Is ZLS in the official Debian repositories?

No — ZLS is not packaged in the official Debian archives. This free mirror serves the newest ZLS release that is at least 2 months old; the main repository at deb.griffo.io serves every release within hours of upstream.

How do I install the latest ZLS on Debian?

Add the deb-free.griffo.io repository once using the instructions above, then run: sudo apt install zls. New releases arrive through the normal sudo apt upgrade.

Are the packages signed and how are they built?

Every package is signed with the repository's GPG key (EA0F721D231FDD3A0A17B9AC7808B4DD62C41256) and built from upstream releases in public GitHub packaging repositories that anyone can inspect.

Which Debian releases are supported?

Debian 12 Bookworm, Debian 13 Trixie, Forky and Sid.

Install ZLS on Debian via apt

Source	Version
deb.griffo.io (main)	0.15.1 ✅
Official Debian	🚫 not packaged

← Back to home

What is ZLS?

ZLS (Zig Language Server) is a Language Server Protocol implementation for Zig written in Zig by the zigtools community. It provides developers with modern IDE features like autocomplete, goto definition, hover information, and semantic analysis in their favorite editors. With over 4k GitHub stars, it's the essential tool for productive Zig development.

            🚀 Why Staying Current Matters: ZLS is rapidly evolving alongside Zig itself, with frequent releases containing new language feature support, performance improvements, and enhanced IDE capabilities. The latest versions include better semantic analysis, improved completions, and compatibility with Zig 0.16+.
        

⚡ Key Features of ZLS

💡 Smart Completions

Intelligent autocomplete for functions, variables, types, and imports. Context-aware suggestions based on current scope and available symbols.

🔍 Navigation Features

Goto definition/declaration, find references, and document symbols. Navigate large Zig codebases with ease and precision.

📝 Code Intelligence

Hover information, semantic token highlighting, and inlay hints. Understand code structure and types without manual lookup.

🛠️ Development Tools

Automatic formatting with zig fmt, code actions, selection ranges, and folding regions for better code organization.

🔄 Symbol Operations

Rename symbols across entire codebase, find all references, and document symbol outline for project navigation.

📦 Package Support

Custom package resolution, cImport support, and namespace handling for complex Zig projects and dependencies.

🎯 Supported Editors & IDEs

VS Code: Official Zig extension with ZLS integration
Neovim/Vim: Native LSP support and dedicated plugins
Emacs: lsp-mode and eglot compatibility
Sublime Text: LSP package integration
Kate/KDevelop: Built-in LSP support
Any LSP-compatible editor: Universal Language Server Protocol support

            🆓 Free forever, patched immediately: Debian and Ubuntu freeze package versions when a release ships; this free mirror instead serves the newest release once it is at least 2 months old, with security fixes published immediately. Want every release within hours instead? That's the main repository at deb.griffo.io.
        

📦 Installation from deb-free.griffo.io

Step 1: Add Repository

sudo install -d -m 0755 /etc/apt/keyrings
curl -fsSL https://deb-free.griffo.io/EA0F721D231FDD3A0A17B9AC7808B4DD62C41256.asc | sudo gpg --dearmor --yes -o /etc/apt/keyrings/deb-free.griffo.io.gpg
echo "deb [signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/deb-free.griffo.io.gpg] https://deb-free.griffo.io/apt $(lsb_release -sc 2>/dev/null) main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/deb-free.griffo.io.list > /dev/null
sudo apt update
                

install -d -m 0755 /etc/apt/keyrings
curl -fsSL https://deb-free.griffo.io/EA0F721D231FDD3A0A17B9AC7808B4DD62C41256.asc | gpg --dearmor --yes -o /etc/apt/keyrings/deb-free.griffo.io.gpg
echo "deb [signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/deb-free.griffo.io.gpg] https://deb-free.griffo.io/apt $(lsb_release -sc 2>/dev/null) main" | tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/deb-free.griffo.io.list > /dev/null
apt update
                

Step 2: Install ZLS

# Install latest stable ZLS
sudo apt install zls

# Or install nightly builds for cutting-edge features
sudo apt install zls-master

# Verify installation
zls --version
                

# Install latest stable ZLS
apt install zls

# Or install nightly builds for cutting-edge features
apt install zls-master

# Verify installation
zls --version
                

🎯 Editor Setup Examples

VS Code setup:

# Install Zig extension from marketplace
# Extension automatically detects ZLS if installed in PATH

# Or configure custom ZLS path in settings.json:
{
    "zig.zls.path": "/usr/bin/zls"
}
        

Neovim setup (with nvim-lspconfig):

-- In your init.lua
require('lspconfig').zls.setup{
    cmd = { "zls" },
    filetypes = { "zig" },
    root_dir = require('lspconfig.util').root_pattern("build.zig", ".git"),
}
        

Basic ZLS configuration:

# Create ZLS config file
mkdir -p ~/.config/zls
cat > ~/.config/zls/zls.json << 'EOF'
{
    "enable_semantic_tokens": true,
    "enable_inlay_hints": true,
    "enable_snippets": true,
    "warn_style": true,
    "highlight_global_var_declarations": true
}
EOF
        

🚀 Why Choose deb-free.griffo.io?

📊 Repository Comparison:

Official Debian: ZLS not available in official repositories
Manual Compilation: Requires Zig master and complex build process
Binary Downloads: Manual updates and no package management
deb.griffo.io (main): Latest version with automatic updates

✅ Latest Language Support: Get newest Zig language feature support immediately
✅ No Manual Compilation: Pre-built binaries, no Zig master required
✅ Automatic Updates: Packages updated once a release is at least 2 months old; security fixes ship immediately
✅ Stable & Nightly: Both stable and cutting-edge versions available
✅ Multi-Distribution: Works on Bookworm, Trixie, and Sid
✅ Easy Maintenance: Standard apt commands for updates

📦 Package Build Repository

The Debian packages are automatically built and maintained in these GitHub repositories:

🇿 zls-debian (stable) - Stable release builds
🇿 zls-master-debian (nightly) - Nightly development builds

🔗 Related Packages

Also available from deb.griffo.io:

Zig Programming Language - Required for ZLS development
Ghostty Terminal - Modern terminal for development
fzf Fuzzy Finder - Enhanced file navigation

            🎯 Perfect for: Zig developers who want modern IDE features, teams working on large Zig projects, anyone wanting autocomplete and navigation in their editor, and developers who appreciate productive development environments.
        

💝 Support This Project

If this repository saves you time and effort, please consider supporting it!

⭐ Star on GitHub 🐦 Share on Twitter

🇿 Install Latest ZLS on Debian