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:

1. Scans project files to detect languages
2. Pre-selects appropriate LSP servers
3. Shows installation instructions for each server
4. Optionally auto-installs LSP binaries
5. 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:

1. 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

2. 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

3. For cclsp approach:

   • Run npx cclsp@latest setup interactively
   • Guide user through language server installation
   • Verify MCP server is added with /mcp

4. Inform user to restart Claude Code after installation

Sources

• cclsp GitHub
• Claude Code LSP Setup Guide