etanhey/lsp

LSP Code Intelligence Skill

Use this skill when you need guidance on using Claude Code's LSP (Language Server Protocol) tools for code navigation and understanding.

Quick Reference

| Operation | Use Case | Example | |-----------|----------|---------| | goToDefinition | Find where a symbol is defined | Jump to function implementation | | findReferences | Find all usages of a symbol | Before renaming a function | | hover | Get type info and docs | Quick understanding of a type | | documentSymbol | List symbols in a file | Understanding file structure | | workspaceSymbol | Search symbols globally | Finding a class by name | | goToImplementation | Find interface implementations | Working with abstract types | | incomingCalls | Find callers of a function | Impact analysis | | outgoingCalls | Find callees of a function | Understanding dependencies |

Prerequisites

LSP must be configured for the language. Check:

1. Are LSP plugins installed via /plugin command?
2. Is the language server binary installed?

Common Workflows

Safe Symbol Rename

1. Position cursor on symbol name
2. Use findReferences to locate ALL usages
3. Review each reference
4. Make the rename changes
5. Run typecheck to verify

Understanding Unfamiliar Code

1. Use goToDefinition on the entry point
2. Use hover on types you don't recognize
3. Use outgoingCalls to understand dependencies
4. Use incomingCalls to understand how it's used

Impact Analysis Before Changes

1. Use findReferences on the function you're modifying
2. Use incomingCalls to see the call chain
3. Assess which callers might be affected
4. Plan your changes accordingly

Tracing a Bug

1. Start at the error location
2. Use goToDefinition to trace back through the call stack
3. Use findReferences on suspicious variables
4. Identify where incorrect values originate

LSP vs Grep/Glob

| Scenario | Use LSP | Use Grep/Glob | |----------|---------|---------------| | Find function definition | Yes | Fallback only | | Find all usages of a symbol | Yes | Fallback only | | Search for text patterns | No | Yes | | Search comments/strings | No | Yes | | Search config values | No | Yes | | LSP not configured | N/A | Yes |

Common LSP Servers

| Language | Server | Install | |----------|--------|---------| | TypeScript/JS | typescript-language-server | npm i -g typescript-language-server typescript | | Python | pyright | pip install pyright or npm i -g pyright | | Rust | rust-analyzer | Via rustup or standalone | | Go | gopls | go install golang.org/x/tools/gopls@latest | | C/C++ | clangd | Via LLVM or package manager | | Java | jdtls | Via Eclipse | | Ruby | solargraph | gem install solargraph | | PHP | intelephense | npm i -g intelephense |

Troubleshooting

LSP not working?

1. Check if language server is installed: which <server-name>
2. Check /plugin Errors tab for issues
3. Try restarting Claude Code

No results from findReferences?

• LSP may not be fully initialized yet
• Try a simpler operation first (like hover)
• Check if the symbol is exported/public

goToDefinition fails?

• Symbol may be from external package (not in workspace)
• Type definitions might be in a .d.ts file
• Try hover to at least get type info