vscode-languageclient

What is vscode-languageclient?

The vscode-languageclient npm package is a library that helps in creating language clients for Visual Studio Code extensions. It facilitates communication between the client (VS Code) and the language server, enabling features like auto-completion, go-to-definition, and diagnostics.

What are vscode-languageclient's main functionalities?

Initialize Language Client

This code initializes a language client that communicates with a language server. The client is configured to listen to plaintext files and synchronize file events.

const { LanguageClient, TransportKind } = require('vscode-languageclient/node');
const client = new LanguageClient(
  'languageServerExample',
  'Language Server Example',
  {
    command: 'path/to/language-server',
    args: [],
    transport: TransportKind.stdio
  },
  {
    documentSelector: [{ scheme: 'file', language: 'plaintext' }],
    synchronize: {
      fileEvents: workspace.createFileSystemWatcher('**/.clientrc')
    }
  }
);
client.start();

Handle Server Notifications

This code sets up a handler for custom notifications sent from the language server to the client. It logs the received notification parameters to the console.

client.onReady().then(() => {
  client.onNotification('custom/notification', (params) => {
    console.log('Received custom notification:', params);
  });
});

Send Custom Requests

This code sends a custom request from the client to the language server and logs the server's response.

client.onReady().then(() => {
  client.sendRequest('custom/request', { text: 'Hello, server!' }).then((response) => {
    console.log('Received response:', response);
  });
});

Other packages similar to vscode-languageclient

vscode-languageserver

The vscode-languageserver package provides tools to implement a language server. It is often used in conjunction with vscode-languageclient to create a full language server-client setup. While vscode-languageclient is focused on the client-side, vscode-languageserver provides the server-side implementation.

monaco-languageclient

The monaco-languageclient package is similar to vscode-languageclient but is designed for use with the Monaco Editor, which is the editor that powers VS Code. It allows for language server communication in web-based editors, providing similar functionalities to vscode-languageclient but in a different environment.

lsp-client

The lsp-client package is a lightweight alternative to vscode-languageclient. It provides basic functionalities to communicate with language servers using the Language Server Protocol (LSP). It is less feature-rich but can be a good choice for simpler use cases.

README

VSCode Language Server - Client Module

This npm module allows VSCode extensions to easily integrate language servers adhering to the language server protocol

See here for a detailed documentation on how to implement language servers for VSCode.

History

For the history please see the main repository

License

MIT