diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index cb0370c..286f029 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -1,32 +1,51 @@
 # neovim config
 I like neovim.  
 
+My goal with this repo was a relatively hands-free installation of nvim and everything needed to turn it into a decent everyday editor. It's not as feature-rich as something like VS code, but it should serve as a good lightweight alternative for most things I need to do. 
+
+**Note:** I recently gave this repo a major overhaul because I wanted autocomplete, better LSP support, and for nvim to feel like an actual editor. To view the old version of the config, you can view the `legacy` tag in this git repo
+
+## requirements
+* Neovim 0.12+
+* npm installed globally
+* tree-sitter cli (see [here](https://github.com/tree-sitter/tree-sitter/blob/master/crates/cli/README.md))
+* Git, a C compiler, `curl`, `tar`, and `unzip` on your `$PATH`
+
+See: 
+* https://github.com/folke/lazy.nvim#%EF%B8%8F-requirements
+* https://github.com/nvim-treesitter/nvim-treesitter#requirements
+* https://github.com/mason-org/mason.nvim#requirements
+* https://github.com/mason-org/mason-lspconfig.nvim#requirements
+* https://cmp.saghen.dev/installation#requirements
+
+
 ## installation
+Everything required here is handled in my [install script](https://gitea.jovan04.com/evan/linux-post-install). If you want to install just this config manually:
 ```bash
-# install neovim 0.11+
-sudo add-apt-repository ppa:neovim-ppa/unstable -y
-sudo apt update
-sudo apt install neovim -y
+# install neovim 0.12+
+curl -LO https://github.com/neovim/neovim/releases/latest/download/nvim-linux-x86_64.tar.gz
+sudo rm -rf /opt/nvim-linux-x86_64
+sudo tar -C /opt -xzf nvim-linux-x86_64.tar.gz
+rm nvim-linux-x86_64.tar.gz
 
-# install dependencies
-sudo apt install git ripgrep build-essential nodejs npm xclip -y
-sudo npm install -g pyright
+# add /opt/nvim-linux-x86_64/bin/ to your $PATH
+# (put this in your shell's .rc file)
+export PATH="$PATH:/opt/nvim-linux-x86_64/bin"
 
-# clone contents of this repo to ~/.config/nvim/
+# install tree-sitter CLI
+curl -LO https://github.com/tree-sitter/tree-sitter/releases/latest/download/tree-sitter-cli-linux-x64.zip
+sudo unzip ./tree-sitter-cli-linux-x64.zip -d /opt/nvim-linux-x86_64/bin/
+rm ./tree-sitter-cli-linux-x64.zip
+
+# clone this repo to your nvim config
 git clone https://gitea.jovan04.com/evan/neovim-config ~/.config/nvim
-
-# set up clipboard integrations
-sudo mkdir -p /usr/local/bin
-sudo printf '#!/bin/bash \nxclip -selection clipboard' | tee /usr/local/bin/pbcopy
-sudo chmod a+x /usr/local/bin/pbcopy
-sudo printf '#!/bin/bash \nxclip -selection clipboard -o' | tee /usr/local/bin/pbpaste
-sudo chmod a+x /usr/local/bin/pbpaste
 ```
-don't forget to set up an `alias nv='nvim'`
 
 ## includes
 - Lazy.nvim plugin manager
-- treesitter syntax highlighting (with auto-install)
+- treesitter syntax highlighting and autoindent
 - nvim-lspconfig
-- pyright language server
+- mason.nvim & mason-lspconfig language server manager
+- blink.cmp autocompletions
 - keybindings (mostly LSP-related)
+
diff --git a/init.lua b/init.lua
index 4689a89..4c6dd6f 100644
--- a/init.lua
+++ b/init.lua
@@ -1,10 +1,14 @@
-vim.cmd("set ww=<,>,[,],h,l")
+vim.g.mapleader = "\\"
 vim.cmd("colorscheme slate")
-vim.cmd("set linebreak")
-vim.cmd("set number")
-vim.cmd("set ruler")
-vim.cmd("set expandtab")
-vim.cmd("set shiftwidth=4 smarttab")
+
+vim.opt.ww = "<,>,[,],h,l"
+vim.opt.linebreak = true
+vim.opt.number = true
+vim.opt.ruler = true
+vim.opt.expandtab = true
+vim.opt.shiftwidth = 4
+vim.opt.tabstop = 4
+vim.opt.smarttab = true
 
 -- writing mode for markdown files
 vim.api.nvim_create_autocmd("FileType", {
@@ -16,47 +20,83 @@ vim.api.nvim_create_autocmd("FileType", {
   end,
 })
 
-
-vim.deprecate = function() end
-
--- Bootstrap lazy.nvim
+-- Bootstrap lazy.nvim (from https://lazy.folke.io/installation)
 local lazypath = vim.fn.stdpath("data") .. "/lazy/lazy.nvim"
-if not vim.loop.fs_stat(lazypath) then
-  vim.fn.system({
-    "git",
-    "clone",
-    "--filter=blob:none",
-    "https://github.com/folke/lazy.nvim.git",
-    lazypath,
-  })
+if not (vim.uv or vim.loop).fs_stat(lazypath) then
+  local lazyrepo = "https://github.com/folke/lazy.nvim.git"
+  local out = vim.fn.system({ "git", "clone", "--filter=blob:none", "--branch=stable", lazyrepo, lazypath })
+  if vim.v.shell_error ~= 0 then
+    vim.api.nvim_echo({
+      { "Failed to clone lazy.nvim:\n", "ErrorMsg" },
+      { out, "WarningMsg" },
+      { "\nPress any key to exit..." },
+    }, true, {})
+    vim.fn.getchar()
+    os.exit(1)
+  end
 end
 vim.opt.rtp:prepend(lazypath)
 
 require("lazy").setup({
-  -- Better syntax highlighting
-  {
-    "nvim-treesitter/nvim-treesitter",
-    build = ":TSUpdate",
-  },
+    -- Better syntax highlighting
+    {
+        "nvim-treesitter/nvim-treesitter",
+        lazy = false,
+        build = ":TSUpdate",
+    },
 
-  -- Easy LSP config (works with pyright)
-  {
-    "neovim/nvim-lspconfig",
-  },
+    -- temporarily disable b/c it wasn't working
+    -- { "arborist-ts/arborist.nvim" }, -- replacement for treesitter w/ auto-install on opening files
+ 
+    -- LSP configs
+    { "neovim/nvim-lspconfig" },
+
+    { "mason-org/mason.nvim" },
+
+    { "mason-org/mason-lspconfig.nvim",
+        opts = {
+            ensure_installed = { "pyright", "ts_ls", "clangd" },
+        },
+        dependencies = {
+          { "mason-org/mason.nvim", opts = {} },
+          "neovim/nvim-lspconfig",
+        },
+    },
+
+    { "saghen/blink.cmp",
+        version = "1.*",
+        dependencies = { 'rafamadriz/friendly-snippets' },
+        opts = {
+            keymap = { 
+                preset = "default",
+                ['<CR>'] = { 'select_and_accept', 'fallback' }, 
+                ['<Tab>'] = { 'snippet_forward', 'select_and_accept', 'fallback' },
+            },
+            completion = {
+                documentation = { auto_show = true },
+            },
+            sources = { default = { 'lsp', 'path' } }, -- add 'snippets' for e.g. a pre-formatted `for` loop
+        },
+    },
 })
 
-local lspconfig = require("lspconfig")
-lspconfig.pyright.setup({})
+-- require("arborist").setup({
+--     install_popular = false,
+--     prefer_wasm = false,
+-- })
 
-require("nvim-treesitter.configs").setup({
-  auto_install = true,
-  highlight = {
-    enable = true,
-  },
+-- turn on treesitter highlighting
+vim.api.nvim_create_autocmd('FileType', {
+    pattern = { '*' },
+    callback = function() 
+        pcall(vim.treesitter.start)
+    end,
 })
 
+-- LSP stuff
 vim.keymap.set('n', ' ', vim.lsp.buf.hover, {})
 vim.keymap.set('n', 'gd', vim.lsp.buf.definition, {})
+vim.keymap.set('n', 'gD', vim.lsp.buf.references, {})
 vim.keymap.set('n', 'cd', vim.lsp.buf.rename, {})
 vim.keymap.set('n', 'g.', vim.lsp.buf.code_action, {})
 vim.keymap.set("n", "<leader>e", vim.diagnostic.open_float)
diff --git a/lazy-lock.json b/lazy-lock.json
index 86511ee..ec7c6a1 100644
--- a/lazy-lock.json
+++ b/lazy-lock.json
@@ -1,5 +1,9 @@
 {
+  "blink.cmp": { "branch": "main", "commit": "78336bc89ee5365633bcf754d93df01678b5c08f" },
+  "friendly-snippets": { "branch": "main", "commit": "6cd7280adead7f586db6fccbd15d2cac7e2188b9" },
   "lazy.nvim": { "branch": "main", "commit": "306a05526ada86a7b30af95c5cc81ffba93fef97" },
-  "nvim-lspconfig": { "branch": "master", "commit": "e0fae251f8459940331960106d4bd9457cec23de" },
-  "nvim-treesitter": { "branch": "main", "commit": "42fc28ba918343ebfd5565147a42a26580579482" }
+  "mason-lspconfig.nvim": { "branch": "main", "commit": "7adc933dabcc7c86ae6b07aff7ee68eac398491f" },
+  "mason.nvim": { "branch": "main", "commit": "2a6940af80375532e5e9e7c1f2fc6319a1b7a69d" },
+  "nvim-lspconfig": { "branch": "master", "commit": "d592c1e6ad9a0a01b3d5ed3f0345d68407167181" },
+  "nvim-treesitter": { "branch": "main", "commit": "8b3a191c015dd66a92d51a112ed96af0aac13b63" }
 }
diff --git a/pack/nvim/start/nvim-lspconfig b/pack/nvim/start/nvim-lspconfig
deleted file mode 160000
index 03bc581..0000000
--- a/pack/nvim/start/nvim-lspconfig
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-Subproject commit 03bc581e05e81d33808b42b2d7e76d70adb3b595