modbender LSP Code Navigation
Multi-language LSP client that manages per-language background daemons. Auto-detects the language from file extension and routes queries to the correct server. Each server lazy-starts on first use and idles out after 5 minutes of inactivity.
Use this instead of grep/read when you need to:
- Find where something is defined
- Find all usages of a symbol
- Get type signatures or docstrings
- List all classes/functions in a file
- Check for type errors before running code
- Search for a symbol across an entire workspace
Supported Languages
| Language | Server | Extensions | Install |
|---|---|---|---|
| Python | pyright-langserver |
.py, .pyi, .pyx | npm install -g pyright |
| TypeScript/JS | typescript-language-server |
.ts, .tsx, .js, .jsx, .mjs, .cjs | npm install -g typescript-language-server typescript |
| Rust | rust-analyzer |
.rs | rustup component add rust-analyzer |
| Go | gopls |
.go | go install golang.org/x/tools/gopls@latest |
| C/C++ | clangd |
.c, .h, .cpp, .cc, .hpp | apt install clangd or brew install llvm |
| Bash | bash-language-server |
.sh, .bash, .zsh | npm install -g bash-language-server |
| Java | jdtls |
.java | eclipse.jdt.ls |
| CSS | vscode-css-language-server |
.css, .scss, .less | npm install -g vscode-langservers-extracted |
| HTML | vscode-html-language-server |
.html, .htm | npm install -g vscode-langservers-extracted |
| JSON | vscode-json-language-server |
.json, .jsonc | npm install -g vscode-langservers-extracted |
Only install the servers you need. The skill auto-detects which are available and reports helpful install commands for missing ones.
Setup
Prerequisites
- Python 3.10+ (for the client script itself -- stdlib only, no pip deps)
- At least one language server installed (see table above)
Installation
The skill includes a Python script at {baseDir}/scripts/lsp-query.py. This is the LSP client -- it manages background daemons and handles all queries.
To make it callable as lsp-query from anywhere, symlink it into your PATH:
ln -sf {baseDir}/scripts/lsp-query.py /usr/local/bin/lsp-query
# or:
ln -sf {baseDir}/scripts/lsp-query.py ~/.npm-global/bin/lsp-query
Alternatively, invoke it directly:
{baseDir}/scripts/lsp-query.py <command> [args...]
Configuration
Set LSP_WORKSPACE to the repo root before querying. If unset, defaults to the git root or cwd.
Commands
All line and column numbers are 1-indexed (human-friendly, matching editor display).
Go to Definition
lsp-query definition /path/to/file.py <line> <col>
Find References
lsp-query references /path/to/file.py <line> <col>
Hover (Type Info)
lsp-query hover /path/to/file.py <line> <col>
Document Symbols
lsp-query symbols /path/to/file.py
Workspace Symbol Search
lsp-query workspace-symbols "ClassName"
Diagnostics
lsp-query diagnostics /path/to/file.py
Completions
lsp-query completions /path/to/file.py <line> <col>
Signature Help
lsp-query signature /path/to/file.py <line> <col>
Rename Preview
lsp-query rename /path/to/file.py <line> <col> new_name
Server Management
lsp-query languages # Show all supported languages + install status
lsp-query servers # List running language daemons
lsp-query shutdown # Stop all daemons
lsp-query shutdown python # Stop just the Python daemon
What's Included
{baseDir}/
├── SKILL.md # This file
└── scripts/
└── lsp-query.py # Python script -- multi-language LSP client + daemon manager
lsp-query.py is a self-contained Python script (~850 lines, stdlib only, no pip dependencies). It:
- Forks a single background daemon process on first use
- The daemon lazy-starts language servers as needed (e.g., pyright for .py, typescript-language-server for .ts)
- Communicates with the daemon over a Unix socket (
~/.cache/lsp-query/daemon.sock) - Translates CLI commands into LSP JSON-RPC requests and prints human-readable results
- Each language server auto-stops after 5 minutes idle; the daemon itself stops when all servers are idle
Environment Variables
| Variable | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
LSP_WORKSPACE |
git root or cwd | Workspace root for LSP servers |
LSP_SERVER |
auto per language | Override server command for ALL languages |
LSP_LANG |
auto from extension | Force a specific language (bypass detection) |
LSP_TIMEOUT |
300 |
Server idle timeout in seconds |
LSP_SOCK |
~/.cache/lsp-query/daemon.sock |
Unix socket path |
Examples
export LSP_WORKSPACE=/path/to/repo
# Python
lsp-query symbols src/model.py
lsp-query hover src/model.py 42 10
lsp-query references src/model.py 42 10
# TypeScript (auto-detected from .ts extension)
lsp-query symbols src/index.ts
lsp-query definition src/app.tsx 15 8
# Rust
lsp-query symbols src/main.rs
lsp-query diagnostics src/lib.rs
# Check what's available
lsp-query languages
lsp-query servers
Troubleshooting
- "Server not found for X": The language server binary isn't installed. The error message includes the install command.
- "could not connect to LSP daemon": Daemon failed to start. Verify Python 3.10+ is available.
- Import errors in diagnostics: Expected when packages aren't installed in the current Python environment. These resolve on machines with the correct venv.
- Stale results: Run
lsp-query shutdownto restart all servers fresh. - Slow first query per language: Each server takes 1-2 seconds to cold-start. Subsequent queries to the same language are ~200ms.
- Wrong language detected: Use
LSP_LANG=rust lsp-query symbols myfileto force.