make-ls

A language server for Makefiles. Provides real IDE features — not just syntax highlighting.

Demo

Features

Feature	What it does
Hover	Target docs, recipe preview, variable values, auto-variable docs (`$@`, `$<`, ...), function docs (`$(wildcard ...)`, ...)
Completion	Context-aware: variables + functions after `$(`, targets in dep lists, auto-variables in recipes, directives at line start
Go to Definition	Jump from dep → target, `$(VAR)` → assignment, include path → file
Find References	All deps referencing a target, all `$(VAR)` usages for a variable
Document Symbols	Targets, variables, conditionals — outline view and Cmd+Shift+O
Diagnostics	Undefined targets, undefined variables (respects builtins, recursive vars, conditionals), missing `.PHONY` hints
Code Actions	Quick-fix to add `.PHONY` declarations
Formatting	Tabs in recipes, trim trailing whitespace, ensure final newline
Include Resolution	Follows `include` / `-include` / `sinclude` directives, merges symbols across files

Parser coverage

The custom parser handles the full breadth of GNU Make syntax:

Variable assignments (= := ?= += !=) with flavour tracking
Pattern rules (%.o: %.c), static pattern rules, double-colon rules
Target-specific variables (target: CC = clang)
Order-only prerequisites (target: deps | order-only)
Conditional blocks (ifeq/ifneq/ifdef/ifndef with nesting)
Multi-line define/endef blocks
export/unexport/override/vpath directives
Line continuations, doc comments, .PHONY
Precise source positions for all tokens

Why?

There's no real Makefile language server. The existing options:

Microsoft Makefile Tools (VS Code) — focused on build/debug configuration, not language intelligence
checkmake — a standalone linter with style warnings, no LSP
efm-langserver — generic wrapper that can shell out to checkmake, but no hover/completion/symbols
tree-sitter-make — syntax highlighting only

make-ls fills the gap with actual LSP features: hover, completion, go-to-definition, references, diagnostics, symbols, code actions, and formatting. Works in any editor that speaks LSP.

Install

VS Code

Install from a .vsix file (see Releases):

code --install-extension make-ls-darwin-arm64-0.1.0.vsix

Or build and install locally:

make extension-install

Neovim

No existing Makefile LSP is available in nvim-lspconfig. To use make-ls, add a custom config:

-- In your Neovim config (init.lua or after/ftplugin/make.lua)
vim.api.nvim_create_autocmd("FileType", {
  pattern = "make",
  callback = function()
    vim.lsp.start({
      name = "make-ls",
      cmd = { "/path/to/make-ls" },
      root_dir = vim.fs.root(0, { "Makefile", "makefile", "GNUmakefile" }),
    })
  end,
})

This gives you hover, completion, go-to-definition, references, diagnostics, and symbols — none of which were previously available for Makefiles in Neovim.

Helix

Add to languages.toml:

[[language]]
name = "make"
language-servers = ["make-ls"]

[language-server.make-ls]
command = "/path/to/make-ls"

Other editors

make-ls is a standard LSP server communicating over stdio. Build the binary and point your editor at it:

make build
# binary is at bin/make-ls

Build

Requires Go 1.23+ and Node 18+.

# Run tests
make test

# Build binary
make build

# Build VS Code extension for all platforms
make extension

# Build for a single platform
make extension-target VSCE_TARGET=darwin-arm64

Supported platforms

Target	GOOS/GOARCH
`darwin-x64`	darwin/amd64
`darwin-arm64`	darwin/arm64
`linux-x64`	linux/amd64
`linux-arm64`	linux/arm64

Project structure

cmd/make-ls/          Entry point — stdio LSP server
internal/
  model/              AST types (Target, Variable, Conditional, ...)
  parser/             Line-oriented Makefile parser
  completion/         Context-aware completion + builtin docs
  analysis/           Diagnostic checks
  resolver/           Include file resolution + model merging
  handler/            LSP handler (wires everything together)
vscode-make-ls/       VS Code extension (TypeScript thin client)

License

MIT

Makefile Language Server

Owen Rumney