Language servers

Make a local language server available#

MeatPad detects language-server programs already installed on your Mac. It does not download or install servers. Open a project folder and a supported source file to use code intelligence.

1. Install the appropriate tool using its own setup instructions. The hints above are the app’s starting points and require the corresponding package tools.
2. Ensure the executable is on your login shell’s PATH or in a detected standard installation location.
3. Reopen the project/app after changing tool availability. Open a supported source file and inspect its language-server status.
4. If a missing-server message appears, choose Copy Install Command to copy its hint for review in your terminal, or Dismiss to continue editing without it.

SourceKit-LSP also depends on the selected developer tools and project setup. A detected executable alone does not guarantee every server feature will be available for every project.

Jump to definitions, references and symbols#

1. Open a source file in a project and place the caret on a symbol.
2. Choose Navigate → Go to Definition (⌃⌘J) to follow its definition. Command-click on a symbol is another definition gesture.
3. Choose Find References (⌃⌘R) to populate the References sidebar. Select a result to jump to it.
4. Choose Document Symbols (⇧⌘O) to browse the current document’s symbols and choose a destination.

Navigation requires a server response for the current symbol. An unsupported capability, an unready project or an unknown symbol can produce no destination. Plain notes do not have project-wide server navigation.

Read diagnostics and rename a symbol#

1. Inspect diagnostics from the active language server in the editor. Hover over relevant code for information supplied by that server.
2. To rename, put the caret on a symbol and choose Edit → Rename Symbol… (⌃⌘E).
3. Enter the replacement name in the rename dialog and confirm.
4. Review the affected files and the status message after the server’s edits are applied.

A symbol rename can affect multiple files. Save and keep version control/backups before a project-wide edit. Server capabilities vary; MeatPad cannot rename symbols without a suitable server response.