oraios/serena · error · Exception

`sourcekit-lsp -h` resulted in: {result}

Error message

`sourcekit-lsp -h` resulted in: {result}

What it means

_get_sourcekit_lsp_version runs `sourcekit-lsp -h` to probe the Apple Swift toolchain LSP. A non-zero exit code raises an Exception which is immediately converted by the outer handler into a RuntimeError telling you to install sourcekit-lsp and ensure it's on PATH. (Note: this exact message is also raised when the command isn't found at all, since the except catches FileNotFoundError too.)

Source

Thrown at src/solidlsp/language_servers/sourcekit_lsp.py:41

    @override
    def is_ignored_dirname(self, dirname: str) -> bool:
        # For Swift projects, we should ignore:
        # - .build: Swift Package Manager build artifacts
        # - .swiftpm: Swift Package Manager metadata
        # - node_modules: if the project has JavaScript components
        # - dist/build: common output directories
        return super().is_ignored_dirname(dirname) or dirname in [".build", ".swiftpm", "node_modules", "dist", "build"]

    @staticmethod
    def _get_sourcekit_lsp_version() -> str:
        """Get the installed sourcekit-lsp version or raise error if sourcekit was not found."""
        try:
            result = subprocess_run(["sourcekit-lsp", "-h"], capture_output=True, text=True, check=False)
            if result.returncode == 0:
                return result.stdout.strip()
            else:
                raise Exception(f"`sourcekit-lsp -h` resulted in: {result}")
        except Exception as e:
            raise RuntimeError(
                "Could not find sourcekit-lsp, please install it as described in https://github.com/apple/sourcekit-lsp#installation"
                "And make sure it is available on your PATH."
            ) from e

    def __init__(self, config: LanguageServerConfig, repository_root_path: str, solidlsp_settings: SolidLSPSettings):
        sourcekit_version = self._get_sourcekit_lsp_version()
        log.info(f"Starting sourcekit lsp with version: {sourcekit_version}")

        super().__init__(
            config, repository_root_path, ProcessLaunchInfo(cmd="sourcekit-lsp", cwd=repository_root_path), "swift", solidlsp_settings
        )
        self.request_id = 0
        self._did_sleep_before_requesting_references = False
        self._initialization_timestamp: float | None = None

    @override

View on GitHub (pinned to 7fcbca7e62)

Solutions

1. Install sourcekit-lsp via the Swift toolchain (swift.org) or `xcode-select --install` on macOS, then select it with `sudo xcode-select -s /Applications/Xcode.app`.
2. Add the toolchain's usr/bin to PATH and verify with `which sourcekit-lsp` and `sourcekit-lsp -h`.
3. On Linux, install a matching Swift toolchain and ensure its bin directory is on PATH.
4. If sourcekit-lsp exists but -h fails, repair/reinstall the toolchain or run it once manually to see the real error.

Example fix

// before
$ sourcekit-lsp -h  # command not found
// after
export PATH=/usr/share/swift/usr/bin:$PATH
sourcekit-lsp -h  # prints usage

import shutil, subprocess
if not shutil.which("sourcekit-lsp"):
    raise SystemExit("Install Swift toolchain / Xcode and add sourcekit-lsp to PATH")
subprocess.run(["sourcekit-lsp", "-h"], check=True, capture_output=True)

def sourcekit_lsp_available() -> bool:
    import shutil, subprocess
    if not shutil.which("sourcekit-lsp"):
        return False
    return subprocess.run(
        ["sourcekit-lsp", "-h"], capture_output=True
    ).returncode == 0

try:
    server = SourceKitLSP(config, repo_root, settings)
except RuntimeError as e:
    if "Could not find sourcekit-lsp" in str(e):
        raise SystemExit("Install via swift.org toolchain or xcode-select --install; ensure PATH includes usr/bin") from e
    raise

When it happens

Trigger: Constructing SourceKitLSP when `sourcekit-lsp -h` returns non-zero (crash, corrupted toolchain, incompatible flags) or the binary is not found on PATH.

Common situations: Linux/CI machines without the Swift toolchain, macOS users with only Xcode (no full Xcode / Command Line Tools selected via xcode-select), PATH missing the Swift usr/bin directory, or broken multiple-toolchain installs.

Related errors

• Could not find sourcekit-lsp, please install it as described
• Mode file not found: {path.resolve()}
• Error: Path does not exist: {project_root}
• Error: Path is not a directory: {project_root}
• Project root not found: {project_root}

AI-assisted analysis of oraios/serena@7fcbca7e62 (2026-08-29). Data as JSON: /api/errors/88e2781e1711a39c. Report an issue: GitHub.