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 or ~/.bashrc ):

export ENABLE_LSP_TOOL=1

Install language plugins from the community marketplace:

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:

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)

{ "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"

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"

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

Clear cache and reinstall

rm -rf ~/.claude/plugins/cache /plugin install pyright@claude-code-lsps

Windows Users

Use cmd /c wrapper for cclsp:

{ "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

Sources

• cclsp GitHub

• Claude Code LSP Setup Guide