diff --git a/scripts/setup/machine-setup/lib/dev.sh b/scripts/setup/machine-setup/lib/dev.sh
index 22f5f61c..bb375f2d 100644
--- a/scripts/setup/machine-setup/lib/dev.sh
+++ b/scripts/setup/machine-setup/lib/dev.sh
@@ -99,3 +99,74 @@ set_login_shell() {
   grep -qxF "$shell" /etc/shells || echo "$shell" >>/etc/shells
   chsh -s "$shell" "$USERNAME"
 }
+
+# -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Neovim
+# -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+#
+# From the upstream tarball rather than the distribution, which ships Neovim
+# years behind — Ubuntu 24.04 has 0.9 where upstream is on 0.12, and LazyVim
+# requires 0.9+ with most plugins wanting newer.
+#
+# The asset names are x86_64 and arm64. The original mapped aarch64 to
+# "aarch64", which is not a name Neovim publishes: on an arm machine it
+# downloaded a 404 and tar failed on the HTML error page.
+nvim_asset() {
+  case "$ARCH" in
+    amd64) echo x86_64 ;;
+    arm64) echo arm64 ;;
+  esac
+}
+
+nvim_installed_version() { nvim --version 2>/dev/null | awk 'NR == 1 { print $2 }'; }
+
+nvim_latest_version() {
+  curl -fsSL https://api.github.com/repos/neovim/neovim/releases/latest 2>/dev/null |
+    jq -r '.tag_name // empty'
+}
+
+# Downloaded to /tmp, not to whatever directory the script was launched from —
+# the original used `curl -LO`, which drops the tarball beside the script and
+# leaves it there if tar fails.
+#
+# The old install is removed only after the download has succeeded, so a failed
+# fetch leaves the working copy alone.
+nvim_install() {
+  local asset tarball dest
+  asset="$(nvim_asset)"
+  tarball="/tmp/nvim-linux-${asset}.tar.gz"
+  dest="/opt/nvim-linux-${asset}"
+
+  curl -fsSL -o "$tarball" \
+    "https://github.com/neovim/neovim/releases/latest/download/nvim-linux-${asset}.tar.gz" || return 1
+
+  # A 404 comes back as an HTML page, and tar's failure on it is unhelpful.
+  # Checking here names the real problem.
+  tar -tzf "$tarball" >/dev/null 2>&1 || {
+    rm -f "$tarball"
+    warn "the download is not a tarball — the release asset may have been renamed"
+    return 1
+  }
+
+  rm -rf "$dest"
+  tar -C /opt -xzf "$tarball"
+  rm -f "$tarball"
+  ln -sf "${dest}/bin/nvim" /usr/local/bin/nvim
+}
+
+# Clone a Neovim config into the account's ~/.config/nvim.
+#
+# From `cd /` for the same reason git config does: the script's working directory
+# is usually under the invoking user's home at 0750, which the target account
+# cannot stat, and git fails there before it does anything useful.
+nvim_clone_config() {
+  local repo="$1" dest="${USER_HOME}/.config/nvim"
+
+  install -d -m 0755 -o "$USERNAME" -g "$USERNAME" "${USER_HOME}/.config"
+  (cd / && sudo -H -u "$USERNAME" git clone --depth 1 "$repo" "$dest" >/dev/null 2>&1) || return 1
+
+  # The starter is a template, not something to track. Left in place for a
+  # config of the user's own, which they will want to keep pulling.
+  [[ "$repo" == *LazyVim/starter* ]] && sudo -u "$USERNAME" rm -rf "${dest}/.git"
+  return 0
+}
diff --git a/scripts/setup/machine-setup/machine-setup.sh b/scripts/setup/machine-setup/machine-setup.sh
index 6f07fb36..673ebd23 100755
--- a/scripts/setup/machine-setup/machine-setup.sh
+++ b/scripts/setup/machine-setup/machine-setup.sh
@@ -1853,13 +1853,109 @@ EOF
   step_ok
 fi
 
+# =============================================================================
+# 24. Neovim
+# =============================================================================
+
+step "Neovim"
+if ! skip; then
+  NVIM_NOW="$(nvim_installed_version)"
+  NVIM_LATEST="$(nvim_latest_version)"
+
+  echo ""
+  info "Neovim — from upstream, not from the distribution"
+  echo "     installed:    ${NVIM_NOW:-not installed}"
+  echo "     latest:       ${NVIM_LATEST:-could not reach github}"
+  echo "     Ubuntu ships a Neovim years behind upstream, and LazyVim wants a"
+  echo "     recent one, so this takes the release tarball."
+
+  if [[ -z "$NVIM_LATEST" ]]; then
+    warn "cannot reach the release API — leaving Neovim alone"
+    SUMMARY+=("Neovim: skipped, could not reach github")
+  elif [[ "$NVIM_NOW" == "$NVIM_LATEST" ]]; then
+    echo "     already on the latest release, nothing to do"
+    SUMMARY+=("Neovim: already ${NVIM_NOW}")
+  else
+    echo ""
+    if confirm "${NVIM_NOW:+Upgrade}${NVIM_NOW:-Install} Neovim ${NVIM_LATEST}?"; then
+      if nvim_install; then
+        ok "neovim $(nvim_installed_version) at /usr/local/bin/nvim"
+        SUMMARY+=("Neovim: $(nvim_installed_version)")
+      else
+        warn "the Neovim install did not complete"
+        ERRORS+=("Neovim: install failed")
+        SUMMARY+=("Neovim: install FAILED")
+      fi
+    else
+      warn "skipped by request"
+      SUMMARY+=("Neovim: SKIPPED by request")
+    fi
+  fi
+
+  # ── configuration ──
+  if command -v nvim &>/dev/null && id "$USERNAME" &>/dev/null; then
+    NVIM_CONFIG="${USER_HOME}/.config/nvim"
+
+    if [[ -d "$NVIM_CONFIG" ]]; then
+      echo ""
+      echo "     ${USERNAME} already has a Neovim config at ${NVIM_CONFIG}"
+      SUMMARY+=("Neovim: existing config left alone")
+    else
+      echo ""
+      info "Neovim configuration for ${USERNAME}"
+      echo "     [1] LazyVim starter — a maintained set of defaults, sensible to"
+      echo "         build on and easy to remove"
+      echo "     [2] a git repository of your own"
+      echo "     [3] nothing — plain Neovim"
+      echo ""
+
+      NVIM_REPO=""
+      NVIM_PICK=""
+      while [[ -z "$NVIM_PICK" ]]; do
+        if ! read -rp "  Which one? (1/2/3) [1]: " NVIM_CHOICE; then
+          echo ""
+          fail "No answer."
+        fi
+        case "${NVIM_CHOICE:-1}" in
+          1)
+            NVIM_REPO="https://github.com/LazyVim/starter"
+            NVIM_PICK=config
+            ;;
+          2)
+            # No default. The original suggested its author's own private repo,
+            # which nobody else can clone.
+            read -rp "  Repository URL: " NVIM_REPO || fail "No answer."
+            [[ -n "$NVIM_REPO" ]] && NVIM_PICK=config || warn "A repository URL is needed."
+            ;;
+          3) NVIM_PICK=none ;;
+          *) warn "Pick 1, 2 or 3." ;;
+        esac
+      done
+
+      if [[ "$NVIM_PICK" == config ]]; then
+        if nvim_clone_config "$NVIM_REPO"; then
+          ok "config cloned to ${NVIM_CONFIG}"
+          SUMMARY+=("Neovim: config from ${NVIM_REPO}")
+        else
+          warn "could not clone ${NVIM_REPO}"
+          ERRORS+=("Neovim: cloning ${NVIM_REPO} failed")
+          SUMMARY+=("Neovim: config clone FAILED")
+        fi
+      else
+        SUMMARY+=("Neovim: no config, plain Neovim")
+      fi
+    fi
+  fi
+  step_ok
+fi
+
 # =============================================================================
 # NOT PORTED YET
 # =============================================================================
 #
 # Sections still to move across from scripts/setup-old/setup-ubuntu.sh, in order:
 #
-#   neovim · js runtimes ·
+#   js runtimes ·
 #   dev tools · ufw · zshrc
 #
 # And one that is new rather than ported, to come last of all: