clangd
Hacker ApprovedRanked 2 of 7 language servers by recommenders
Free C++ language server that gives editors completion, navigation and code actions, often working with no configuration. Critics say it is unreliable at times and struggles with C++ modules and templates.
Free C++ language server that gives editors completion, navigation and code actions, often working with no configuration. Critics say it is unreliable at times and struggles with C++ modules and templates.
21 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 15
- criticize it
- 6
- approval share
- 71%
Recommended in 10 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 15 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 2.5 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 10 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Works with no configuration
“it just detected clangd and I was off to the races with no config”
Comment from 27 Aug 2026 in “Emacs 31: An unofficial guide to Markdown-ts-mode” “Otherwise it took zero configuration”
Comment from 30 Apr 2026 in “Zed is 1.0” Reliable for years, well liked
“has been working wonderfully for a few years. I really, really like it”
Comment from 2 Mar 2026 in “Making Video Games in 2025 (without an engine)” “clangd is all I need for an IDE.”
Comment from 1 Dec 2025 in “Don't push AI down our throats” Helpful code actions and features
“Replacing auto with deduced type is one of my favorite clangd code actions.”
Comment from 15 Dec 2025 in “How well do you know C++ auto type deduction?” “clangd has such feature and it's super helpful”
Comment from 20 Oct 2026 in “2026 is an exciting year for the Rust compiler (and me)”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Sometimes works, sometimes fails
“Days fucking around with clangd for jump to definition to sometimes work.”
Comment from 23 Dec 2025 in “Claude Code gets native LSP support” “when clangd starts throwing one of its fits”
Comment from 5 Dec 2025 in “Nimony (Nim 3.0) Design Principles” “clangd sometimes works, sometimes doesn't”
Comment from 2 Sep 2026 in “Fine, I'll build my own text editor” Struggles with C++ modules
“I rely on clangd as LSP for working with C++ but I read that clangd still fundamentally struggles with C++ modules”
Comment from 2 Mar 2026 in “Making Video Games in 2025 (without an engine)” “last time I checked neither IntelliSense nor clangd worked with modules”
Comment from 6 Jun 2026 in “C++: The Documentary Released Today” Fails inside templates and complex queries
“IntelliSense also often succeeds at queries that stump clangd”
Comment from 10 Sep 2026 in “Rust is tier-1 language at Microsoft” “clangd gives up (when inside a template for example)”
Comment from 25 Nov 2025 in “Rethinking C++: Architecture, Concepts, and Responsibility”
Other language servers people recommend
The four most recommended other language servers, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| rust-analyzer | 19 | 21 | 48% | 8 | — | — |
| clangdThis page | 15 | 6 | 71% | 10 | — | Approved |
| Rust Glancer | 10 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
| gopls | 9 | 4 | 69% | 6 | — | — |
| markdown-oxide | 6 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
19 of the 23 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“clangd has such feature and it's super helpful”
“clangd can dereference a macro in place to make debugging easy”
“IntelliSense also often succeeds at queries that stump clangd”
“clangd sometimes works, sometimes doesn't”
“it just detected clangd and I was off to the races with no config”
“last time I checked neither IntelliSense nor clangd worked with modules”
“coupled with clangd for C/C++ programming”
“Otherwise it took zero configuration”
“has been working wonderfully for a few years. I really, really like it”
“I rely on clangd as LSP for working with C++ but I read that clangd still fundamentally struggles with C++ modules”
“it's also not nearly as good as cpptools”
“Days fucking around with clangd for jump to definition to sometimes work.”
“I meant Clangd is better than Qt Creator's native code intelligence.”
“the amount of yak shaving to get clangd actually working on our codebase”
“Replacing auto with deduced type is one of my favorite clangd code actions.”
“when clangd starts throwing one of its fits”
“clangd is all I need for an IDE.”
“clangd gives up (when inside a template for example)”
“By default, it would stop returning results after scanning a certain number of symbols”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.