clice
C++ language support powered by clice, a
language server written from scratch on LLVM/Clang: template-aware completion
inside generic code, first-class compilation contexts for headers and build
configurations, and native C++20 modules support.
Getting started
- Install this extension — the clice server for your platform is bundled, no
download or extra setup needed.
- Open a C++ project with a
compilation database.
For CMake:
cmake -B build -DCMAKE_EXPORT_COMPILE_COMMANDS=ON. clice
searches the workspace root and its immediate subdirectories (e.g.
build/) automatically.
See the documentation for configuration via
clice.toml and the full feature guide.
Release channels
Stable versions use even minor numbers; daily pre-releases built from main
use odd ones. Use Switch to Pre-Release Version on the extension page to
follow the pre-release channel. Per-commit builds and standalone server
downloads live on the GitHub releases and CI pages.
Settings
| Setting |
Default |
Description |
clice.executable |
(bundled) |
Path to a clice binary to use instead of the bundled one. |
clice.mode |
pipe |
Server transport; socket connects to an external server (debugging). |
clice.host |
127.0.0.1 |
Host for socket mode. |
clice.port |
50051 |
Port for socket mode. |
clice.trace.server |
off |
Log LSP traffic to the clice (LSP trace) output channel. |
Changing a server setting offers to restart the server in place — no window
reload is needed.
Conflicting extensions
Other C/C++ language extensions running next to clice duplicate completion
and diagnostics. Once clice is up, it detects the Microsoft C/C++
(cpptools), clangd and ccls extensions and offers to turn their language
features off and reload the window — cpptools keeps its debugger, only
IntelliSense is disabled.
Troubleshooting
Server logs live in the clice output channel, which also prints the
on-disk log directory at startup (Session log directory: — by default
under <workspace>/.clice/logs/). If the server crashes,
please attach the newest log from there to a
GitHub issue — releases ship
symbol packages that let us reconstruct the exact stack.
For protocol-level debugging, set clice.trace.server to verbose: every
LSP message then appears in the clice (LSP trace) output channel.
Extension development is documented in the
contributor guide.
