xmake-zed

XMake integration for Zed editor

A XMake integration for Zed editor with automatic LSP installation, comprehensive syntax highlighting, and build tasks.

It is deeply integrated with xmake and Zed editor to provide a convenient and fast cross-platform c/c++ development and building.

You need install xmake first and a project with xmake.lua.

Please see xmake-github and website if you want to known more about xmake.

• Language Server (xmake_ls)

• Syntax Highlighting (300+ functions)

• Code Intelligence

• Symbol Navigation

• Project Templates

• Full LSP Integration: Complete language server support via xmake_ls

• Auto-completion: Intelligent code completion for XMake APIs

• Diagnostics: Real-time error detection and warnings

• Hover Information: Documentation on hover

• Code Actions: Quick fixes and refactoring support

• Go to Definition: Navigate to symbol definitions

• Find References: Locate all usages of symbols

• Document Symbols: Outline of targets, options, rules, tasks

• Workspace Symbols: Search across all xmake.lua files

• Formatting: Document and range formatting support

• Target APIs: target, set_kind, set_version, set_description, set_default
• File APIs: add_files, add_headerfiles, add_installfiles, remove_files
• Include APIs: add_includedirs, add_sysincludedirs, add_defines, add_undefines
• Linking APIs: add_links, add_linkdirs, add_syslinks, add_frameworks, add_deps
• Compiler APIs: add_cflags, add_cxxflags, add_ldflags, set_warnings, set_optimize
• Rule APIs: add_rules, rule, on_load, on_build, before_build, after_build
• Option APIs: option, add_options, set_default, set_showmenu
• Package APIs: add_requires, add_packages, add_repositories, add_requireconfs
• Task APIs: task, on_run, set_menu
• Utility APIs: is_plat, is_arch, is_mode, is_host, has_config, get_config
• Global Modules: os, path, string, table, math, io, debug, coroutine, hash, utils

1. Install Lua Extension (required for syntax highlighting)

   • Press Cmd+Shift+X → Search "Lua" → Install
   • xmake.lua files use Lua syntax, so this grammar is needed

2. Install XMake Extension

   • Press Cmd+Shift+X (macOS) or Ctrl+Shift+X (Linux/Windows)
   • Search for "XMake"
   • Click Install

The XMake extension will automatically download and install the xmake_ls language server when you open an xmake.lua file.

Create new xmake projects using the built-in tasks:

1. Open Command Palette (Cmd+Shift+P / Ctrl+Shift+P)
2. Type "Tasks: Run Task"
3. Select "xmake: Create project help" to see available options

Example:

# C++ console project
xmake create -l c++ -t console myproject

# Rust static library
xmake create -l rust -t static mylib

# Zig shared library
xmake create -l zig -t shared mylib

# Qt widget application
xmake create -l c++ -t qt.widgetapp myapp

# iOS app
xmake create -l objc -t xcode.iosapp myapp

• Console: Basic executable projects
• Static Library: .a / .lib files
• Shared Library: .so / .dylib / .dll files
• Module: C/C++ module binaries
• Qt: Console, Quick App, Widget App (static/shared variants)
• TBOX: Console, Static, Shared library projects
• wxWidgets: Desktop GUI applications
• Xcode: Bundle, Framework, macOS App, iOS App
• XMake CLI: Command-line tool projects

If you already have xmake_ls installed via your package manager or built from source, the extension will automatically detect and use it from your PATH.

# Example: Install from source
cargo install --git https://github.com/CppCXY/xmake_ls xmake_ls

Override the binary location in your Zed settings (~/.config/zed/settings.json):

{
  "lsp": {
    "xmake-ls": {
      "binary": {
        "path": "/custom/path/to/xmake_ls"
      }
    }
  }
}

Linux users can choose their preferred binary variant. Add to your Zed settings:

{
  "lsp": {
    "xmake-ls": {
      "settings": {
        "linux_variant": "musl"
      }
    }
  }
}

Variant Selection Guide:

• Don't know? Use default (auto-selected based on architecture)
• Alpine Linux, containers: Use musl
• Older distros: Use *-glibc.2.17 variants
• Latest distros: Use x64 or aarch64

The extension checks for xmake_ls in the following order:

1. Custom path from Zed settings (highest priority)
2. System installation via PATH (which xmake_ls)
3. Cached download from previous extension installation
4. Auto-download from GitHub releases (with platform/variant detection)

Run Zed from the terminal to see detailed logs:

zed --foreground

Remove the cached binary to trigger a fresh download:

# macOS/Linux
rm -rf ~/.local/share/zed/extensions/xmake/

# Windows
Remove-Item -Recurse -Force "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Zed\extensions\xmake"

1. Verify xmake_ls is executable:

   xmake_ls --version

2. Check Zed's language server status:

   • Open Command Palette (Cmd+Shift+P / Ctrl+Shift+P)
   • Type "Zed: Open Log"
   • Look for xmake_ls errors

3. Try manual installation:

   # Download for your platform from:
   # https://github.com/CppCXY/xmake_ls/releases/latest

If you're getting glibc version errors, explicitly set your variant:

{
  "lsp": {
    "xmake-ls": {
      "settings": {
        "linux_variant": "musl"
      }
    }
  }
}

Please see CONTRIBUTING for details.

• XMake Documentation
• xmake_ls Language Server
• Zed Extension API
• XMake Create Command

Apache License 2.0 - See LICENSE for details.

• XMake build system by Ruki Wang
• xmake_ls language server by CppCXY
• Zed editor team