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:

•Is there a .lsp.json in the project root?
•Are LSP plugins installed via /plugin command?
•Is the language server binary installed?

Common Workflows

Safe Symbol Rename

code

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

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

code

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

code

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?

•Check if language server is installed: which <server-name>
•Check for .lsp.json configuration
•Check /plugin Errors tab for issues
•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