[PSA] Introducing a GN Language Server for Chromium development

[Shuhei Takahashi]

Hi Chromium developers,

We are sharing a GN Language Server designed to assist with the GN build system in projects like Chromium and Fuchsia.

While there are other GN integrations available, this tool is specifically optimized for large-scale codebases. Unlike tools limited to single-file analysis, it provides workspace-wide symbol resolution and dependency tracking to better support the complex development workflows in the Chromium environment.

With the recent v1.10.0 release, the server includes the following features:

Features

• Enhanced Syntax Highlighting: Provides clear visual structure, including recognition of string interpolation.
• User-defined Variable/Template Support: Context-aware completion and hover documentation for both built-in and user-defined variables and templates.
• Cross-file References: Support for "Go to definition," finding references, and following imports or dependencies across the entire project.
• Sticky Scroll: Keeps block headers (such as target names or if conditions) visible at the top of the editor while you navigate through large files.
• Outline: Offers a structured, hierarchical view of targets and blocks for easier navigation within a file.
• Code Folding: Allows collapsing sections of code to help manage visibility in complex GN files.
  
• Error Reporting: Real-time syntax error reporting to catch issues before build time.
  

New in v1.10.0

• Workspace Symbol Completion with Auto-imports: Support for auto-importing variables and templates during completion, with suggestions pulled from across the workspace.
• Undefined Variable Analysis: Highlights undefined variables to catch potential configuration errors early.
• Code Lens: Displays reference information and quick actions directly above target definitions.
• JetBrains IDE Support: A dedicated plugin is now available for IntelliJ, CLion, Android Studio, and other JetBrains IDEs.

Installation

Search for "GN Language" (publisher: Google) in the VSCode marketplace or the JetBrains marketplace. For other environments, you can install the server via Cargo: cargo install gn-language-server.

We welcome your feedback, feature requests, and bug reports on our GitHub repository: https://github.com/google/gn-language-server.

Best regards,

Shuhei / nya

--

Shuhei Takahashi a.k.a nya <n...@chromium.org>

[Dirk Pranke]

-chromium-dev@ ...

Nice work! I look forward to trying it out very soon.

-- Dirk

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[Atharv Maan]

Is it possible to hook it up with neovim somehow?

Thanks,

Atharv Maan

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[Shuhei Takahashi (nya)]

Hi Atharv,

The following issue tracks better Vim support. You can find Nvim snippet to enable the language server: https://github.com/google/gn-language-server/issues/24

It basically works with Nvim, but syntax highlighting is missing (VSCode and IntelliJ uses TextMate grammar for syntax highlighting that is not a part of LSP). Let me look into this, and will update on the issue thread.

Shuhei Takahashi a.k.a nya <n...@google.com>

Shuhei Takahashi a.k.a nya <n...@google.com>

[Hayato Ito]

Excellent work!

I’ve confirmed that it works in Emacs as well. Here is the configuration for Eglot:

(add-to-list 'eglot-server-programs '(gn-mode . ("gn-language-server")))

Please replace `gn-mode` with the major mode you are using for GN files.

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/a/chromium.org/d/msgid/chromium-dev/CAHSp_kL8Aiszd7C-WD8oxkbnuGCUuu9Z60b-5pEQEF_38fxM%2BA%40mail.gmail.com.

--

Hayato