I found the secret for Neovim pair programming


Hi friends,

Ever felt like your remote pair programming sessions were missing that seamless, in-person collaboration feel?

You’re not alone.

Many developers struggle to recreate the magic of side-by-side coding in a virtual environment.

A recent study shows that pair programming has been proven to catch mistakes early, reduce defects, and lead to better designs. The same study found that teams who practice pair programming not only produce shorter, more efficient code but also solve problems faster and enjoy their work more.

However, achieving this level of collaboration remotely has been a challenge – until now.

Most developers resort to screen sharing or clunky IDE plugins for remote pair programming.
But what about those of us who live in the terminal?

Enter Tmate – the pair-programming game-changer for Neovim enthusiasts and terminal lovers.

Tmate: a fork of Tmux

Offers a brilliant solution for secure and instant terminal sharing:

  1. Install Tmate on your system (available for most platforms).
  2. Start a Tmate session, which will provide you with a unique SSH address (or a webview option!)
  3. Share this address with your coding partner.
  4. Your partner can now join your terminal session, seeing and interacting with your Neovim environment in real-time.

But Tmate isn’t just about sharing your screen.

It offers fine-grained control:

  • Create read-only sessions for code reviews.
  • Use named sessions with static URLs for recurring collaborations.
  • Limit sessions to specific processes for focused work.

By mastering Tmate for Neovim pair programming, you’re not just solving a technical challenge – you’re enhancing your entire collaborative coding experience.

Feel free to reply here directly with your views - do you have a better setup?
Do you feel differently about pair programming?

Have a great weekend!

Whenever you’re ready, here’s how I can help you:

ESPRESSO FRIDAYS

Every once in a while I send hand picked things I've learned. Kind of like your filter to the tech internet. No spam, I promise!

Read more from ESPRESSO FRIDAYS

6 Neovim Plugins I Use To Troll Code Reviewers The Espresso Fridays is brought to you by: Zero To Running a Kubernetes Application Without Weeks of Studying A hands-on Kubernetes guide to deploy your first scaleable application In under 90 minutes you'll: ✅ Learn all the critical Kubernetes basics from a 10-year industry expert ✅ CUT learning time by 60% with a hands-on application deployment walkthrough ✅ Never feel inexperienced again with the hottest technology in the market Start learning...

Hi friends, Are you tired of juggling multiple apps for note-taking and writing? Many of us struggle to find a seamless system that combines powerful text editing with effective note organization. While popular note-taking apps offer fancy features, they often fall short for those who prefer a keyboard-centric, or should I say Vim-centric workflow. Most people resort to using dedicated note-taking applications like Obsidian, Notion, or even Apple notes. These tools are great for casual users,...

Hi friends, The Dotfiles Dilemma Ever felt like your computer settings are scattered everywhere? Those pesky dotfiles that control how your programs look and work can be a real headache to manage. The Old Way: Git and Stow Many of us have tried using Git to track changes in our dotfiles. Some even use Stow to create symlinks. But let's be honest – it's not always smooth sailing. Sometimes things don't line up right, and not every program plays nice with this setup. Why Traditional Methods...