setup-lsp

name	setup-lsp
description	Configures Language Server Protocol integration for Claude Code projects. Use when setting up LSP servers, verifying post-restart initialization, or troubleshooting broken LSP configurations.
user-invocable	true
argument-hint	[--lang <languages>] [--verify | --troubleshoot]

Setup LSP

Configure Language Server Protocol integration for Claude Code projects. LSP replaces text-based grep/glob searches with semantic code intelligence: go-to-definition, find-references, hover type info, call hierarchy, and real-time error detection.

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Mandatory Execution Checklist (BINDING)

Every applicable item below is mandatory. No deviations. No substitutions. No skipping.

This skill uses a 9-stage pipeline. You are the orchestrator. Follow every item in order. Do NOT return to the user until all applicable items are checked.

• Stage 1 — Parse: Arguments read, MODE determined (full | verify | troubleshoot), --lang extracted if present
• Stage 2 — Detect: references/server-registry.md loaded, manifest files scanned, DETECTED_LANGUAGES presented to user
• Stage 3 — Binaries: Binary install command run for each confirmed language
• Stage 4 — Settings: ENABLE_LSP_TOOL=1 set in ~/.claude/settings.json and shell profile
• Stage 5 — Guide Plugin Install: Present user with exact plugin names and instructions to install via /plugin or CLI
• Stage 6 — Checkpoint: Session ID captured via ${CLAUDE_SESSION_ID}, exact claude --resume command presented to user, execution STOPPED
• Stage 7 — Verify: (on --verify) Debug log read, Total LSP servers loaded: N checked
• Stage 8 — Diagnostics: (if verification failed or --troubleshoot) references/troubleshooting.md loaded, issues checked in order
• Stage 9 — Report: templates/diagnostic-output.yaml loaded, diagnostic YAML written to logs/diagnostics/, summary presented to user

Do NOT declare complete until all applicable checkboxes are marked.

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When to Use This Skill

Trigger Pattern	Scenario	Mode
Starting LSP setup from scratch	Project has no LSP configured	Full setup (no flags)
After restarting Claude Code following plugin install	Session resumed, verifying LSP loaded	--verify
LSP tools not appearing or servers not responding	Debugging a broken LSP configuration	--troubleshoot

DO NOT use for:

• Projects where LSP is already confirmed working (check ~/.claude/debug/latest first)
• Adding new language support to an already-configured LSP environment (run full setup again)

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Pre-Flight Gate (BINDING)

STOP. Before running any installation steps, check the invocation flag.

IF $ARGUMENTS contains "--verify":
    SKIP to Stage 7 (Verify Initialization)
IF $ARGUMENTS contains "--troubleshoot":
    SKIP to Stage 8 (Diagnostics)
IF $ARGUMENTS contains "--lang":
    Extract comma-separated language names → EXPLICIT_LANGUAGES
    Execute ALL stages in order, but Stage 2 uses EXPLICIT_LANGUAGES instead of scanning
OTHERWISE:
    Execute ALL stages in order (Stage 1 through Stage 9)

You MUST NOT skip stages or reorder them during full setup.

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Dependencies

File	Requirement	When to Load
references/server-registry.md	REQUIRED	Stage 2 (detection) and Stage 3 (install)
references/troubleshooting.md	REQUIRED	Stage 8 (diagnostics) and whenever verification fails
templates/diagnostic-output.yaml	REQUIRED	Stage 9 (report results)

Read each file at the stage where it is first needed. Do not defer loading.

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Usage

/setup-lsp                          Full setup: detect → install binaries → guide plugin install → checkpoint → verify
/setup-lsp --lang typescript,python Skip detection, install specified languages directly
/setup-lsp --verify                 Post-restart verification only (skip installation)
/setup-lsp --troubleshoot           Diagnostics only (no installation)

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Workflow

Stage 1: Parse Arguments

Read $ARGUMENTS. Determine MODE (full | verify | troubleshoot) per Pre-Flight Gate above. If --lang is present, extract the comma-separated language names into EXPLICIT_LANGUAGES (e.g., --lang typescript,python → ["typescript", "python"]). Report mode (and explicit languages if any) to user before proceeding.

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Stage 2: Detect Tech Stack

Read references/server-registry.md.

If EXPLICIT_LANGUAGES was set in Stage 1 (via --lang): Look up each language name in the server registry. Build DETECTED_LANGUAGES from the matching entries (use "user-specified" as manifest path). If any language name doesn't match the registry, report the mismatch and ask user to clarify.

Otherwise: Scan project root and up to 2 directory levels deep for manifest files listed in the Official LSP Plugins table. For monorepos, scan each subdirectory independently. See registry for monorepo scanning guidance. Build DETECTED_LANGUAGES list (language, manifest path, plugin name).

If DETECTED_LANGUAGES is empty (no manifest files found):

No supported languages detected in this project.

You can select languages manually from the server registry:
  1. TypeScript/JavaScript
  2. Python
  3. Go
  4. Rust
  5. Java
  6. C#
  7. PHP
  8. C/C++
  9. Kotlin
  10. Swift
  11. Lua
  (See references/server-registry.md for full list)

Select languages to set up (comma-separated numbers), or 'skip' to abort:

Use AskUserQuestion to present the language list. If user selects 'skip', report "No languages selected" and proceed directly to Stage 9 (Report Results).

If DETECTED_LANGUAGES is non-empty, present to user:

Detected languages:
  - {language} ({manifest path}) → plugin: {plugin-name}

Proceed with installation? (yes / adjust)

Wait for user confirmation before continuing to Stage 3.

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Stage 3: Install Language Server Binaries

Read references/server-registry.md. Use the binary install commands for each confirmed language.

For each language in DETECTED_LANGUAGES:

1. Run the binary install command from the registry
2. Verify the binary is available: which {binary-name}
3. Report success or failure per language

If any binary install fails: report the error, note the language as FAILED, continue with remaining languages.

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Stage 4: Configure Settings

Step 4a — Set ENABLE_LSP_TOOL in settings.json:

Read ~/.claude/settings.json. Add "ENABLE_LSP_TOOL": "1" if not already present. Write back.

Step 4b — Set ENABLE_LSP_TOOL in shell profile:

Check which shell profile exists (~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc). Add export ENABLE_LSP_TOOL=1 if not already present.

Note: ENABLE_LSP_TOOL is an undocumented flag required for LSP tool activation (community report #15619).

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Stage 5: Guide User Through Plugin Installation (BLOCKING — User Action Required)

IMPORTANT: Claude CANNOT run claude plugin install or claude plugin enable commands from within a session. These must be performed by the user.

Step 5a — Ask about installation scope:

Use AskUserQuestion to ask the user which scope to install plugins in:

Which scope should the LSP plugins be installed in?

1. User scope (default) — available across all your projects (~/.claude/settings.json)
2. Project scope — shared with team via version control (.claude/settings.json)
3. Local scope — project-specific, gitignored (.claude/settings.local.json)

Record the chosen scope. For Option B CLI instructions, map to: --scope user, --scope project, or --scope local.

Step 5b — Present plugin installation instructions and ask for status:

First, present the installation instructions as plain text output (NOT inside AskUserQuestion):

PLUGIN INSTALLATION — USER ACTION REQUIRED

The language server binaries are installed. Now you need to install the
Claude Code LSP plugins for each language.

Scope: {chosen scope} ({scope description})

Option A — Using /plugin (within this session):
  1. Type /plugin
  2. Go to the "Discover" tab
  3. Search for and install each plugin:
{for each language in DETECTED_LANGUAGES}
     - {plugin-name}
{end}
  4. When prompted for scope, select "{scope label}" to match your
     earlier choice. The options shown will be:
       - "Install for you (user scope)"
       - "Install for all collaborators on this repository (project scope)"
       - "Install for you, in this repo only (local scope)"
     Select the one matching: {chosen scope}.

Option B — Using CLI (from a separate terminal):
  claude plugin marketplace update claude-plugins-official
{for each language in DETECTED_LANGUAGES}
  claude plugin install {plugin-name} --scope {chosen-scope}
{end}

Then use AskUserQuestion with two options:

1. "I've installed them" — plugins are already installed, proceed to next step
2. "I'll install them in this session" — dismiss this prompt so I can use /plugin

If user selects option 1: Proceed to Stage 6 (Checkpoint).

If user selects option 2: Dismiss the question and present this note as plain text:

No problem. Install the plugins using /plugin or from a separate terminal.

Once installation is complete, confirm here and I'll continue with the
remaining setup (exit+resume for LSP initialization).

Then WAIT for the user's natural text confirmation before proceeding to Stage 6. Do NOT present another AskUserQuestion — let the user type freely so they can use /plugin and other commands.

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Stage 6: Exit and Resume Checkpoint (BLOCKING)

LSP servers only initialize at startup. This stage is mandatory and non-skippable.

The current session ID is available as ${CLAUDE_SESSION_ID}. Present to user and STOP:

LSP SETUP REQUIRES EXIT AND RESUME

Exit Claude Code now, then resume this session:

    claude --resume ${CLAUDE_SESSION_ID}

After resuming, run /setup-lsp --verify to confirm servers loaded.

Do NOT continue past this stage. Execution resumes only when user invokes --verify in the resumed session.

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Stage 7: Verify Initialization

This stage runs on --verify invocation after session resume.

Read ~/.claude/debug/latest (internal debug log, path may change in future versions). Search for Total LSP servers loaded: N.

• N > 0 → PASSED. Note which servers appear.
• N = 0 → FAILED. Proceed to Stage 8.
• Line absent → Log not yet updated. Ask user to wait 10 seconds and retry.

Also check the /plugin Errors tab output if available — Executable not found in $PATH indicates a binary installation issue (see troubleshooting issue #5).

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Stage 8: Diagnostics

Read references/troubleshooting.md. Work through the 5 common issues in order: run each detection method, apply fix if detected, report result. After applying fixes, re-run verification (Stage 7) and report outcome.

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Stage 9: Report Results

Read templates/diagnostic-output.yaml. Fill all fields. Write completed diagnostic to logs/diagnostics/lsp-setup-{YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS}.yaml.

Present summary:

LSP Setup Complete

Detected languages:   {list}
Installed binaries:   {list with status: ok | failed}
Plugins installed:    {list — user-confirmed}
Verification status:  PASSED | FAILED | PENDING (awaiting resume)
Issues found:         {count} ({list if any})
Session ID:           {SESSION_ID}
Diagnostic log:       ./logs/diagnostics/lsp-setup-{timestamp}.yaml

If any server failed or verification failed, include next steps from references/troubleshooting.md.

If plugins were installed for languages without matching source files in the project (e.g., rust-analyzer-lsp installed but no .rs files or Cargo.toml present), append this note:

Note: Some LSP servers may show startup errors if there are no matching
source files in this project yet. This is expected — the server starts
but cannot find a workspace to index. Once you add source files for that
language (e.g., create a Cargo.toml for Rust), the server will activate
automatically on next session start.