Question: How can I version control the installed servers

[benjaminbauer]

I have all my nvim config version controlled.

Goal: I also want to version control the list of installed lsp servers

Is there a file where nvim-lsp-installer keeps a list of installed servers? Or is it possible/advisable to have a block in my nvim config? Something like the vim-plug config?

Is this something that depends on the outcome of https://github.com/williamboman/nvim-lsp-installer/issues/184? If so, then from a user perspective I would really love to see it work as simple as vim-plug, just for lsp servers :)

[williamboman]

Hey! Most servers (if not all) supports installing a specific version, this is done by appending the version number to the server name being installed, for example rust_analyzer@nightly or tsserver@0.6.0. This can then be provided to either :LspInstall <server_name> or require("nvim-lsp-installer").install(server_name).

Is there a file where nvim-lsp-installer keeps a list of installed servers? Or is it possible/advisable to have a block in my nvim config? Something like the vim-plug config?

There's no manifest file or single orchestration layer as such. It's all done via filesystem entries, where a server is considered installed if it exists on the filesystem.

[benjaminbauer]

Thanks @williamboman ! I do not have the requirement to pin the version, although that might come in handy.

What I would really like is the workflow like for vim-plug:

• have a nvim config file where I define each server I want to be installed -> This file I can put under version control with the rest of my nvim config
• whenever I change something or setup a new machine, I just call :LspInstallAll and all configured servers get installed

[williamboman]

Ah then perhaps this snippet in the wiki might be helpful. :help nvim-lsp-installer might provide some more information about what APIs are available!

[benjaminbauer]

Hi @williamboman, based on the snippet, the API and the idea, that I want it to work somewhat like vim-plug, I whipped up this: nvim-lsplug. Would love your feedback!

[williamboman]

Cool, looks very useful!

Maybe the API could be a bit less imperative? Lua lends itself pretty nicely to DSL-like expressions. Maybe something like:

require("nvim-lsplug").setup {
  "sumneko_lua",
  "vimls",
  {
    "jsonls",
    commands = {
      Format = {
        function()
          vim.lsp.buf.range_formatting({}, { 0, 0 }, { vim.fn.line "$", 0 })
        end,
      },
    },
  },
}

-- or packer.nvim-style

require("nvim-lsplug").setup(function(enable)
  enable { "sumneko_lua", "vimls" } -- neovim dev LSPs

  -- web LSPs
  enable {
    "tsserver",
    "graphql",
    "eslint",
    {
      "jsonls",
      commands = {
        Format = {
          function()
            vim.lsp.buf.range_formatting({}, { 0, 0 }, { vim.fn.line "$", 0 })
          end,
        },
      },
    },
  }

  -- this would make conditionally opting in for certain servers very easy too
  if work_computer then
    enable { "clangd", "rust_analyzer" }
  end
end)

And as for the commands, I think it's a pretty established convention to prefix them with :Lsp (like you already do), but also make sure the following character is uppercase. I think sticking to that aids with discoverability and autocompletion.

[williamboman]

Btw this is a feature I've been planning to add to this plugin, I've seen it's a very common thing people put in their own configs.

[benjaminbauer]

Thanks for the feedback! I will adapt your recommendation for the casing of the command. Your hint to make it more DSL-like: what I like about the more imperative vim-plug style: it is very modular. I can do stuff, like your if clause, in between, or even split it through several files. To that end, I think your second proposal is a good compromise.

If this project supports something like the above, I think all my requirements that lead to making my plugin would be solved. And I agree: many people manage the installed servers in their "dotfiles" to make it reproducible. It would reduce the amount of boilerplate that users put around nvim-lsp-installer.

[petobens]

Hi @williamboman

Btw this is a feature I've been planning to add to this plugin, I've seen it's a very common thing people put in their own configs.

So will this be added (or has already been added) natively to nvim-lsp-installer or the idea is to use @benjaminbauer 's plugin? Thanks in advance

[williamboman]

It's not been added so far. You can either use that plugin or add it yourself, there's really not a lot of code needed and there's an example in the Wiki.