FAQ

Why do I get false-positive unresolved-tag warnings?

The server scans |...| patterns as taglinks. Some vimdoc content uses pipes in non-taglink contexts — Lua type unions (string|nil), regex alternation (\|), or option string values. These can produce spurious unresolved-tag warnings.

Loading external tags reduces false positives for references to Vim/Neovim builtins. Set runtimeTags: true (the default) or add tagPaths pointing to your runtime doc/ directory.

A blank line between a > code-fence opener and the code body can also cause the server to lose track of code-block context, scanning pipes in code as taglinks. Avoid blank lines immediately after >.

Why does the formatter change my file unexpectedly?

The formatter enforces canonical vimdoc style: separator normalization, heading tag alignment, and prose reflow. If a file was not written with these conventions, the first format may produce a large diff.

Use reflow: "never" to disable prose reflow while keeping separator and heading normalization. Use formatting: false to disable formatting entirely.

See Formatter for the full behavior.

How does this relate to tree-sitter-vimdoc?

They are complementary. tree-sitter-vimdoc provides syntax highlighting in Neovim. vimdoc-language-server provides LSP features: formatting, diagnostics, navigation, completion, rename, and hover. They operate independently and can both be active on the same file.

How do I resolve tags from Vim/Neovim runtime docs?

By default, the server loads $VIMRUNTIME/doc/tags if the environment variable is set. This resolves taglinks to builtin Vim/Neovim help topics.

If $VIMRUNTIME is not set in your editor’s environment, point to the tags file explicitly:

init_options = {
  tagPaths = { '/usr/share/nvim/runtime/doc' },
}

How do I disable specific features?

Other features (symbols, definition, completion, references, rename, highlight, links, folding) are always enabled and have no toggle.