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Autocomplete

This extension wires Xcode's build output into SourceKit-LSP so you get real autocomplete, jump-to-definition, hover docs, and Swift compiler diagnostics in VSCode.

autocomplete

Setup​

  1. Install the Swift extension from the Marketplace and xcode-build-server from Homebrew:

    brew install xcode-build-server --head

  2. From the command palette, run > SweetPad: Generate Build Server Config. This creates a buildServer.json at the workspace root that points SourceKit-LSP at your Xcode build outputs.

  3. Build the project once (▶️ in the Build view). Without a successful build there are no build logs for xcode-build-server to parse, so autocomplete looks "stuck".

After that, autocomplete should work. ✅

Auto-regenerate buildServer.json​

By default SweetPad regenerates buildServer.json whenever you build or change the default scheme — handy if you switch between schemes frequently. If you maintain a custom buildServer.json (e.g. backed by Swift Build, or a language server with background indexing), turn that off so SweetPad doesn't overwrite your file:

.vscode/settings.json
{
  "sweetpad.build.autoGenerateBuildServerConfig": false,
  "sweetpad.build.autoRestartSwiftLSP": false
}

The two settings are paired: autoGenerateBuildServerConfig controls the file; autoRestartSwiftLSP controls whether the Swift language server is restarted after each build / scheme regeneration. Disable both if you have a build server that does its own indexing.

The explicit > SweetPad: Generate Build Server Config command always regenerates and restarts the LSP, regardless of these settings.

Diagnostics from the build log​

SweetPad surfaces Swift compiler errors and warnings from the build log as inline VSCode diagnostics — squiggles in the editor and entries in the Problems panel. They're on by default.

If a third-party tool is providing diagnostics (Swift LSP with background indexing, or a custom error reporter) you may want to silence SweetPad's pass to avoid duplicate squiggles:

  • > SweetPad: Disable LSP Diagnostics — turns the live diagnostic stream off for this workspace.
  • > SweetPad: Enable LSP Diagnostics — turns it back on.

Use a custom xcode-build-server​

If you've installed xcode-build-server somewhere outside PATH, or you're using a fork, point SweetPad at the binary you want:

.vscode/settings.json
{
  "sweetpad.xcodebuildserver.path": "/opt/homebrew/bin/xcode-build-server"
}

You can also pass environment variables to the long-running server process that SourceKit-LSP launches — useful for turning on the server's own logging, or pointing it at a non-default cache:

.vscode/settings.json
{
  "sweetpad.xcodebuildserver.serverEnv": {
    "XBS_LOGPATH": "/tmp/sweetpad-xbs.log"
  }
}