neovim.md

title	Neovim Integration
summary	Wire `mdsmith lsp` into Neovim's built-in LSP client so diagnostics, code actions, and navigation work inline with no extra plugin.

Neovim Integration

mdsmith ships an LSP server. Neovim has a built-in LSP client. Point one at the other and the squiggles, quick-fixes, and definition jumps work the same way they do in VS Code — without an extra plugin.

Prerequisites

• Neovim 0.10 or later (built-in vim.lsp.start API).
• A mdsmith binary on $PATH. The LSP server is this binary's lsp subcommand, not a separate download — install it via the Quick start or any other channel in the install guide.

Minimal config

Add this to init.lua:

vim.api.nvim_create_autocmd("FileType", {
  pattern = "markdown",
  callback = function()
    vim.lsp.start({
      name = "mdsmith",
      cmd = { "mdsmith", "lsp" },
      root_dir = vim.fs.root(0, { ".mdsmith.yml", ".git" }),
    })
  end,
})

That's the whole integration. Opening a Markdown buffer spawns one mdsmith lsp subprocess per workspace, scoped to the nearest .mdsmith.yml or .git directory. On Neovim 0.11 or later, the declarative form below replaces this autocmd.

Neovim 0.11+ with vim.lsp.config

On Neovim 0.11 or later, register the server declaratively instead of writing the autocmd above:

vim.lsp.config("mdsmith", {
  cmd = { "mdsmith", "lsp" },
  filetypes = { "markdown" },
  root_markers = { ".mdsmith.yml", ".git" },
})

vim.lsp.enable("mdsmith")

vim.lsp.enable attaches the server the next time you open a Markdown buffer, scoped to the nearest .mdsmith.yml or .git directory. No plugin is required — vim.lsp.config and vim.lsp.enable are built in. nvim-lspconfig 2.0 registers custom servers through the same two calls, so the snippet works whether or not you load it.

Fix on save

The LSP server exposes a source.fixAll.mdsmith code action. Bind it to BufWritePre:

vim.api.nvim_create_autocmd("BufWritePre", {
  pattern = "*.md",
  callback = function()
    vim.lsp.buf.code_action({
      context = { only = { "source.fixAll.mdsmith" } },
      apply = true,
    })
  end,
})

Troubleshooting

No diagnostics appear. Confirm the binary resolves: :!mdsmith version from inside Neovim. If the command is not found, :LspInfo will show the spawn error and mdsmith is missing from the editor's $PATH.

Stale diagnostics after editing .mdsmith.yml. The server watches the file via workspace/didChangeWatchedFiles and republishes diagnostics on a change. If yours does not, save any open Markdown buffer to force a re-lint, or run :LspRestart.

See also

• mdsmith lsp — the LSP server reference (capabilities, settings, symbol navigation matrix).
• VS Code Integration — the same server, different host.