vscode-languageserver

What is vscode-languageserver?

The vscode-languageserver package is designed to help developers create language servers for the Visual Studio Code editor. It provides the necessary APIs to implement language features such as auto-completion, go-to definition, or linting. This package is part of the Language Server Protocol (LSP), which standardizes the communication between editors or IDEs and language servers.

What are vscode-languageserver's main functionalities?

Initialization and Connection Setup

This feature allows the language server to establish a connection with the client (e.g., VS Code). The server listens for messages from the client to start providing language services.

{"createConnection": "require('vscode-languageserver').createConnection", "listen": "connection.listen()"}

Document Synchronization

Keeps the language server's document model in sync with the changes made in the editor. This is crucial for providing accurate language features.

{"onDidChangeTextDocument": "connection.onDidChangeTextDocument((change) => {})"}

Providing Completion Items

Enables the language server to provide context-aware completion suggestions (e.g., code snippets, method names) to the user.

{"onCompletion": "connection.onCompletion((textDocumentPosition) => { return [{ label: 'TypeScript', kind: CompletionItemKind.Text }]; })"}

Diagnostics

Allows the language server to send issues in the code (e.g., syntax errors, lint warnings) to the client, which can then display them to the user.

{"sendDiagnostics": "connection.sendDiagnostics({ uri: document.uri, diagnostics: [] })"}

Other packages similar to vscode-languageserver

monaco-languageclient

Provides similar functionalities as vscode-languageserver but targets the Monaco editor, which is the code editor that powers VS Code. It allows developers to integrate language features into web applications.

atom-languageclient

A library that helps developers integrate language servers with the Atom editor. It mirrors many of the capabilities of vscode-languageserver, adapting them for the Atom environment.

README

VSCode Language Server for Node

This npm module provides the implementation of the VSCode language server protocol for node.js. This allows writing language service extensions in node which are executed in a different process.