The purpose of this plugin is to bundle all the "boilerplate code" necessary to have nvim-cmp (a popular autocompletion plugin) and the LSP client working together. Additionally, with the help of mason.nvim, it can let you install language servers from inside neovim.

Provided that you meet all the requirements for the installation of this plugin and the language servers, the following piece of code should be enough to get started.

local lsp = require('lsp-zero')
lsp.preset('recommended')

lsp.setup()

These three lines of code will create keybindings linked to lsp actions, configure diagnostics, setup autocompletion and enable automatic setup of LSP servers. If you are curious to know the configuration code behind this, check out the Under the hood section in the wiki.

If I still have your attention, here's a list of sections in the documentation you might find interesting:

• Available Presets
• Quickstart
• Lua Api
• Advance Usage
• You might not need lsp-zero

Have any question? Feel free to open a new discussion.

Featured in the video:

• Fully functional completion engine (nvim-cmp).
• Completions provided by the language server (sumneko_lua), as well as other sources.
• Snippet expansion and navigation between placeholders.
• Diagnostic icon showing in the gutter.
• Showing diagnostic message in a floating window.
• Code actions.

This section assumes you have chosen the recommended preset. It also assumes you don't have any other completion engine installed in your current neovim config.

Note: if you already have a working setup with nvim-lspconfig and all you want is automatic configuration of LSP servers read the section You might not need lsp-zero.

Use your favorite plugin manager to install this plugin and all its lua dependencies.

With packer:

use {
  'VonHeikemen/lsp-zero.nvim',
  requires = {
    -- LSP Support
    {'neovim/nvim-lspconfig'},
    {'williamboman/mason.nvim'},
    {'williamboman/mason-lspconfig.nvim'},

    -- Autocompletion
    {'hrsh7th/nvim-cmp'},
    {'hrsh7th/cmp-buffer'},
    {'hrsh7th/cmp-path'},
    {'saadparwaiz1/cmp_luasnip'},
    {'hrsh7th/cmp-nvim-lsp'},
    {'hrsh7th/cmp-nvim-lua'},

    -- Snippets
    {'L3MON4D3/LuaSnip'},
    {'rafamadriz/friendly-snippets'},
  }
}

With paq:

{'VonHeikemen/lsp-zero.nvim'};

-- LSP Support
{'neovim/nvim-lspconfig'};
{'williamboman/mason.nvim'};
{'williamboman/mason-lspconfig.nvim'};

-- Autocompletion
{'hrsh7th/nvim-cmp'};
{'hrsh7th/cmp-buffer'};
{'hrsh7th/cmp-path'};
{'saadparwaiz1/cmp_luasnip'};
{'hrsh7th/cmp-nvim-lsp'};
{'hrsh7th/cmp-nvim-lua'};

-- Snippets
{'L3MON4D3/LuaSnip'};
{'rafamadriz/friendly-snippets'};

With vim-plug:

" LSP Support
Plug 'neovim/nvim-lspconfig'
Plug 'williamboman/mason.nvim'
Plug 'williamboman/mason-lspconfig.nvim'

" Autocompletion
Plug 'hrsh7th/nvim-cmp'
Plug 'hrsh7th/cmp-buffer'
Plug 'hrsh7th/cmp-path'
Plug 'saadparwaiz1/cmp_luasnip'
Plug 'hrsh7th/cmp-nvim-lsp'
Plug 'hrsh7th/cmp-nvim-lua'

"  Snippets
Plug 'L3MON4D3/LuaSnip'
Plug 'rafamadriz/friendly-snippets'

Plug 'VonHeikemen/lsp-zero.nvim'

I would suggest you make a quick read in to the requirements section of mason.nvim.

Make sure you have at least the minimum requirements listed in unix systems or windows.

Inside your configuration file add this.

local lsp = require('lsp-zero')
lsp.preset('recommended')

lsp.setup()

If you wish to add support for your config written in lua, add this line above lsp.setup().

lsp.nvim_workspace()

Note. If you are using init.vim you can wrap the code in lua-heredocs.

lua <<EOF
local lsp = require('lsp-zero')
lsp.preset('recommended')

lsp.setup()
EOF

The recommended preset will enable automatic suggestions of language servers. So any time you open a filetype for the first time it'll try to ask if you want to install a language server that supports it.

If you already know what language servers you want, you can use the function .ensure_installed() to install them automatically.

Before you go, allow me to showcase a configuration example a bit more complex.

-- Reserve space for diagnostic icons
vim.opt.signcolumn = 'yes'

local lsp = require('lsp-zero')
lsp.preset('recommended')

-- Install these servers
lsp.ensure_installed({
  'tsserver',
  'eslint',
  'sumneko_lua',
})

-- Pass arguments to a language server
lsp.configure('tsserver', {
  on_attach = function(client, bufnr)
    print('hello tsserver')
  end,
  settings = {
    completions = {
      completeFunctionCalls = true
    }
  }
})

-- Configure lua language server for neovim
lsp.nvim_workspace()

lsp.setup()

Presets are a combinations of options that determine how .setup() will behave, they can enable or disable features.

• Setup every language server installed with mason.nvim at startup.
• Suggest to install a language server when you encounter a new filetype.
• Setup nvim-cmp with some default completion sources, this includes support for LSP based completion.
• Setup some default keybindings for nvim-cmp.
• Show diagnostic info with "nice" icons.
• Diagnostic messages are shown in a floating window.
• Setup some keybindings related to LSP actions, things like go to definition or rename variable.

Is the same as the recommended except that it assumes you want full control over the configuration for nvim-cmp. It'll provide the capabilities config to the languages server but the rest of the config is controlled by the user.

Is the same as the recommended without any support for nvim-cmp.

Is the same as recommended, but without automatic setup for language servers. Suggestions for language server will be disabled. The user will need to call the functions .setup_servers() or .configure() in order to initialize the language servers (See Lua api section for more details in these functions).

Very similar to manual-setup. Automatic setup for language servers and suggestions are disabled. The user can setup default options for each server using .setup_servers() or .configure(). In order to initialize the server the user will need to call the .use() function. (See Lua api section for more details in these functions).

Is the same as manual-setup, automatic setup for language servers and suggestions are going to be disabled. It is designed to call language servers installed "globally" on the system. The user will need to call .configure() or .setup_servers() in order to initialize the language servers. (See Lua api section for more details in these functions).

For this I would recommend deleting the .preset() call, use .set_preferences() instead. This function takes a "table" of options, they describe the features this plugin offers.

These are the options the recommended preset uses.

lsp.set_preferences({
  suggest_lsp_servers = true,
  setup_servers_on_start = true,
  set_lsp_keymaps = true,
  configure_diagnostics = true,
  cmp_capabilities = true,
  manage_nvim_cmp = true,
  call_servers = 'local',
  sign_icons = {
    error = '✘',
    warn = '▲',
    hint = '⚑',
    info = ''
  }
})

If you want to disable a feature replace true with false.

• suggest_lsp_servers enables the suggestions of lsp servers when you enter a filetype for the first time.

• setup_servers_on_start when set to true all installed servers will be initialized on startup. When is set to the string "per-project" only the servers listed with the function .use() will be initialized. If the value is false servers will be initialized when you call .configure() or .setup_servers().

• set_lsp_keymaps add keybindings to a buffer with a language server attached. This bindings will trigger actions like go to definition, go to reference, etc. You can also specify list of keys you want to omit, see the lua api section for an example.

• configure_diagnostics uses the built-in function vim.diagnostic.config to setup the way error messages are shown in the buffer. It also creates keymaps to navigate between the location of these errors.

• cmp_capabilities tell the language servers what capabilities nvim-cmp supports.

• manage_nvim_cmp use the default setup for nvim-cmp. It configures keybindings and completion sources for nvim-cmp.

• call_servers if set to 'local' it'll try to setup one of the supported installers. If set to 'global' it will only try to use language servers available globally.

• sign_icons they are shown in the "gutter" on the line diagnostics messages are located.

Some details that you should know. The plugin responsable for autocompletion is nvim-cmp. nvim-cmp has a concept of "sources", these provide the actual data displayed in neovim. lsp-zero depends on the following sources:

• cmp-buffer: provides suggestions based on the current file.

• cmp-path: gives completions based on the filesystem.

• cmp_luasnip: it shows snippets in the suggestions.

• cmp-nvim-lsp: show data send by the language server.

• cmp-nvim-lua: provides completions based on neovim's lua api.

• <Enter>: Confirms selection.

• <Ctrl-y>: Confirms selection.

• <Up>: Navigate to previous item on the list.

• <Down>: Navigate to the next item on the list.

• <Ctrl-p>: Navigate to previous item on the list.

• <Ctrl-n>: Navigate to the next item on the list.

• <Ctrl-u>: Scroll up in the item's documentation.

• <Ctrl-f>: Scroll down in the item's documentation.

• <Ctrl-e>: Toggles the completion.

• <Ctrl-d>: Go to the next placeholder in the snippet.

• <Ctrl-b>: Go to the previous placeholder in the snippet.

• <Tab>: Enables completion when the cursor is inside a word. If the completion menu is visible it will navigate to the next item in the list.

• <S-Tab>: When the completion menu is visible navigate to the previous item in the list.

friendly-snippets is the plugin that provides the snippets. And luasnip is the "snippet engine", the thing that expands the snippet and allows you to navigate between snippet placeholders.

• How to disable snippets?

If you already have it all setup then uninstall friendly-snippets. That should be enough to make it disappear from the completion suggestions.

If you really want them gone, exclude the snippet "source" from nvim-cmp.

local lsp = require('lsp-zero')
lsp.preset('recommended')

lsp.setup_nvim_cmp({
  sources = {
    {name = 'path'},
    {name = 'nvim_lsp', keyword_length = 3},
    {name = 'buffer', keyword_length = 3},
  }
})

lsp.setup()

• Change to snippets with snipmate syntax

Uninstall friendly-snippets if you have it. Use onza/vim-snippets. Then add the luasnip loader somewhere in your config.

require('luasnip.loaders.from_snipmate').lazy_load()

Language servers are configured and initialized using nvim-lspconfig.

If you ever wondered "What does lsp-zero do?" This is the answer:

require('lspconfig').tsserver.setup({
  on_attach = lsp_attach
  capabilities = lsp_capabilities
})

In this example I'm using tsserver but it could be any LSP server.

What happens is that lsp-zero uses lspconfig's setup function to initialize the LSP server. Then uses the on_attach option to create the keybindings and commands. Finally, it passes the "client capabilities" to the LSP server, this is the integration between the LSP client and the autocompletion plugin.

When a language server gets attached to a buffer you gain access to some keybindings and commands. All of these are bound to built-in functions, so you can get more details using the :help command.

• K: Displays hover information about the symbol under the cursor in a floating window. See :help vim.lsp.buf.hover().

• gd: Jumps to the definition of the symbol under the cursor. See :help vim.lsp.buf.definition().

• gD: Jumps to the declaration of the symbol under the cursor. Some servers don't implement this feature. See :help vim.lsp.buf.declaration().

• gi: Lists all the implementations for the symbol under the cursor in the quickfix window. See :help vim.lsp.buf.implementation().

• go: Jumps to the definition of the type of the symbol under the cursor. See :help vim.lsp.buf.type_definition().

• gr: Lists all the references to the symbol under the cursor in the quickfix window. See :help vim.lsp.buf.references().

• <Ctrl-k>: Displays signature information about the symbol under the cursor in a floating window. See :help vim.lsp.buf.signature_help(). If a mapping already exists for this key this function is not bound.

• <F2>: Renames all references to the symbol under the cursor. See :help vim.lsp.buf.rename().

• <F4>: Selects a code action available at the current cursor position. See :help vim.lsp.buf.code_action().

• LspZeroFormat: Formats the current buffer or range. If the "bang" is provided formatting will be synchronous (ex: LspZeroFormat!). See :help vim.lsp.buf.formatting(), :help vim.lsp.buf.range_formatting(), :help vim.lsp.buf.formatting_sync().

• LspZeroWorkspaceRemove: Remove the folder at path from the workspace folders. See :help vim.lsp.buf.remove_workspace_folder().

• LspZeroWorkspaceAdd: Add the folder at path to the workspace folders. See :help vim.lsp.buf.add_workspace_folder().

• LspZeroWorkspaceList: List workspace folders. See :help vim.lsp.buf.list_workspace_folders().

In addition to the lsp keymap you also have access to these keybindings when a server is attached to a buffer.

• gl: Show diagnostics in a floating window. See :help vim.diagnostic.open_float().
• [d: Move to the previous diagnostic in the current buffer. See :help vim.diagnostic.goto_prev().
• ]d: Move to the next diagnostic. See :help vim.diagnostic.goto_next().

To configure the UI for diagnostics lsp-zero uses vim.diagnostic.config with the following arguments.

{
  virtual_text = false,
  signs = true,
  update_in_insert = false,
  underline = true,
  severity_sort = true,
  float = {
    focusable = false,
    style = 'minimal',
    border = 'rounded',
    source = 'always',
    header = '',
    prefix = '',
  },
}

Now, if you notice the sign_icons "pop up" and moving your screen is because you have signcolumn set to auto. I recommend setting it to "yes" to preserve the space in the gutter.

set signcolumn=yes

If you use lua.

vim.opt.signcolumn = 'yes'

If you want to override some settings lsp-zero provides make sure you call vim.diagnostic.config after lsp-zero's setup.

Here is an example that restores the built-in configuration for diagnostics.

local lsp = require('lsp-zero')
lsp.preset('recommended')

lsp.setup()

vim.diagnostic.config({
  virtual_text = true,
  signs = true,
  update_in_insert = false,
  underline = true,
  severity_sort = false,
  float = true,
})

Install and updates of language servers is done with mason.nvim.

With mason.nvim you can also install formatters and debuggers, but lsp-zero will only configure LSP servers.

To install a server manually use the command LspInstall with the name of the server you want to install. If you don't provide a name mason-lspconfig.nvim will try to suggest a language server based on the filetype of the current buffer.

To check for updates on the language servers use the command Mason. A floating window will open showing you all the tools mason.nvim can install. You can filter the packages by categories for example, language servers are in the second category, so if you press the number 2 it'll show only the language servers. The packages you have installed will appear at the top. If there is any update available the item will display a message. Navigate to that item and press u to install the update.

To uninstall a package use the command Mason. Navigate to the item you want to delete and press X.

To know more about the available bindings inside the floating window of Mason press g?.

If you need to customize mason.nvim make sure you do it before calling the lsp-zero module.

require('mason.settings').set({
  ui = {
    border = 'rounded'
  }
})

local lsp = require('lsp-zero')
lsp.preset('recommended')

lsp.setup()

On July 24 (2022) the author of nvim-lsp-installer announced the development of that project would stop. He will focus on mason.nvim instead. This new installer has a bigger scope, it can install LSP servers, formatters, linters, etc.

At the moment lsp-zero supports both nvim-lsp-installer and mason.nvim. But you should migrate to mason.nvim as soon as possible. nvim-lsp-installer no longer receives any updates.

To migrate away from nvim-lsp-installer first remove all servers installed. Execute.

:LspUninstallAll

Optionally, you can reset the state of the server suggestions.

:lua require('lsp-zero.state').reset()

Next, remove nvim-lsp-installer from neovim. Use whatever method your plugin manager has.

Last step is to install mason.nvim and mason-lspconfig.

Really. There is a good chance the only thing you want is the automatic setup of LSP servers. Let me tell you how to configure that.

You'll need these plugins:

• mason.nvim
• mason-lspconfig
• nvim-lspconfig

After you have installed all that you configure them in this order.

require('mason').setup()

require('mason-lspconfig').setup({
  ensure_installed = {
    -- Replace these with whatever servers you want to install
    'rust_analyzer',
    'tsserver',
  }
})

local lspconfig = require('lspconfig')
require('mason-lspconfig').setup_handlers({
  function(server_name)
    lspconfig[server_name].setup({
      on_attach = lsp_attach,
      capabilities = lsp_capabilities,
    })
  end,
})

In this example I have automatic install of servers using the option ensure_installed in mason-lspconfig. You can delete that list of servers and add your own.

If you notice your LSP servers don't behave correctly, it might be because .setup_handlers. You can replace that function with a for loop.

local lspconfig = require('lspconfig')
local get_servers = require('mason-lspconfig').get_installed_servers

for _, server_name in ipairs(get_servers()) do
  lspconfig[server_name].setup({
    on_attach = lsp_attach,
    capabilities = lsp_capabilities,
  })
end

To learn how to use the on_attach option you can read the help page :help lspconfig-keybindings.

For the capabilities option, if you are using nvim-cmp all you need to do is install the source for LSP cmp-nvim-lsp. Then you define the variable lsp_capabilities.

local lsp_capabilities = require('cmp_nvim_lsp').default_capabilities()

• LspZeroSetupServers: It takes a space separated list of servers and configures them. It calls the function .use() under the hood. If the bang is provided the root dir of the language server will be the same as neovim. It is recommended that you use only if you decide to handle server setup manually.

It creates a combination of settings safe to use for specific cases. Make sure is the first function you call after you require lsp-zero module.

{name} can be one of the following:

• recommended
• lsp-compe
• lsp-only
• manual-setup
• per-project
• system-lsp

It gives the user control over the options available in the plugin.

You can use it to override options from a preset.

You could disable the automatic suggestions for language servers, and also specify a list of lsp keymaps to omit during setup.

local lsp = require('lsp-zero')
lsp.preset('recommended')

lsp.set_preferences({
  suggest_lsp_servers = false
  set_lsp_keymaps = {omit = {'<F2>', 'gl'}}
})

lsp.setup()

The one that coordinates the call to other setup functions. Handles the configuration for nvim-cmp and the language servers during startup. It is meant to be the last function you call.

Sets a default configuration for all LSP servers. You can find more details about {opts} in the help page :help lspconfig-setup.

lsp.set_server_config({
  single_file_support = false,
})

Useful when you need to pass some custom options to a specific language server. Takes the same options as nvim-lspconfig's setup function. You can find more details in the help page :help lspconfig-setup.

lsp.configure('tsserver', {
  single_file_support = false,
  on_attach = function(client, bufnr)
    print('hello tsserver')
  end
})

If you have a server installed globally you can use the option force_setup to skip any internal check.

lsp.configure('dartls', {force_setup = true})

Used to configure the servers specified in {list}. If you provide the opts property it will send those options to all language servers. Under the hood it calls .configure() for each server on {list}.

local lsp_opts = {
  single_file_support = false,
}

lsp.setup_servers({'html', 'cssls', opts = lsp_opts})

If the servers you want to call are installed globally use the option force to skip any internal check.

lsp.setup_servers({'dartls', 'vls', force = true})

Disables one or more language server. It tells lsp-zero to skip the initialization of the language servers provided. Its only effective when setup_servers_on_start is set to true.

local lsp = require('lsp-zero')
lsp.preset('recommended')

lsp.skip_server_setup({'eslint', 'angularls'})

lsp.setup()

Execute {callback} function every time a server is attached to a buffer.

Let's say you want to disable all the default keybindings for lsp actions and diagnostics, and then declare your own.

local lsp = require('lsp-zero')
lsp.preset('recommended')

lsp.set_preferences({
  set_lsp_keymaps = false
})

lsp.on_attach(function(client, bufnr)
  local opts = {buffer = bufnr, remap = false}
  local bind = vim.keymap.set

  bind('n', '<leader>r', '<cmd>lua vim.lsp.buf.rename()<cr>', opts)
  -- more code  ...
end)

lsp.setup()

Installs all the servers in {list} if they are missing.

lsp.ensure_installed({
  'html',
  'cssls',
  'tsserver'
})

Configures the language server for lua with all the options needed to provide completions specific to neovim.

{opts} supports two properties:

• root_dir: a function that determines the working directory of the language server.

• library: a list of paths that the server should analyze.

By default only the runtime files of neovim and vim.fn.stdpath('config') will be included. To add the path to every plugin you'll need to do this.

lsp.nvim_workspace({
  library = vim.api.nvim_get_runtime_file('', true)
})

{opts} is a table that will allow you to override defaults configured by lsp-zero:

• completion: Configures the behavior of the completion menu. You can find more details about its properties if you start typing the command :help cmp-config.completion.

• sources: List of configurations for "data sources". See :help cmp-config.sources to know more.

• documentation: Modifies the look of the documentation window. You can find more details about its properities if you start typing the command :help cmp-config.window.

• preselect: By default, the first item in the completion menu is preselected. Disable this behaviour by setting this to cmp.PreselectMode.None.

• formatting: Modifies the look of the completion menu. You can find more details about its properities if you start typing the command :help cmp-config.formatting.

• mapping: Sets the keybindings. See :help cmp-mapping.

• select_behavior: Configure behavior when navigating between items in the completion menu. It can be set to the values 'insert' or 'select'. With the value 'select' nothing happens when you move between items. With the value 'insert' it'll put the text from the selection in the buffer. Is worth mention these values are available as "types" in the cmp module: require('cmp').SelectBehavior.

Some example config of these options are featured in nvim-cmp's readme.

If what you want is to extend the configuration of nvim-cmp, I suggest you change the preset to lsp-compe. There is an example configuration in the Advance usage page.

For when you want full control of the servers you want to use in particular project. It is meant to be called in project local config.

Ideally, you would setup some default values for your servers in your neovim config using .setup_servers() or .configure(). Example.

-- init.lua

local lsp = require('lsp-zero')
lsp.preset('per-project')

lsp.configure('pyright', {
  single_file_support = false
})

lsp.setup()

And then in your local config you can tweak the server options even more.

-- local config

local lsp = require('lsp-zero')

lsp.use('pyright', {
  settings = {
    python = {
      analysis = {
        extraPaths = {'/path/to/my/dependencies'},
      }
    }
  }
})

Options from .configure() will be merged with the ones on .use() and the server will be initialized.

.use() can also take a list of servers. All the servers on the list will share the same options.

-- local config

local lsp = require('lsp-zero')

local lsp_opts = {
  single_file_support = false
}

lsp.use({'html', 'cssls'}, lsp_opts)

Returns all the parameters necessary to start a language using nvim-lspconfig's setup function. After calling this function you'll need to initialize the language server by other means.

The {opts} table will be merged with the rest of the default options for {server}.

This function was designed as an escape hatch, so you can call a language server using other tools.

For example, if you want to use rust-tools, this is how you'll do it.

local lsp = require('lsp-zero')
lsp.preset('recommended')

lsp.skip_server_setup({'rust_analyzer'})

lsp.setup()

-- Initialize rust_analyzer with rust-tools
local rust_lsp = lsp.build_options('rust_analyzer', {})
require('rust-tools').setup({server = rust_lsp})

Returns the list of "sources" used in nvim-cmp.

Returns a table with the default keybindings for nvim-cmp. If you provide the {opts} table it'll merge it with the defaults, this way you can extend or change the values easily.

Here is an example that disables completion with tab and replace it with Ctrl + space.

local lsp = require('lsp-zero')
lsp.preset('recommended')

local cmp = require('cmp')
local cmp_mappings = lsp.defaults.cmp_mappings({
  ['<C-Space>'] = cmp.mapping.complete(),
  ['<C-e>'] = cmp.mapping.abort(),
})

-- disable completion with tab
cmp_mappings['<Tab>'] = nil
cmp_mappings['<S-Tab>'] = nil

-- disable confirm with Enter key
cmp_mappings['<CR>'] = nil

lsp.setup_nvim_cmp({
  mapping = cmp_mappings
})

lsp.setup()

Returns the entire configuration table for nvim-cmp. If you provide the {opts} table it'll merge it with the defaults, this way you can extend or change the values easily.

local lsp = require('lsp-zero')
lsp.preset('lsp-compe')

lsp.setup()

vim.opt.completeopt = {'menu', 'menuone', 'noselect'}

local cmp = require('cmp')
local cmp_config = lsp.defaults.cmp_config({
  window = {
    completion = cmp.config.window.bordered()
  }
})

cmp.setup(cmp_config)

Returns the neovim specific settings for sumneko_lua language server.

If you find this tool useful and want to support my efforts, buy me a coffee ☕.