lsp-setup

Original：🇺🇸 English

Translated

Enable code intelligence (go-to-definition, find-references, hover, type info) for any programming language by installing and configuring an LSP server for Copilot CLI. Detects the OS, installs the right server, and generates the JSON configuration (user-level or repo-level). Use when you need deeper code understanding and no LSP server is configured, or when the user asks to set up, install, or configure an LSP server.

6installs

Sourcegithub/awesome-copilot

Added on2026-04-10

NPX Install

npx skill4agent add github/awesome-copilot lsp-setup

SKILL.md Content

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LSP Setup for GitHub Copilot CLI

UTILITY SKILL — installs and configures Language Server Protocol servers for Copilot CLI. USE FOR: "setup LSP", "install language server", "configure LSP for Java", "add TypeScript LSP", "enable code intelligence", "I need go-to-definition", "find references not working", "need better code understanding" DO NOT USE FOR: general coding tasks, IDE/editor LSP configuration, non-Copilot-CLI setups

Workflow

Ask the language — use
```
ask_user
```
to ask which programming language(s) the user wants LSP support for
Detect the OS — run
```
uname -s
```
(or check for Windows via
```
$env:OS
```
/
```
%OS%
```
) to determine macOS, Linux, or Windows
Look up the LSP server — read
```
references/lsp-servers.md
```
for known servers, install commands, and config snippets
Ask scope — use
```
ask_user
```
to ask whether the config should be user-level (
```
~/.copilot/lsp-config.json
```
) or repo-level (
```
lsp.json
```
at the repo root or
```
.github/lsp.json
```
)
Install the server — run the appropriate install command for the detected OS
Write the config — merge the new server entry into the chosen config file (
```
~/.copilot/lsp-config.json
```
for user-level;
```
lsp.json
```
or
```
.github/lsp.json
```
for repo-level). If a repo-level config already exists, keep using that location; otherwise ask the user which repo-level location they prefer. Create the file if missing and preserve existing entries.
Verify — confirm the LSP binary is on
```
$PATH
```
and the config file is valid JSON

Configuration Format

Copilot CLI reads LSP configuration from user-level or repo-level locations, and repo-level config takes precedence over user-level config:

User-level:
```
~/.copilot/lsp-config.json
```
Repo-level:
```
lsp.json
```
(repo root) or
```
.github/lsp.json
```

The JSON structure:

json

{
  "lspServers": {
    "<server-key>": {
      "command": "<binary>",
      "args": ["--stdio"],
      "fileExtensions": {
        ".<ext>": "<languageId>",
        ".<ext2>": "<languageId>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Key rules

```
command
```
is the binary name (must be on
```
$PATH
```
) or an absolute path.
```
args
```
almost always includes
```
"--stdio"
```
to use standard I/O transport.
```
fileExtensions
```
maps each file extension (with leading dot) to a Language ID.
Multiple servers can coexist in
```
lspServers
```
.
When merging into an existing file, never overwrite other server entries — only add or update the target language key.

Behavior

Always use
```
ask_user
```
with
```
choices
```
when asking the user to pick a language or scope.
If the language is not listed in
```
references/lsp-servers.md
```
, search the web for "<language> LSP server" and guide the user through manual configuration.
If a package manager is not available (e.g. no Homebrew on macOS), suggest alternative install methods from the reference file.
After installation, run
```
which <binary>
```
(or
```
where.exe
```
on Windows) to confirm the binary is accessible.
Show the user the final config JSON before writing it.
If the config file already exists, read it first and merge — do not clobber.

Verification

After setup, tell the user:

Type
```
/exit
```
to quit Copilot CLI — this is required so the new LSP configuration is loaded on next launch
Re-launch
```
copilot
```
in a project with files of the configured language
Run
```
/lsp
```
to check the server status
Try code intelligence features like go-to-definition or hover