--- title: Protobuf now has full LSP support · Buf | daily.dev description: Buf has released what it calls the first fully-featured, spec-compliant Language Server Protocol implementation for Protobuf, bringing go-to-definition, code... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/protobuf-now-has-full-lsp-support-buf-ujvlrif7e twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Protobuf now has full LSP support · Buf | daily.dev og:description: Buf has released what it calls the first fully-featured, spec-compliant Language Server Protocol implementation for Protobuf, bringing go-to-definition, code... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/protobuf-now-has-full-lsp-support-buf-ujvlrif7e og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/UJvLRif7E.png og:image:alt: Protobuf now has full LSP support · Buf og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Protobuf now has full LSP support · Buf **[Buf Blog](https://daily.dev/sources/buf)** · 4 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary Buf has released what it calls the first fully-featured, spec-compliant Language Server Protocol implementation for Protobuf, bringing go-to-definition, code completion, reference lookups, and semantic syntax highlighting to editors like VSCode and Neovim. The LSP server is bundled with the Buf CLI and built on a new query-driven compiler frontend (an evolution of Buf's protocompile) that enables incremental compilation, better diagnostics (such as catching duplicate repeated modifiers that protoc misses), and support for upcoming Protobuf Editions 2024 features. Installation is straightforward via the Buf VSCode extension or nvim-lspconfig for Neovim. Planned future additions include automatic import fixes, tighter buf.yaml integration, code completion for custom options, and Protovalidate/CEL syntax support. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### Is there an LSP server available for Protobuf that works with VSCode and Neovim? Yes, Buf released a fully-featured, spec-compliant LSP server for Protobuf, bundled with the Buf CLI. It provides go to definition, code completion, finding references, and semantics-aware syntax highlighting. Install it in VSCode via the Buf extension, or in Neovim by installing the Buf CLI and configuring nvim-lspconfig with lspconfig.buf_ls.setup{}. _daily.dev helps developers wiring up new Protobuf tooling keep pace with releases like this LSP server._ ### How is Buf's new Protobuf compiler frontend different from protoc? Buf built a new query-driven compiler frontend, an evolution of its protocompile project, that enables incremental compilation and much better diagnostics than protoc. For example, it correctly diagnoses a duplicate repeated modifier, which protoc misses. It uses a custom AST and intermediate representation instead of FileDescriptorProto, making it more memory-efficient for large Buf module workspaces and easier to extend for upcoming Editions 2024 features. _engineers comparing schema-compiler internals can track deep dives like this one on daily.dev._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [The modern Protobuf workflow · Buf](https://daily.dev/posts/the-modern-protobuf-workflow-buf-c2m7gywhe) · Buf Blog · 1 upvotes · 0 comments - [Announcing Symfony Language Tools, the Official Symfony LSP Server \(Symfony Blog\)](https://daily.dev/posts/announcing-symfony-language-tools-the-official-symfony-lsp-server-symfony-blog--ni87i9xqz) · Symfony · 4 upvotes · 0 comments - [Protobuf, JSON Schema, and OpenAPI · Buf](https://daily.dev/posts/protobuf-json-schema-and-openapi-buf-00wgyenfv) · Buf Blog · 7 upvotes · 0 comments - [Give GitHub Copilot CLI real code intelligence with language servers](https://daily.dev/posts/give-github-copilot-cli-real-code-intelligence-with-language-servers-nxpgsigpe) · GitHub Blog · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#backend](https://daily.dev/tags/backend), [#devtools](https://daily.dev/tags/devtools), [#lsp](https://daily.dev/tags/lsp), [#vscode](https://daily.dev/tags/vscode) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/protobuf-now-has-full-lsp-support-buf-ujvlrif7e) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Protobuf now has full LSP support · Buf","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/protobuf-now-has-full-lsp-support-buf-ujvlrif7e","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/protobuf-now-has-full-lsp-support-buf-ujvlrif7e"},"datePublished":"2026-08-23T07:20:10.620Z","dateModified":"2026-10-14T02:29:47.326Z","description":"Buf has released what it calls the first fully-featured, spec-compliant Language Server Protocol implementation for Protobuf, bringing go-to-definition, code...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/5b3e124f6b1a4c2e95db32fc7447ae2b?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/5b3e124f6b1a4c2e95db32fc7447ae2b?_a=AQAEuop","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"Buf Blog","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Buf Blog","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--2YBgo_Nm--/f_auto,q_auto/v1787469605/logos/buf?_a=BAMAMicg0","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/buf"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/protobuf-now-has-full-lsp-support-buf-ujvlrif7e","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":0},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"backend,devtools,lsp,vscode","timeRequired":"PT4M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Buf Blog","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/buf"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Protobuf now has full LSP support · Buf"}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/protobuf-now-has-full-lsp-support-buf-ujvlrif7e#faq","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"Is there an LSP server available for Protobuf that works with VSCode and Neovim?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Yes, Buf released a fully-featured, spec-compliant LSP server for Protobuf, bundled with the Buf CLI. It provides go to definition, code completion, finding references, and semantics-aware syntax highlighting. Install it in VSCode via the Buf extension, or in Neovim by installing the Buf CLI and configuring nvim-lspconfig with lspconfig.buf_ls.setup{}. daily.dev helps developers wiring up new Protobuf tooling keep pace with releases like this LSP server."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"How is Buf's new Protobuf compiler frontend different from protoc?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Buf built a new query-driven compiler frontend, an evolution of its protocompile project, that enables incremental compilation and much better diagnostics than protoc. For example, it correctly diagnoses a duplicate repeated modifier, which protoc misses. It uses a custom AST and intermediate representation instead of FileDescriptorProto, making it more memory-efficient for large Buf module workspaces and easier to extend for upcoming Editions 2024 features. engineers comparing schema-compiler internals can track deep dives like this one on daily.dev."}}]} ```