platform-lsp-integrate
forcedotcom/sf-skills
Reference for Salesforce LSP MCP tools, error codes, and fallback patterns.
What is platform-lsp-integrate?
Documents the Salesforce Language Server (LSP) MCP tools available in the salesforce-lsp plugin, including Apex and SOQL semantic capabilities. Use this skill to understand what each LSP tool does, how to interpret results and error codes, and how to degrade gracefully when the LSP is unavailable or returns errors.
- Explains all available LSP tools: apex.diagnostics, apex.hover, apex.documentSymbol, apex.completion, validate_soql, complete_soql, extract_soql_from_apex, check_soql_selectivity, refresh_org_schema, and lsp.health
- Defines error codes and recovery strategies (lsp_disabled, spawn_timeout, circuit_open, no_apex_workspace, no_org_connected)
- Provides fallback paths for each tool when the LSP is unavailable or returns errors
- Documents coordinate systems (one-based line/column) and output formats for each tool
- Clarifies that LWC tools are registered but unavailable in this plugin build
- Specifies the call/fallback contract that other skills must follow when invoking LSP tools
How to install platform-lsp-integrate
npx skills add https://github.com/forcedotcom/sf-skills --skill platform-lsp-integrate- Salesforce LSP plugin (salesforce-lsp MCP server) installed and running
- Salesforce CLI (sf) >=2.0.0 for fallback paths
- Active Salesforce org connection for schema-aware tools like complete_soql
How to use platform-lsp-integrate
- 1.Identify which LSP tool matches your task (e.g., apex.diagnostics for compile-checking, validate_soql for syntax validation)
- 2.Call the tool with required inputs (filePath, line, character, or query string as appropriate)
- 3.Check the response for an error envelope; if present, record the error code and proceed to the documented fallback
- 4.If the tool succeeds, parse the result according to the output format documented in the Tools table
- 5.For schema-dependent tools after a deploy, call refresh_org_schema first if results seem stale
Use cases
- Debugging why an Apex file won't compile or a SOQL query fails validation via the LSP
- Understanding what to do when a tool returns an error envelope instead of a result
- Implementing fallback logic in another skill that calls apex.diagnostics or validate_soql
- Refreshing stale org schema after deploying new fields or objects
- Determining which LSP tool to use for a given semantic task (completion, diagnostics, hover, etc.)
- Skill authors writing code that calls LSP MCP tools
- Developers troubleshooting LSP errors or unavailability
- Users asking how to use Salesforce language features in their IDE
platform-lsp-integrate FAQ
lsp_disabled means the LSP host has been disabled via the kill switch; no_org_connected means no Salesforce org is currently authenticated. Both are error envelopes—treat the tool as unavailable and use the documented fallback path for that tool.
The cached org schema is stale. Call refresh_org_schema to invalidate the local cache, then re-run complete_soql. If the field still doesn't appear, the org itself may not have finished publishing it—wait a moment and try again.
No. The lwc.* tools (lwc.diagnostics, lwc.hover, etc.) are registered but the LWC language server is not vendored in this build. Every lwc.* call returns unavailable. Fall back to reading component source directly or deploy-compiling.
validate_soql checks a SOQL string for syntax errors only and does not require an org connection. complete_soql provides schema-aware code completion (SObjects, fields, picklist values) and requires an active org connection.
If the MCP tools are not registered at all, a call to any LSP tool will not resolve (the tool won't exist). Detect this the same way you detect an error envelope and use the documented fallback—e.g., use sf project deploy for apex.diagnostics or sf data query for validate_soql.
Full instructions (SKILL.md)
Source of truth, from forcedotcom/sf-skills.
name: platform-lsp-integrate description: "Reference/contract for the Salesforce LSP MCP tools and unavailability handling. Use when asking how to use the LSP, which tools exist, what apex.diagnostics / validate_soql / complete_soql do, why a tool errors with lsp_disabled, no_apex_workspace, or no_org_connected, or how to debug/disable it. DO NOT TRIGGER for editing Apex/LWC/metadata (platform-apex-generate), deploys (platform-metadata-deploy), or SOQL authoring (platform-soql-query); scoped to LSP-layer/MCP-tool questions only." allowed-tools: Bash Read mcp__plugin_salesforce-development_salesforce-lsp__lsp_health metadata: mcpTools: # Native salesforce-lsp server tool ID (the bundled LSP host registers it # dotted as lsp.health). In allowed-tools it appears in Claude Code's # sanitized form: mcp__plugin_salesforce-development_salesforce-lsp__lsp_health. salesforce-lsp: tools: ["lsp.health"] semver: ">=0.1.0" cliTools: - tool: ["sf"] semver: ">=2.0.0" relatedSkills: - "platform-apex-generate" - "platform-metadata-deploy" - "platform-soql-query"
Using the Salesforce LSP
The salesforce-development plugin hosts a local MCP server named
salesforce-lsp that lazily spawns Salesforce Language Server children and
exposes their semantic capabilities as MCP tools. This skill is the contract
other skills follow when they call those tools, and the answer to "how do I use
the Salesforce LSP?" — what each tool does, how to read its result, what every
error code means, and how to fall back when the host is absent.
This is a documentation/reference skill. It does not author or deploy code; it tells you (and other skills) how to drive the LSP tools correctly.
This plugin build vendors Apex + SOQL only. The
salesforce-lsphost ships the Apex language server (@salesforce/apex-ls) and the SOQL language server. The LWC language server is intentionally not bundled in this plugin — thelwc.*tools are registered by the host but will always return anunavailable-class envelope here. Treat anylwc.*call as unavailable and use the fallback (read the component source / deploy-compile).
When to Use This Skill
- A user asks how to use the Salesforce LSP, or which LSP/MCP tools are available.
- A user asks what a specific tool does (
apex.diagnostics,validate_soql,complete_soql, etc.) or how to read its output. - An LSP tool returned an error envelope (
lsp_disabled,spawn_timeout,circuit_open,no_apex_workspace,no_org_connected) and you need to know what it means and how to recover. - You're authoring or reviewing another skill that calls an LSP tool and need the canonical call/fallback pattern.
- The LSP seems broken and you need to debug it (
lsp.health,${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/bin/lsp-doctor, the kill switch).
The Tools
All tools are served by the MCP server salesforce-lsp (invoke names follow
the plugin-prefixed pattern:
mcp__plugin_salesforce-development_salesforce-lsp__<tool_name>, where dots in
tool names become underscores — e.g. apex.diagnostics becomes
mcp__plugin_salesforce-development_salesforce-lsp__apex_diagnostics). Spawning
is lazy: a tool that needs a language server brings the child up on first call (a
one-time cold start of a few seconds for Apex), then reuses it. The pure
static-analysis tools never spawn anything.
Apex (spawns the Apex LSP)
| Tool | Purpose | Key input | Key output |
|---|---|---|---|
apex.diagnostics | Compile-check a .cls/.trigger; surface errors/warnings | { filePath } | { ok, diagnostics: [{ line, column, severity, message }] } |
apex.hover | Type/signature at a position | { filePath, line, character } | hover markdown |
apex.documentSymbol | Outline of a file's symbols | { filePath } | symbol tree |
apex.completion | Code-completion at a position | { filePath, line, character } | completion items |
SOQL
| Tool | Purpose | Spawns? | Key output |
|---|---|---|---|
validate_soql | Parse a SOQL string for syntax errors | SOQL LSP | { ok, diagnostics: [{ line, column, severity, message }] } |
complete_soql | Schema-aware completion at a cursor (SObjects, fields, picklist values resolved against the org) | SOQL LSP | { ok, items, expanded, unresolved, hint? } |
extract_soql_from_apex | Statically pull every inline [SELECT …] out of Apex | No (pure static) | { ok, totalQueries, totalDynamic, files } |
check_soql_selectivity | Selectivity heuristics (optional org LIMIT-0 probe) | No by default | selectivity report |
refresh_org_schema | Invalidate the cached org describe so completion re-fetches | No | { ok, removed } |
Just deployed a field/object and it won't resolve? When a SOQL or Apex reference to a freshly-deployed field fails (e.g.
No such column 'Foo__c', orcomplete_soqldoesn't offer it) right after a deploy, the cached org describe is stale — callrefresh_org_schemato invalidate it, then re-run the check before assuming a code error or renaming anything. This is the lever for post-deploy schema lag; reach for it before treating the failure as a bug in your query/class. (It only clears the local cache; it can't speed up server-side propagation, so if the org itself hasn't finished publishing the field, re-running after a moment is the fallback.)
LWC — not available in this build
The lwc.* tools (lwc.diagnostics, lwc.hover, lwc.definition,
lwc.completion, lwc.workspace_symbols) are registered by the host but the LWC
language server is not vendored in this plugin. Every lwc.* call returns an
unavailable envelope. For LWC work, fall back to reading the component
source/templates directly or deploy-compiling and reading the CLI errors.
Diagnostics / health
| Tool | Purpose | Spawns? |
|---|---|---|
lsp.health | Read-only view of kill-switch mode, workspace, per-server state, circuit-breaker state, cold-spawn timing, apex-ls version | No — never spawns |
Coordinates everywhere are one-based (line/column). validate_soql
diagnostic coordinates are relative to the query string, not a file — when a
query came from extract_soql_from_apex, translate back using that query's range.
The Call / Fallback Contract
Every skill that calls an LSP tool follows the same three rules:
- Prefer the LSP tool over guessing. If a tool exists for the step (validate a query, compile-check a class, complete against the org schema), call it before falling back to hand-analysis.
- Treat an error envelope as "unavailable," never as "passed." A tool may
return
{ error: <code> }instead of a result (see Error Codes). On any such code, record<tool>=unavailable: <code>in your report and continue down the fallback path — never report the input as valid/clean just because the check didn't run. - Degrade, don't fail. The LSP is an accelerator, not a hard dependency. If
the host isn't available at all, the
salesforce-lsptools simply won't exist — fall back to the CLI/manual path for that step and say so.
When the LSP host is absent
If the plugin/host isn't available, the MCP tools above are not registered, so a
call to (e.g.) validate_soql will not resolve. Detect this the same way you
detect an error envelope — the tool is unavailable — and use the documented
fallback:
| LSP tool unavailable | Fallback |
|---|---|
apex.diagnostics | Deploy/compile via sf project deploy and read CLI errors |
validate_soql | Smoke-check by running the query read-only via sf data query --json (a parse error surfaces in the CLI error) |
complete_soql | sf sobject describe --sobject <O> --json for fields; author from the user's stated names |
extract_soql_from_apex | Read the file(s) and locate [SELECT … ] by hand |
apex.completion / apex.hover | Read the source directly |
lwc.* (always unavailable here) | Read the component source/templates directly, or deploy-compile and read CLI errors |
Error Codes
A tool returns { error: <code> } (or, for complete_soql, a hint) instead of
a result. Each maps to a recovery:
| Code | Meaning | What to do |
|---|---|---|
lsp_disabled | The kill switch (SFDX_LSP) forbids this language | Use the non-LSP fallback; or re-enable the LSP (see Debugging) |
spawn_timeout | The language server didn't come up in time | Retry once; if it persists, fall back and run ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/bin/lsp-doctor |
circuit_open | Repeated spawn failures tripped the breaker; calls are short-circuited | Fall back now; investigate with lsp.health / ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/bin/lsp-doctor |
no_apex_workspace | No classes/*.cls under any package dir — Apex tools won't spawn | Expected in a non-Apex project; nothing to check |
no_org_connected | (complete_soql hint) org schema couldn't be resolved | Keyword completion still works; ask for exact field/object names or connect an org. Do not surface __…_PLACEHOLDER labels as real fields |
The first three are transient/config states shared by every spawning tool; the
rest are expected, healthy states for a particular workspace/org/file context —
not signs of a broken install. (no_lwc_bundles / unsupported_lwc_file are
LWC-only codes; in this build the LWC server is not vendored, so lwc.* returns
unavailable regardless.)
Debugging the LSP
Three layers, cheapest first:
-
lsp.health(MCP tool). The fastest check — never spawns a child. Reports the kill-switch mode, resolved workspace, per-server status, circuit-breaker state, last cold-spawn timing, and the vendored apex-ls version. Ask Claude to "run lsp.health," or call thelsp.healthtool directly. -
bin/lsp-doctor(CLI). A deeper, install-level diagnostic for support and onboarding. Verifies the committed bundles exist, the vendored apex-ls artifacts resolve, the org-schema cache is parseable, and each LSP child can actually spawn. Exits0when healthy,1with structured per-check output when something is wrong."${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}"/bin/lsp-doctor # human-readable report "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}"/bin/lsp-doctor --json # machine-readable "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}"/bin/lsp-doctor --no-spawn # skip child-spawn probes (CI/restricted)(In this build
lsp-doctorwill report the LWC server as missing — that is expected; only Apex + SOQL are vendored here.) -
SFDX_LSP_DEBUG=1. Emits single-line JSON telemetry (spawn timing, cache hits, circuit events, per-tool latency) to stderr. Off by default (zero overhead).
The kill switch — SFDX_LSP
The fast way to control or disable the LSP. Set the environment variable:
SFDX_LSP | Effect |
|---|---|
unset / all | Every vendored LSP may spawn (default) |
apex-only | Only the Apex LSP may spawn; SOQL tools return lsp_disabled |
disabled | No LSP spawns; every LSP tool returns lsp_disabled |
To rule the LSP in or out of a problem, set SFDX_LSP=disabled and re-run: if the
issue persists it isn't the LSP, and skills will have fallen back to their non-LSP
paths automatically. An unknown value defaults to all (with a warning) so a typo
never silently disables the feature.
Pre-deploy diagnostics gate
A PreToolUse hook (bin/lsp-precheck) runs Apex diagnostics on the
.cls/.trigger files a sf project deploy start/validate is about to push,
and emits a decision. It is fail-open: any error (including a missing/slow
LSP) allows the deploy. Mode is controlled by SFDX_LSP_DEPLOY_GATE
(off | warn | block, default warn) — warn surfaces diagnostics without
blocking; block denies a deploy that has Apex compile errors.
Verification
- Asked "how do I use the Salesforce LSP tools?", this skill is the match and lists the tools, their inputs/outputs, and the fallback contract.
- Appears in the
/skillslisting asplatform-lsp-integrate. - Given an error code (e.g.
no_apex_workspace), it explains the meaning and the correct recovery without treating the unrun check as a pass.
Cross-Skill Integration
| Need | Delegate to |
|---|---|
| Compile-check + analyze Apex you just wrote | platform-apex-generate |
Validate inline SOQL in .cls/.trigger | validate_soql (this skill); fallback: run read-only via sf data query --json |
| Author & run a SOQL query against the org | complete_soql + sf data query |
| Pre-deploy diagnostics gate behavior | see "Pre-deploy diagnostics gate" above |
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