Buf is proud to announce the first fully‑featured, production‑grade LSP server for Protobuf. The Language Server Protocol is the standard API for integrating language support into your favorite IDE or text editor, such as VSCode, IntelliJ, or Neovim. An LSP server powers go‑to‑definition, code completion, finding references, and semantics‑aware syntax highlighting. Before today, Protobuf lacked the same LSP support other major languages enjoy. This is a game‑changer for Protobuf development: modern IDE support for the first time, all powered by the Buf CLI.

At Buf, we believe Protobuf is the best schema language, thanks to its established ecosystem of libraries and tools. The Buf LSP server is part of a family that includes Protobuf‑ES (used in Chromium!), Protovalidate, Connect RPC, and the Buf Schema Registry. Developing with Protobuf should be the easy, obvious choice.

Installing the Buf LSP is straightforward. In VSCode, just add the Buf extension; it will use your installed Buf CLI or install one if needed. In Neovim, install the Buf CLI and configure nvim‑lspconfig with the provided snippet. The server runs with `buf lsp serve`. For other editors, ensure the command spawns the server. The underlying compiler, protocompile, is faster and more flexible than protoc; even Google uses it alongside protoc in parts of its massive codebase. The new query‑driven frontend enables incremental compilation and better diagnostics, such as correctly detecting duplicate repeated modifiers.

Future plans include import fixes, tighter buf.yaml integration, and dedicated Protovalidate support.