arena.nvim: A frecency-based buffer switcher

arena.nvim is a frecency-based buffer switcher. Its tunable algorithm suggests the most relevant buffers for you, massively speeding up productivity!

Using the arena window, you can easily jump between files!

Motivation

I wrote arena.nvim because I was tired of how long it took to get back to a buffer I'd previously opened. Fuzzy finders took too long, especially for large projects. Alternate files were too rigid, as I could only get fast buffer-hopping between two files. Existing buffer managers hold on to every file edited in the current session, so every single buffer opened adds to the listing. Persistent marks got hard to manage in large codebases.

After enough time dealing with these annoyances, I wrote a "smart" buffer switcher that uses a frecency algorithm to suggest buffers for you.

With arena.nvim, you no longer have to spend any energy trying to get back to a file you've already edited. Rather, it'll most likely be listed in as soon as you open the arena window!

Extra Stuff

The design and feel of the window is very-much inspired by ThePrimeagen's harpoon. Although arena.nvim has a similar interface, it is not a replacement. arena.nvim has no persistence between neovim instances; there are other plugins for that.

I'd love for some other thoughts on the plugin. It's been vital to my workflow ever since its earliest iteration, so other sources of input would be great! I've been experimenting with different configurations of the algorithm, and haven't decided on the best default quite yet.

If you run into any bugs using the plugin, or have any suggestions, please open an issue!