Requires the agent-lsp MCP server.

lsp-simulate

Simulate code edits in memory before writing to disk. The LSP server applies your changes to an in-memory overlay, runs diagnostics, and reports whether the edit is safe — without touching any files.

Prerequisites

LSP must be running for the target workspace. If not yet initialized, call start_lsp before any simulation tool.

mcp__lsp__start_lsp(root_dir: "/your/workspace")

Auto-init note: agent-lsp supports workspace auto-inference from file paths. Explicit start_lsp is only needed when switching workspace roots.

Quick Start (single edit)

For a single what-if check, use preview_edit — it creates a session, applies the edit, evaluates, and destroys the session in one call:

mcp__lsp__preview_edit(
  workspace_root: "/your/workspace",
  language: "go",
  file_path: "/abs/path/to/file.go",
  start_line: 42, start_column: 1,
  end_line: 42, end_column: 20,
  new_text: "replacement text"
)

Result:

{ net_delta: 0 }   -- safe to apply
{ net_delta: 2 }   -- 2 new errors introduced; do NOT apply

net_delta: 0 means no new errors were introduced. Positive values mean errors were introduced — inspect errors_introduced before deciding.

Full Session Workflow (multiple edits)

Use a full session when applying several edits that build on each other, or when you want to inspect the patch before deciding whether to write to disk.

Step 1 — Create a simulation session

mcp__lsp__create_simulation_session(
  workspace_root: "/your/workspace",
  language: "go"
)
→ { session_id: "abc123" }

Step 2 — Apply edits in-memory

Call simulate_edit one or more times. All edits are in-memory only. Positions are 1-indexed (matching editor line numbers and cat -n output).

mcp__lsp__simulate_edit(
  session_id: "abc123",
  file_path: "/abs/path/to/file.go",
  start_line: 10, start_column: 1,
  end_line: 10, end_column: 30,
  new_text: "func NewClient(cfg Config) *Client {"
)
→ { session_id: "abc123", edit_applied: true, version_after: 1 }

Repeat for additional edits as needed.

Step 3 — Evaluate the session

mcp__lsp__evaluate_session(
  session_id: "abc123",
  scope: "file"
)
→ {
    net_delta: 0,
    confidence: "high",
    errors_introduced: [],
    errors_resolved: [],
    edit_risk_score: 0.0,
    affected_symbols: []
  }

scope: "file" (default) is faster and returns confidence: "high". scope: "workspace" catches cross-file type errors but returns confidence: "eventual" (results may not be fully settled).

Step 4 — Decision gate

If net_delta == 0, proceed to commit. Otherwise, discard:

mcp__lsp__discard_session(session_id: "abc123")

Step 5 — Commit the session

-- Preview patch only (no disk write):
mcp__lsp__commit_session(session_id: "abc123", apply: false)

-- Write to disk:
mcp__lsp__commit_session(session_id: "abc123", apply: true)

Step 6 — Destroy the session (always)

mcp__lsp__destroy_session(session_id: "abc123")

Always call destroy_session after commit or discard to release server resources. See Cleanup Rule below.

Chained Mutations (simulate_chain)

Use simulate_chain when you have a sequence of edits and want to find how far through the sequence is safe to apply. Unlike multiple simulate_edit calls, simulate_chain evaluates diagnostics after each step.

mcp__lsp__simulate_chain(
  session_id: "abc123",
  edits: [
    { file_path: "/abs/file.go", start_line: 5, start_column: 1,
      end_line: 5, end_column: 40, new_text: "type Foo struct { Bar int }" },
    { file_path: "/abs/file.go", start_line: 20, start_column: 1,
      end_line: 20, end_column: 10, new_text: "f.Bar" },
    { file_path: "/abs/other.go", start_line: 8, start_column: 1,
      end_line: 8, end_column: 10, new_text: "x.Bar" }
  ]
)
→ {
    steps: [
      { step: 1, net_delta: 0, errors_introduced: [] },
      { step: 2, net_delta: 0, errors_introduced: [] },
      { step: 3, net_delta: 1, errors_introduced: [...] }
    ],
    safe_to_apply_through_step: 2,
    cumulative_delta: 1
  }

safe_to_apply_through_step: 2 means steps 1 and 2 are safe; step 3 introduced errors. Commit the session after reviewing to apply steps 1–2, or discard to cancel everything.

Decision Guide

net_delta	confidence	Action
0	high	Safe. Commit or apply.
0	eventual	Likely safe. Workspace scope — re-evaluate if risk matters.
> 0	any	Do NOT apply. Inspect errors_introduced. Discard session.
> 0	partial	Timeout. Results incomplete. Discard and retry with smaller scope.

Session States

State	Meaning	Next step
created	Session initialized, no edits yet	simulate_edit
mutated	One or more edits applied in-memory	evaluate_session
evaluated	Diagnostics collected	commit or discard
committed	Patch returned (and optionally written to disk)	destroy_session
discarded	In-memory edits reverted, no disk write	destroy_session
dirty	Revert failed or version mismatch; session is inconsistent	destroy_session only

A session in dirty state cannot be recovered — call destroy_session immediately.

Cleanup Rule

Always call destroy_session after finishing a session, even on error paths:

-- After commit:
mcp__lsp__commit_session(session_id: "abc123", apply: true)
mcp__lsp__destroy_session(session_id: "abc123")

-- After discard:
mcp__lsp__discard_session(session_id: "abc123")
mcp__lsp__destroy_session(session_id: "abc123")

MCP server restart: Sessions are ephemeral — they live in server memory only. If the MCP server restarts, all session IDs become invalid. To preserve work across a restart, call commit_session(apply: false) first to get a portable patch, then re-apply it after the server restarts.

See references/patterns.md for detailed field descriptions and confidence interpretation.