Install LSP for Claude Code

Enable Language Server Protocol integration to give Claude Code IDE-like code intelligence: go-to-definition, find-references, rename-symbol, and real-time diagnostics.

Why LSP?

LSP provides semantic code understanding instead of text-based grep searches:

50ms to find function call sites with LSP vs 45 seconds with text search
Exact symbol locations with line/column numbers
Cross-file navigation and refactoring support

Setup Options

Option 1: Native LSP Tool (Recommended)

Claude Code has built-in LSP support that requires activation.

Enable permanently (add to

~/.zshrc

~/.bashrc

bash

export ENABLE_LSP_TOOL=1

Install language plugins from the community marketplace:

bash

# Add the LSP plugin marketplace
/plugin marketplace add boostvolt/claude-code-lsps

# Install language-specific plugins
/plugin install pyright@claude-code-lsps        # Python
/plugin install vtsls@claude-code-lsps          # TypeScript/JavaScript
/plugin install gopls@claude-code-lsps          # Go
/plugin install rust-analyzer@claude-code-lsps  # Rust
/plugin install clangd@claude-code-lsps         # C/C++
/plugin install jdtls@claude-code-lsps          # Java
/plugin install omnisharp@claude-code-lsps      # C#
/plugin install intelephense@claude-code-lsps   # PHP
/plugin install kotlin-language-server@claude-code-lsps  # Kotlin
/plugin install solargraph@claude-code-lsps     # Ruby
/plugin install vscode-html-css@claude-code-lsps # HTML/CSS

Option 2: cclsp MCP Server

Community MCP server with interactive setup wizard.

Automated setup:

bash

npx cclsp@latest setup          # Project-level config
npx cclsp@latest setup --user   # User-wide config

The wizard:

Scans project files to detect languages
Pre-selects appropriate LSP servers
Shows installation instructions for each server
Optionally auto-installs LSP binaries
Configures MCP integration

LSP Server Requirements by Language

Language	Binary	Installation
Python	pyright	`pip install pyright` or `npm i -g pyright`
TypeScript/JS	vtsls	`npm i -g @vtsls/language-server typescript`
Go	gopls	`go install golang.org/x/tools/gopls@latest`
Rust	rust-analyzer	`rustup component add rust-analyzer`
C/C++	clangd	`brew install llvm` or `xcode-select --install`
Java	jdtls	`brew install jdtls` (requires Java 21+)
C#	omnisharp	`brew install omnisharp/omnisharp-roslyn/omnisharp-mono`
PHP	intelephense	`npm i -g intelephense`
Kotlin	kotlin-language-server	`brew install kotlin-language-server`
Ruby	solargraph	`gem install solargraph`
HTML/CSS	vscode-langservers	`npm i -g vscode-langservers-extracted`

cclsp Configuration File

Location:

.claude/cclsp.json

(project) or

~/.config/claude/cclsp.json

(global)

json

{
  "servers": [
    {
      "extensions": ["py", "pyi"],
      "command": ["pyright-langserver", "--stdio"],
      "rootDir": ".",
      "restartInterval": 30
    },
    {
      "extensions": ["ts", "tsx", "js", "jsx"],
      "command": ["typescript-language-server", "--stdio"],
      "rootDir": "."
    }
  ]
}

Available LSP Tools

After setup, Claude Code gains these capabilities:

Tool	Description
`find_definition`	Navigate to symbol definition
`find_references`	Find all usages of a symbol
`rename_symbol`	Rename symbol across all files
`get_diagnostics`	Get type errors and warnings
`restart_server`	Restart the language server

Troubleshooting

"No LSP server available for file type"

bash

# Verify plugin is installed
/plugin

# Reinstall if needed
/plugin uninstall pyright@claude-code-lsps
/plugin install pyright@claude-code-lsps

"Executable not found in $PATH"

bash

# Check binary exists
which pyright
which gopls

# For Go, ensure GOPATH/bin is in PATH
export PATH=$PATH:$(go env GOPATH)/bin

Plugin installed but inactive

bash

# Clear cache and reinstall
rm -rf ~/.claude/plugins/cache
/plugin install pyright@claude-code-lsps

Windows Users

Use

cmd /c

wrapper for cclsp:

json

{
  "servers": [{
    "extensions": ["py"],
    "command": ["cmd", "/c", "pyright-langserver", "--stdio"]
  }]
}

Verification

After setup, test by asking Claude Code to:

"Go to definition of
```
functionName
```
"
"Find all references to
```
ClassName
```
"
"Show diagnostics for this file"

A working setup provides exact file:line locations instead of grep-based text search results.

Best Practice

Combine LSP with traditional search:

Use LSP for: go-to-definition, diagnostics, rename
Use Grep for: find all usages, text patterns, comments

LSP provides precision; Grep provides coverage.

Execution Instructions

When the user runs this command:

Determine approach from arguments:
- ```
native
```
  - Use built-in LSP tool with plugins
- ```
cclsp
```
  - Use cclsp MCP server
- No argument - Ask user which approach they prefer
For native approach:
- Check if
```
ENABLE_LSP_TOOL
```
  is already set
- Add marketplace if not present
- Install requested language plugin(s)
- Verify with
```
/plugin
```
  command
For cclsp approach:
- Run
```
npx cclsp@latest setup
```
  interactively
- Guide user through language server installation
- Verify MCP server is added with
```
/mcp
```
Inform user to restart Claude Code after installation

install-lsp

NPX Install

Tags

SKILL.md Content

Install LSP for Claude Code

Why LSP?

Setup Options

Option 1: Native LSP Tool (Recommended)

Option 2: cclsp MCP Server

LSP Server Requirements by Language

cclsp Configuration File

Available LSP Tools

Troubleshooting

"No LSP server available for file type"

"Executable not found in $PATH"

Plugin installed but inactive

Windows Users

Verification

Best Practice

Execution Instructions

Sources