mdxsnap.nvim

A Neovim plugin to paste an image in a clipboard into markdown and MDX files.

Snapping markdown file

Snapping mdx file

Features

• Paste images in a clipboard with the :PasteImage [filename] command.
  • If filename is provided, it's used as the image's filename (stem) and alt text.
  • If omitted, a random filename is generated.
• Cross-platform (windows, macos, linux)
• Flexible configuration

Prerequisites

• Neovim (0.10+ recommended)

• A command-line clipboard tool for individual OS.

• macOS: pbpaste and osascript

• Linux: wl-paste or xclip

• Windows: PowerShell (Get-Clipboard)

Installation

• Using packer.nvim, lazy.nvim

use {
  'trendcreate/mdxsnap.nvim',
  config = function()
    require('mdxsnap').setup()
  end
}

Usage

1. Open an MDX/Markdown file.
2. Copy the full absolute path of an image file to your system clipboard.
3. In Neovim (normal mode), run:

   :PasteImage

   • With file name

   :PasteImage [filename]

4. The plugin will:
   • Copy the image to the configured directory (e.g., project_root/snaps/images/posts/your_doc_name/random_img.png).
   • Add necessary import statements (if configured via customImports).
   • Insert an image reference at your cursor (formatted by customTextFormat).
   • Show a success notification.

Configuration

Configure mdxsnap.nvim by calling the setup function. Here's an example with explanations:

-- In your Neovim configuration (e.g., init.lua or a dedicated plugins file)
require("mdxsnap").setup({
  -- Default path for saving images.
  -- If DefaultPastePathType is "relative", this is relative to the project root.
  -- If "absolute", this is used as an absolute path.
  DefaultPastePath = "snaps/images/posts", -- Default: "snaps/images/posts"
  DefaultPastePathType = "relative",               -- Default: "relative" ("absolute" is also an option)

  -- Global custom import statements to ensure are present in the file (can be overridden by ProjectOverrides).
  -- The plugin checks if an import matching `checkRegex` exists before adding `line`.
  customImports = {
    {
      line = 'import { Image } from "astro:assets";', -- The full import line
      checkRegex = 'astro:assets',                   -- A string/regex to check for existing import
    },
    -- Example:
    -- { line = 'import MyCustomImage from "@/components/MyCustomImage.astro";', checkRegex = '@/components/MyCustomImage.astro' },
  },

  -- Global format for the inserted image reference text (can be overridden by ProjectOverrides).
  -- `%s` is a placeholder.
  -- - If one `%s`: it's replaced by the image path.
  -- - If two `%s`: the first is replaced by alt text (filename stem of the new image, or the name provided to :PasteImage),
  --                 and the second by the image path.
  customTextFormat = "![%s](%s)", -- Default: Markdown image format "![alt](src)"
  -- Example for Astro <Image /> component:
  -- customTextFormat = '<Image alt="%s" src={"%s"} />',
  -- Example for a simple <img> tag:
  -- customTextFormat = '<img alt="%s" src="%s" />',

  -- Override default settings for specific projects.
  -- Rules are evaluated in order; the first match is used.
  ProjectOverrides = {
    -- Example 1: Match by project directory name
    {
      matchType = "projectName",             -- "projectName" or "projectPath"
      matchValue = "my-astro-blog",        -- The name of the project's root directory
      PastePath = "src/assets/blog-images", -- Custom path for this project
      PastePathType = "relative",
      customImports = { -- Override global customImports for this project
        { line = 'import { BlogImage } from "@/components/BlogImage.astro";', checkRegex = "@/components/BlogImage.astro" },
      },
      customTextFormat = '<BlogImage alt="%s" src="%s" />', -- Override global customTextFormat
    },
    -- Example 2: Match by project's absolute path (supports ~ and $HOME)
    {
      matchType = "projectPath",
      matchValue = "~/dev/personal-website",
      PastePath = "src/content/assets/images",
      PastePathType = "absolute",
      customTextFormat = "![%s](%s 'My personal site image')", -- Add a title to markdown images
    },
    -- Add more rules as needed
  },
})

Key Configuration Options:

• DefaultPastePath (string): Default directory for saving images. Initial default is "snaps/images/posts".
• DefaultPastePathType (string): How DefaultPastePath is interpreted. Can be "relative" (to project root) or "absolute". Initial default is "relative".
• ProjectOverrides (table of tables): A list of rules to override default settings for specific projects.
  • matchType (string): "projectName" (matches the project root's directory name) or "projectPath" (matches the project root's absolute path, supports ~, $HOME).
  • matchValue (string): The value to match against (e.g., "my-blog", "~/dev/project-x").
  • PastePath (string): The path to use if this rule matches.
  • PastePathType (string): The type ("relative" or "absolute") for this rule's PastePath.
  • customImports (optional, table of tables): Overrides the global customImports for this project.
  • customTextFormat (optional, string): Overrides the global customTextFormat for this project.
• customImports (table of tables): Global list of import statements to automatically add if not present. Can be overridden by ProjectOverrides.
  • line (string): The full import statement.
  • checkRegex (string): A string or Lua pattern to check if a similar import already exists.
• customTextFormat (string): Global format string for the text inserted into the document. Can be overridden by ProjectOverrides.

Remember to restart Neovim or re-source your configuration after making changes.

Project override examples

Zenn CLI Configuration

For Zenn CLI projects:

{
    matchType = "projectName",
    matchValue = "zenn-articles", -- Replace with your actual repository name
    PastePath = "images",
    PastePathType = "relative",
},

This automatically saves images to the images directory when working on your Zenn articles.

• Directory structure

.
├── articles
│   └── introduce-mdxsnapnvim.md
├── books
├── images
│   └── introduce-mdxsnapnvim
│       ├── github.png
│       ├── neovim.png
│       ├── running-command.png
│       └── zenn-setting.png
├── README.md
├── bun.lock
└── package.json