Getting TypeScript LSP Working in Claude Code

February 13, 2026

Claude Code is a text-based tool. Without LSP, it navigates your codebase the same way you would with grep and cat — brute-force text search, one file at a time. With LSP, it gets the same semantic understanding that powers VS Code: type-aware navigation, exact references, and automatic error detection.

The difference is dramatic:

Capability	Without LSP	With LSP
Rename symbol	Grep + Edit (manual, file by file)	Find all references in one call, then edit
Find references	Text match (may include false positives)	Exact references from type system
Go to definition	Grep for function name (guesswork)	Direct jump via type graph
Error detection	Manual (`tsc --noEmit`)	Automatic after every edit
Token cost	High (many round-trips)	Low (fewer calls)
Accuracy	Best-effort text matching	Compiler-accurate

A method rename across 20 files goes from ~25-30 tool calls (grepping, reading, editing) to a single findReferences call followed by targeted edits. The search phase collapses from many round-trips to one.

The problem

Claude Code has an official TypeScript LSP plugin: typescript-lsp@claude-plugins-official. You install it, restart, and… nothing happens. No error. No warning. The LSP tools simply do not appear.

Two things are working against you:

The native binary does not support it. If you installed Claude Code as a standalone binary (the default on macOS), the plugin system cannot spawn LSP child processes. The native binary bundles its own runtime that does not play well with plugins that need to run external language servers.
There is an undocumented feature flag. Even with the npm install, LSP tools are gated behind ENABLE_LSP_TOOL=1. This is not mentioned in the plugin README or the Claude Code docs.

npm install vs native binary

The fix starts with how you install Claude Code itself.

The native binary bundles its own Node runtime. It works great for the core tool, but the plugin system needs to spawn child processes (like typescript-language-server), and the bundled runtime does not support this.

The npm install uses your system Node. Plugins can spawn processes normally. The two installs share the same model access and core features, but differ in meaningful ways: the native binary gets automatic background updates, while the npm version supports LSP plugins. For LSP, you need the npm version.

Note: Anthropic’s recommended install method is now the native installer (curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash). The npm install is still supported but no longer the default path. If you need LSP, the npm version is currently the only option.

If you already have the native binary installed, you can keep it as a backup and just put the npm version earlier in your PATH.

What actually works

1. Install Claude Code via npm

npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code

If you already have the native binary, rename it so the npm version takes priority:

which claude
# e.g. /usr/local/bin/claude
mv /usr/local/bin/claude /usr/local/bin/claude-native-backup

2. Install the TypeScript language server

npm install -g typescript-language-server typescript

3. Set the feature flag

Add to your .zshrc (or .bashrc):

export ENABLE_LSP_TOOL=1

Or pass it inline when launching Claude Code:

ENABLE_LSP_TOOL=1 claude

4. Install the plugin

From within a Claude Code session:

/plugin install typescript-lsp@claude-plugins-official

Verify it works

Open a new terminal, navigate to a TypeScript project, and start Claude Code. Then ask it to use an LSP tool:

> Use the LSP hover tool on the main function in src/index.ts

If it responds with type information, you are set. If it says it does not have LSP tools available, double-check:

ENABLE_LSP_TOOL=1 is exported in your shell
which typescript-language-server returns a valid path
You are running the npm version of Claude Code, not the native binary

What you get

Once LSP is working, Claude Code gains nine new operations through a single LSP tool:

goToDefinition — jump to where a symbol is defined, across files
findReferences — every usage of a symbol, with compiler accuracy
hover — type information and documentation for any symbol
documentSymbol — list all symbols in a file (functions, classes, variables)
workspaceSymbol — search for symbols across the entire project
goToImplementation — find implementations of an interface or abstract method
prepareCallHierarchy — get the call hierarchy item at a position
incomingCalls — find all functions that call a given function
outgoingCalls — find all functions called by a given function

These tools transform how Claude Code works with your codebase. Instead of grepping through files and hoping it finds the right match, it navigates your code the way your editor does — through the type system.

The setup is painful. The result is worth it.