README - mcp-language-server by t3ta

MCP Language Server

Note: This repository is a fork of isaacphi/mcp-language-server. It has undergone significant architectural changes (supporting multiple language servers in a single process via a configuration file) and is not intended for merging back into the original repository.

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that manages multiple language servers for different programming languages within a single workspace. It provides tools for communicating with the appropriate language server based on file context or explicit language specification.

Motivation

Language servers excel at tasks that LLMs often struggle with, such as precisely understanding types, navigating complex codebases, and providing accurate symbol references across large projects. This project aims to bring the power of multiple language servers to LLMs through a unified MCP interface, enabling more sophisticated code understanding and manipulation capabilities.

Status

⚠️ Pre-beta Quality ⚠️

I have tested this server with the following language servers

pyright (Python)
tsserver (TypeScript)
gopls (Go)
rust-analyzer (Rust)

But it should be compatible with many more.

Tools

This server provides the following tools, automatically routing requests to the appropriate language server based on file extensions (for file-based tools) or an explicit language argument.

read_definition: Retrieves the complete source code definition of a symbol. Requires a language argument (e.g., "typescript", "go") to specify which language server to query.
find_references: Locates all usages and references of a symbol. Requires a language argument (e.g., "typescript", "go") to specify which language server to query.
get_diagnostics: Provides diagnostic information for a specific file (language determined by file extension).
get_codelens: Retrieves code lens hints for a specific file (language determined by file extension).
execute_codelens: Runs a code lens action for a specific file (language determined by file extension).
apply_text_edit: Allows making multiple text edits to a file programmatically (language determined by file extension). Supports simple insert/delete/replace, regex-based replacement (using isRegex, regexPattern, regexReplace), and optional bracket balance protection (using preserveBrackets, bracketTypes) to prevent edits that break pairs like (), {}, [].

Behind the scenes, this MCP server can act on workspace/applyEdit requests from the language servers, enabling features like refactoring, adding imports, and code formatting.

Most tools support options like showLineNumbers. Refer to the tool schemas for detailed usage.

About

This codebase makes use of edited code from gopls to handle LSP communication. See ATTRIBUTION for details.

mcp-golang is used for MCP communication.

Prerequisites

Install Go: Follow instructions at https://golang.org/doc/install
Install Language Servers: Install the language servers for the languages you want to use in your project. Examples:
- Python (pyright): npm install -g pyright

TypeScript (tsserver): npm install -g typescript typescript-language-server
Go (gopls): go install golang.org/x/tools/gopls@latest
Rust (rust-analyzer): rustup component add rust-analyzer
Or use any language server

Setup

Build the Server: Clone the repository and build the executable:

git clone https://github.com/isaacphi/mcp-language-server.git
cd mcp-language-server
go build -o mcp-language-server .

Create Configuration File (config.json): Create a JSON configuration file (e.g., config.json in the project root or another location) to define the language servers you want to manage.

config.json Example:

{
  "workspaceDir": "/Users/you/dev/yourcodebase", // Absolute path to your project root
  "languageServers": [
    {
      "language": "typescript", // Unique name for the language
      "command": "typescript-language-server", // Command to run the LSP server
      "args": ["--stdio"], // Arguments for the LSP command
      "extensions": [".ts", ".tsx", ".js", ".jsx"] // File extensions for this language
    },
    {
      "language": "go",
      "command": "/path/to/your/gopls", // Absolute path or command name for gopls
      "args": [],
      "extensions": [".go"]
    },
    {
      "language": "python",
      "command": "pyright-langserver",
      "args": ["--stdio"],
      "extensions": [".py"]
    }
    // Add entries for other languages as needed
  ]
}

Replace /Users/you/dev/yourcodebase with the absolute path to your project.
Replace /path/to/your/gopls etc. with the correct command or absolute path for each language server.

Configure MCP Client: Add the following configuration to your Claude Desktop settings (or similar MCP-enabled client), adjusting paths as necessary:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mcp-language-server": { // You can choose any name here
      "command": "/full/path/to/your/clone/mcp-language-server/mcp-language-server", // Absolute path to the built executable
      "args": [
        "--config", "/full/path/to/your/config.json" // Absolute path to your config.json
      ],
      "cwd": "/full/path/to/your/clone/mcp-language-server", // Optional: Set working directory to project root
      "env": {
        // Add any necessary environment variables for LSP servers (e.g., PATH)
        // "PATH": "...",
        "DEBUG": "1" // Optional: Enable debug logging
      }
    }
    // Add other MCP servers here if needed
  }
}

Ensure the command path points to the mcp-language-server executable you built.
Ensure the --config argument points to the config.json file you created.
Set cwd if necessary (usually the directory containing the executable).
Add required environment variables (like PATH if using shims like asdf) to the env object.

Development

Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/isaacphi/mcp-language-server.git
forcd mcp-language-server

Install dev dependencies:

go mod download

Build:

go build

Configure your Claude Desktop (or similar) to use the local binary, similar to the Setup section, ensuring the command points to your locally built executable and the --config argument points to your development config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mcp-language-dev": { // Example name for development server
      "command": "/full/path/to/your/clone/mcp-language-server/mcp-language-server", // Path to your built binary
      "args": [
        "--config", "/full/path/to/your/clone/mcp-language-server/config.dev.json" // Path to your development config file
      ],
      "cwd": "/full/path/to/your/clone/mcp-language-server", // Working directory
      "env": {
        "DEBUG": "1" // Enable debug logging for development
      }
    }
  }
}

Remember to create a config.dev.json (or similar) for your development environment.

Rebuild (go build -o mcp-language-server .) after making code changes.

Feedback

Include

env: {
  "DEBUG": 1
}

To get detailed LSP and application logs. Please include as much information as possible when opening issues.

The following features are on my radar: