Health checks
:BlakDoctor runs :checkhealth blak, which executes the health check module at lua/blak/core/health.lua.
Run it after:
- A fresh install.
- Enabling or disabling an extra.
- A
:BlakUpdateif anything feels off. - Before filing an issue — paste the output.
What it checks
Blak environment
- Neovim version — must be 0.12 or newer. Native LSP wiring requires it.
termguicolors— must be on. Without it the splash and colorscheme look wrong.
Binaries on $PATH
The checker probes for each tool with vim.fn.executable. Missing tools warn but don’t fail.
| Binary | Used for |
|---|---|
git | Plugin install via lazy.nvim |
rg (ripgrep) | Backing grep for pickers, :grep |
fd | Faster file enumeration than the built-in walk |
tree-sitter | Compiling parsers (:BlakTreesitterInstall) |
Picker
If picker.provider == "fff", confirms fff.nvim can actually run. require("fff") isn’t enough: it resolves to fff.main, which defers the Rust backend into function bodies and so succeeds even with no native library on disk. The check probes the backend directly, and distinguishes three failures:
- Plugin not loadable — fff.nvim isn’t installed yet. Run
:Lazy syncand restart. - Native library missing — the plugin is there but the Rust library was never built or downloaded.
- Stranded download — the library was downloaded and verified, but fff couldn’t install it because the old one was still loaded, so it sits at
<binary>.tmp. Nothing on fff’s require path promotes it, so this survives restarts until you re-run the download.
If you swapped to telescope or fzf-lua via an extra, those checks live in their respective extras.
Enabled extras
Lists every extra ID currently in your enabled set, drawn from extras.enabled plus the state file. Useful for confirming a :BlakExtras enable … actually persisted.
Linters
Lists every linter configured in lint.linters_by_ft (yours plus contributions
from enabled extras) and resolves each one’s command the same way the lint
runner does. A linter whose binary isn’t on $PATH warns here — Blak skips it
at lint time rather than raising an error on every save, so this section is how
you find out it never ran. See Linting for the details.
Mason tools
Lists every tool the merged config wants installed (mason.ensure_installed + contributions from enabled extras). Doesn’t actually probe Mason — just shows the set. Run :Mason to see install status, or :BlakToolsInstall to install Blak’s configured tool set.
Sample output
Blak- ok: Neovim 0.12 detected- ok: termguicolors enabled
Binaries- ok: git- ok: rg- ok: fd- warning: tree-sitter missing — install via Mason (:Mason)
Picker- ok: fff loadable
Enabled extras- lang.lua- git.lazygit
Linters- warning: markdownlint not found; it is skipped until installed. Run :BlakToolsInstall.- ok: shellcheck found
Mason tools- stylua- shfmt- tree-sitter-cli- lazygitWhen something fails
| Symptom | Fix |
|---|---|
Neovim X.Y is too old | Upgrade to 0.12+. The native LSP API doesn’t exist before. |
termguicolors disabled | Set vim.opt.termguicolors = true in your terminal config, or check your $TERM value. |
git not found | Install git. Lazy.nvim needs it to clone plugins. |
rg not found | Install ripgrep. Without it pickers fall back to slow built-in walks. |
fff.nvim is not loadable yet | Run :Lazy sync, then check :Lazy log fff.nvim. The binary downloads during plugin build. |
fff.nvim ... native library is missing | Run :lua require("fff.download").download_or_build_binary(), then restart. Without it the picker throws a Rust backend error on startup. |
fff.nvim downloaded its native library but could not install it | Same command, then restart. The download is complete and sitting at <binary>.tmp; running it again promotes the file. |
<linter> not found | The linter isn’t on $PATH, so it is skipped silently at lint time. Run :BlakToolsInstall if Mason ships it, or install it yourself. |
<linter> is configured but nvim-lint has no such linter | The name in lint.linters_by_ft doesn’t match any nvim-lint linter. Check the spelling against nvim-lint’s linter list. |
Unknown extra: <id> | The extra was removed or renamed. Run :BlakExtras disable <id> to remove the stale state entry. If it is still listed in lua/blak/user.lua, remove it there too. |
Where the file lives
$XDG_STATE_HOME/blak/extras.json -- enabled extras$XDG_STATE_HOME/blak/update.json -- accepted update channel$XDG_STATE_HOME/blak/rollbacks/ -- config-aware rollback snapshots$XDG_STATE_HOME/blak/lockbacks/ -- legacy lockfile-only backups$XDG_DATA_HOME/lazy/ -- lazy.nvim plugin install root$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/lazy-lock.json -- current lockfile (per-NVIM_APPNAME)If XDG_* aren’t set, defaults are ~/.local/state, ~/.local/share, ~/.config.