦 Installation

Install the plugin with your preferred package manager.

lazy.nvim

{
  "drop-stones/im-switch.nvim",
  event = { "InsertEnter", "CmdlineEnter" },
  opts = {
    -- your configurations
  }
}

Note

The plugin only reacts to editing-mode transitions — InsertLeave/CmdlineLeave (and, in restore mode, InsertEnter/InsertLeavePre) — so it is safe to load it as late as the first time you type. Loading on InsertEnter and CmdlineEnter covers both insert and command-line input. You are free to pick any other lazy-loading trigger that fits your workflow.

lazy.nvim downloads the im-switch CLI automatically on install and update, so no build key is needed.

vim.pack (Neovim 0.12+)

vim.pack.add({ "https://github.com/drop-stones/im-switch.nvim" })

require("im-switch.build").setup()
require("im-switch").setup({
  -- your configurations
})

Note

vim.pack has no build step, so call require("im-switch.build").setup() yourself to download the im-switch CLI. It downloads only when the CLI is missing or outdated — otherwise it returns immediately without running any process — so it is safe to call on every startup.

⚙️ Configuration

General options

Key	Type	Default	Description
mode	string	"restore"	IM switching mode

Available modes:

• "restore" (default) — Saves IM state per buffer on InsertLeave and restores it on InsertEnter.
• "fixed" — Always switches to the default IM. No save/restore.

macOS

Key	Type	Required	Description
macos.default_im	string	Yes	Default IM to switch to when leaving insert/cmdline mode

require("im-switch").setup({
  macos = {
    default_im = "com.apple.keylayout.ABC",
  },
})

Linux

Key	Type	Required	Description
linux.default_im	string	Yes	Default IM to switch to when leaving insert/cmdline mode
linux.get_im_command	string[]	No	Custom command to get current IM (takes priority over CLI if set)
linux.set_im_command	string[]	No	Custom command to set IM (takes priority over CLI if set)

require("im-switch").setup({
  linux = {
    default_im = "keyboard-us",
  },
})

Tip

If your IM framework is not supported by the im-switch CLI, you can use custom commands:

linux = {
  default_im = "default",
  get_im_command = { "my-im-tool", "get" },
  set_im_command = { "my-im-tool", "set" },
}

WSL2

Key	Type	Required	Description
wsl2.server	boolean	No	Opt into the loopback IPC fast path (default: false)

On WSL the plugin controls the Windows IME with no configuration required. By default each switch runs im-switch.exe through WSL interop, which adds about 60 ms of process-startup latency. Set wsl2.server = true to enable the loopback IPC fast path: a long-lived Windows daemon is started once and each switch is forwarded to it over TCP (about 1–2 ms instead of 60 ms), with a transparent fallback to a direct call if the daemon is unreachable.

require("im-switch").setup({
  wsl2 = {
    server = true,
  },
})

Note

The fast path requires WSL2 mirrored networking mode (Windows 11 22H2+), enabled in C:\Users\<user>\.wslconfig (run wsl --shutdown after editing):

[wsl2]
networkingMode=mirrored

[experimental]
hostAddressLoopback=true

🔄 How it switches IM

Neovim cannot switch IM directly, so this plugin uses the im-switch CLI:

• Windows/WSL2: Toggles IME on/off via im-switch ime on/off
• macOS: Switches input source via im-switch set <input_source_id>
• Linux: Uses im-switch CLI (fcitx5/ibus) or user-configured custom commands

The CLI binary is automatically downloaded from GitHub Releases during plugin installation.

OS	Architecture
Windows/WSL2	x86_64, aarch64
macOS	x86_64, aarch64
Linux	x86_64, aarch64

🩺 Troubleshooting

Run :checkhealth im-switch if you run into any issues.

📜 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.