workspace.library vs. workspace.userThirdParty

[AndreasMatthias]

Can someone enlighten me on the usage of workspace.library and workspace.userThirdParty?

So far I'm using workspace.library successfully like this:

 "workspace": {
    "library": [
         "/home/andreas/.local/lib/LuaCATS/luatex/library",
         "/home/andreas/.local/lib/LuaCATS/luassert/library",
         "/home/andreas/.local/lib/LuaCATS/busted/library"
     ]
}

Reading the documentation I got the impression that workspace.library was the old way to do it,
and the new way would be to use workspace.userThirdParty. But if I replace the above with

"workspace":{
    "userThirdParty": [
        "/home/andreas/.local/lib/LuaCATS"
    ]
}

the libraries are not found any more.

My questions:

1. How to use workspace.userThirdParty?
2. Is workspace.userThirdParty a replacement of workspace.library? Or do they serve different purposes?

[carsakiller]

workspace.library is an array of file paths that point to Lua definition files. These are used to provide completion and diagnostics.

workspace.userThirdParty is an array of file paths that point to directories containing addons. Addons can include definition files and plugins, and can also include some configuration settings that allow the language server to suggest it to be enabled.

The names are currently a bit confusing. Every addon that has definition files needs to edit workspace.library for its definitions to be picked up. This is often done automatically if the addon is set up correctly, or enabled using the addon manager - but it can also be done manually. Not all definitions need to modify workspace.userThirdParty though. If you have just simple definition files you would like to use, you can follow the "Link to workspace method". If you want to instead use addons, you will want to follow the "addon method", defined on the Libraries page in the wiki.

---

Is there a specific part of the wiki that wasn't clear enough that can be improved?

[AndreasMatthias]

I guess I totally misunderstood what addons are. I though that I could replace workspace.library with
workspace.userThirdParty and LLS would find my definition files as before. But definition files alone
do not constitute a complete addon, and thus LLS will not consider them. But after adding a config.json
file (with a suitable words entry) to my addon, LLS eventually considers the defintion files.

Another misunderstanding: workspace.library and workspace.userThirdParty are not mutual exclusive,
but work hand in hand. If LLS finds definition files in workspace.userThirdParty for a certain library used in
your project, it will insert a relevant workspace.library entry into your project's .luarc.json file.

Thank you for your explanations.

[carsakiller]

No problem!