Groovy Setup Guide for Serena

The Groovy support in Serena is incomplete and requires the user to provide a functioning, JVM-based Groovy language server as a jar. This intermediate state allows the contributors of Groovy support to use Serena internally and hopefully to accelerate their open-source release of a Groovy language server in the future.

If you happen to have a Groovy language server JAR file, you can configure Serena to use it by following the instructions below.

Prerequisites

• Groovy Language Server JAR file
  • Can be any open-source Groovy language server or your custom implementation
  • The JAR must be compatible with standard LSP protocol

Configuration

Configure Groovy Language Server by adding settings to your ~/.serena/serena_config.yml:

Basic Configuration

ls_specific_settings:
  groovy:
    ls_jar_path: '/path/to/groovy-language-server.jar'
    ls_jar_options: '-Xmx2G -Xms512m'

Custom Java Paths

If you have specific Java installations:

ls_specific_settings:
  groovy:
    ls_jar_path: '/path/to/groovy-language-server.jar'
    ls_java_home_path: '/usr/lib/jvm/java-21-openjdk'  # Custom JAVA_HOME directory
    ls_jar_options: '-Xmx2G -Xms512m'                  # Optional JVM options

Configuration Options

• ls_jar_path: Absolute path to your Groovy Language Server JAR file (required)
• ls_java_home_path: Custom JAVA_HOME directory for Java installation (optional)
  • When specified, Serena will use this Java installation instead of downloading bundled Java
  • Java executable path is automatically determined based on platform:
    • Windows: {ls_java_home_path}/bin/java.exe
    • Linux/macOS: {ls_java_home_path}/bin/java
  • Validates that Java executable exists at the expected location
• ls_jar_options: JVM options for language server (optional)
  • Common options:
    • -Xmx<size>: Maximum heap size (e.g., -Xmx2G for 2GB)
    • -Xms<size>: Initial heap size (e.g., -Xms512m for 512MB)

Project Structure Requirements

For optimal Groovy Language Server performance, ensure your project follows standard Groovy/Gradle structure:

project-root/
├── src/
│   ├── main/
│   │   ├── groovy/
│   │   └── resources/
│   └── test/
│       ├── groovy/
│       └── resources/
├── build.gradle or build.gradle.kts
├── settings.gradle or settings.gradle.kts
└── gradle/
    └── wrapper/

Using Serena with Groovy

• Serena automatically detects Groovy files (*.groovy, *.gvy) and will start a Groovy Language Server JAR process per project when needed.
• Optimal results require that your project compiles successfully via Gradle or Maven. If compilation fails, fix build errors in your build tool first.

Reference

• Groovy Documentation: https://groovy-lang.org/documentation.html
• Gradle Documentation: https://docs.gradle.org
• Serena Configuration: ../02-usage/050_configuration.md