Claude Code

Claude Code uses Language Server Protocol (LSP) to navigate code semantically — finding definitions, references, and types — instead of falling back to text search. This gives Claude more accurate context when reading and editing code.

LSP has been built into Claude Code since v2.0.74. To fully enable it you need:

1. The language server binaries on your PATH (see sections below)
2. The official LSP plugins installed in Claude Code
3. The installed plugins enabled in ~/.claude/settings.json

---

Install the official plugins

Inside Claude Code, run /plugin and install these official plugins:

• pyright-lsp
• typescript-lsp
• gopls-lsp
• rust-analyzer-lsp

If they are already installed, you only need to enable them in settings.

---

Enable the installed plugins

Merge these keys into your existing ~/.claude/settings.json file. Do not replace the whole file if you already have hooks, attribution, or other settings:

{
  "enabledPlugins": {
    "pyright-lsp@claude-plugins-official": true,
    "typescript-lsp@claude-plugins-official": true,
    "gopls-lsp@claude-plugins-official": true,
    "rust-analyzer-lsp@claude-plugins-official": true
  }
}

If your current Claude Code build still does not expose the LSP tool after the plugins are installed and enabled, try this workaround by merging it into the same settings file:

{
  "env": {
    "ENABLE_LSP_TOOL": "1"
  }
}

ENABLE_LSP_TOOL is not officially documented (discovered via GitHub Issue #15619). Use it as a version-specific workaround, not as the baseline requirement.

---

TypeScript / JavaScript

npm install -g typescript typescript-language-server

Uses nvm? The binary lands in the active Node version's bin — no PATH changes needed.

---

Python — pyright

pyright is Microsoft's Python type checker (same engine as Pylance in VSCode). It's faster and more accurate than pylsp for type inference and go-to-definition.

python3 -m pip install pyright --break-system-packages

--break-system-packages is required on Ubuntu 24.04+ due to PEP 668. The binary installs to ~/.local/bin/pyright, which should already be on your PATH via export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH" in .bashrc.

---

Go — gopls

apt only provides Go 1.22, but gopls requires Go 1.25+. Install a current Go release to ~/.local/go (no sudo needed), then install gopls with it.

# Download Go 1.26.1 (check https://go.dev/dl/ for the latest)
wget https://go.dev/dl/go1.26.1.linux-amd64.tar.gz -O /tmp/go.tar.gz
mkdir -p ~/.local/go
tar -xf /tmp/go.tar.gz -C ~/.local/go --strip-components=1

# Install gopls
~/.local/go/bin/go install golang.org/x/tools/gopls@latest

gopls lands in ~/go/bin/ by default. Add both to PATH (see below).

---

Rust — rust-analyzer

Install Rust via rustup; rust-analyzer comes bundled as a component.

curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh

rust-analyzer lands in ~/.cargo/bin/rust-analyzer.

---

PATH — add to ~/.bashrc

# LSP tooling paths
export PATH=$PATH:$HOME/.local/go/bin:$HOME/go/bin:$HOME/.cargo/bin
source "$HOME/.cargo/env" 2>/dev/null || true

The 2>/dev/null || true guard prevents an error in non-interactive shells where $HOME may not be set when the file is first sourced.

---

Verify

source ~/.bashrc
which typescript-language-server   # ~/.nvm/.../bin/typescript-language-server
which pyright                      # ~/.local/bin/pyright
which gopls                        # ~/go/bin/gopls
which rust-analyzer                # ~/.cargo/bin/rust-analyzer

These commands target Ubuntu's default bash; if you use zsh, use ~/.zshrc instead.

Then restart Claude Code, run /plugin, and confirm all four plugins are installed and enabled. If the LSP tool is still missing from the tool list, add the ENABLE_LSP_TOOL workaround above and restart Claude Code again.

---

Troubleshooting

gopls: command not found

• Ensure both ~/.local/go/bin and ~/go/bin are in PATH.
• Confirm the Go version: ~/.local/go/bin/go version should print 1.25+.

pip install fails with "externally-managed-environment"

• Add --break-system-packages to the pip command (Ubuntu 24.04+ / PEP 668).

rust-analyzer: command not found after rustup

• Run rustup component add rust-analyzer to install it explicitly.
• Ensure ~/.cargo/bin is in PATH and restart your shell.

typescript-language-server: command not found

• Confirm Node is active: node --version.
• With nvm, run nvm use or set a default: nvm alias default node.