Garry's Mod settings - GLua Language Server

Overview

Garry’s Mod Lua settings live under the gmod key in .gluarc.json. These settings control realm detection, network message analysis, scripted class behavior, VGUI support, annotations, and more.

Top-level options

Option	Type	Default	Description
`gmod.enabled`	`boolean`	`true`	Enable Garry’s Mod Lua analysis. Keep this enabled for normal use; set `false` only when isolating compatibility or debugging issues
`gmod.defaultRealm`	`string`	`"shared"`	Realm assumed for files with no realm signal. Use `"client"`, `"server"`, or `"shared"`
`gmod.detectRealmFromFilename`	`boolean \| null`	`null` (resolves to `true`)	Detect realm from `cl_`, `sv_`, `sh_` filename prefixes and `/client/`, `/server/` parent directories
`gmod.detectRealmFromCalls`	`boolean \| null`	`null` (resolves to `true`)	Infer realm from calls like `include`, `AddCSLuaFile`, `IncludeCS`, `require`, and annotated wrappers
`gmod.inferDynamicFields`	`boolean`	`true`	Track fields dynamically assigned to Garry’s Mod objects
`gmod.dynamicFieldsGlobal`	`boolean`	`true`	Share inferred dynamic fields across all files. Set `false` to scope them per-file
`gmod.fileParamDefaults`	`object`	built-in map	Default types for common parameter names when a parameter has no `@param`. Editable in the Settings UI. Set a value to `""` to remove a built-in default

Annotations

Option	Type	Default	Description
`gmod.annotationsPath`	`string \| null`	`null`	Custom path to Garry’s Mod annotation `.lua` files. When `null`, the VS Code extension can provide its downloaded annotations
`gmod.autoLoadAnnotations`	`boolean \| null`	`null`	Override workspace annotation auto-loading. Set `false` to disable even if the extension or CLI provides annotations

Scaffolding

Option	Type	Default	Description
`gmod.templatePath`	`string \| null`	`null`	Path to a folder of custom scaffolding templates (`.lua` files). Relative to workspace root. Built-in templates are used as fallback

Gamemode inheritance

GLuaLS supports gamemode inheritance. DeriveGamemode("...") keeps inherited GM members working. The gmod.autoDetectGamemodeBase setting loads parent gamemode folders from your gamemode’s <name>.txt base value so parent files are available for completions, definitions, and diagnostics. This setting controls the .txt file lookup. DeriveGamemode("...") support remains active.

Option	Type	Default	Description
`gmod.autoDetectGamemodeBase`	`boolean \| null`	`null` (enabled)	Automatically loads parent gamemode folders from the gamemode `.txt` `base` value. Set to `false` to turn this off.

Scripted classes

gmod.scriptedClassScopes.include defines the scripted class groups used for class analysis, the Class Explorer, and scaffolding. Built-in groups: entities, weapons, effects, stools, player_classes, plugins, schemas, gamemodes. The schemas group is enabled by default for any framework or gamemode. Files beneath a schema/ directory, plus single-file gamemode/schema.lua entrypoints, contribute to one global SCHEMA class. Schema is recognized as an alias throughout the project, and schema methods are analyzed as gamemode hooks inherited from GM. No framework-specific configuration is required. Each definition supports:

Field	Type	Description
`id`	`string`	Name used to change or remove this entry
`label`	`string`	Display name in Class Explorer and Settings UI
`classGlobal`	`string`	Global variable the class uses (`ENT`, `SWEP`, etc.)
`fixedClassName`	`string`	Fixed internal class name used instead of deriving one from the path
`isGlobalSingleton`	`boolean`	Merge every matching file into one workspace-wide global class
`aliases`	`string[]`	Additional global names that refer to the same class
`superTypes`	`string[]`	Types inherited by the class, such as `GM` for gamemode hooks
`path`	`string[]`	Path segments to detect class from file path
`include`	`string[]`	Glob patterns for files to analyse
`exclude`	`string[]`	Optional per-definition exclude globs
`parentId`	`string`	Parent definition ID for nested grouping in Explorer
`icon`	`string`	VS Code icon ID for Class Explorer display
`rootDir`	`string`	Default root used by the scaffold action
`scaffold.files`	`array`	Scaffold output entries: `{ path, template }` with `{{name}}` variable
`classNamePrefix`	`string`	Optional prefix prepended to the folder-derived class name. Used by the `gamemodes` scope to produce runtime-accurate names like `gamemode_sandbox`
`disabled`	`boolean`	Disable this definition (useful for turning off built-in groups)

The gamemodes group detects files under gamemodes/<name>/gamemode/** and types the GM global as the class gamemode_<name>. This lets DEFINE_BASECLASS("gamemode_sandbox") and cross-gamemode field access, such as self.Sandbox.SetupMove, resolve in derived gamemodes. To change a built-in definition, add an entry with its id and only the fields you want to change. To turn off a built-in group, set { "id": "effects", "disabled": true }.

Example

.gluarc.json

{
  "gmod": {
    "scriptedClassScopes": {
      "include": [
        {
          "id": "plugins",
          "scaffold": {
            "files": [{ "path": "{{name}}/sh_plugin.lua", "template": "plugin_sh.lua" }]
          }
        },
        {
          "id": "effects",
          "disabled": true
        },
        {
          "id": "my-controllers",
          "label": "Controllers",
          "classGlobal": "CTRL",
          "path": ["lua", "controllers"],
          "include": ["lua/controllers/**"],
          "rootDir": "lua/controllers",
          "scaffold": {
            "files": [{ "path": "{{name}}.lua", "template": "controller.lua" }]
          }
        }
      ]
    }
  }
}

Hooks

Option	Type	Default	Description
`gmod.hookMappings.methodToHook`	`object`	`{}`	Map method names to hook names (e.g. `{ "Think": "Think" }`)
`gmod.hookMappings.emitterToHook`	`object`	`{}`	Map custom emitter functions to hook names
`gmod.hookMappings.methodPrefixes`	`string[]`	`[]`	Additional method name prefixes for auto hook detection

Network analysis

Option	Type	Default	Description
`gmod.network.enabled`	`boolean`	`true`	Enable all network flow analysis
`gmod.network.completion.smartReadSuggestions`	`boolean`	`true`	Suggest net.Read* calls in expected order inside receive callbacks
`gmod.network.codeLensEnabled`	`boolean`	`true`	Show code lens actions on net message receivers
`gmod.network.completion.mismatchHints`	`boolean`	`true`	Annotate suggestions with hints when expected read doesn’t match current

To disable individual network diagnostics, use the primary diagnostics.disable list with the relevant code name (e.g. "gmod-net-read-write-type-mismatch"). See the Diagnostics configuration page for the full list of network diagnostic codes and severity options.

Example

.gluarc.json

{
  "gmod": {
    "network": {
      "enabled": true
    }
  },
  "diagnostics": {
    "disable": ["gmod-net-read-write-bits-mismatch"]
  }
}

VGUI

Option	Type	Default	Description
`gmod.vgui.codeLensEnabled`	`boolean`	`true`	Show code lens actions on `vgui.Register()` calls
`gmod.vgui.inlayHintEnabled`	`boolean`	`false`	Show inlay hints for VGUI panel types

Outline verbosity

gmod.outline.verbosity controls what appears in the Outline view for Lua files:

Value	Behavior
`"minimal"`	Functions, classes, hooks, net receivers, timers, concommands only
`"normal"` (default)	Same as minimal, plus typed non-primitive tables and variables
`"verbose"`	All locals, assignments, and code blocks

VS Code extension settings

You can also configure these settings in VS Code settings with the gluals.* prefix:

VS Code setting	.gluarc.json key	Type	Default	Description
`gluals.gmod.autoLoadAnnotations`	`gmod.autoLoadAnnotations`	`boolean` (`boolean \| null` in workspace)	`true` (`null` in workspace)	Auto-download Garry’s Mod annotations
`gluals.gmod.annotationsRepository`	VS Code only	`string`	`Pollux12/annotations-gmod-glua-ls`	GitHub repository for automatic annotation downloads
`gluals.gmod.annotationsChannel`	VS Code only	`auto \| stable \| prerelease`	`auto`	Annotation channel. `auto` follows the extension build
`gluals.gmod.annotationsBranch`	VS Code only	`string`	`gluals-annotations`	Advanced setting for downloading from a specific branch
`gluals.gmod.annotationsCommit`	VS Code only	`string`	`""`	Advanced setting for downloading one exact commit hash; stops annotation update checks
`gluals.gmod.autoDetectGamemodeBase`	`gmod.autoDetectGamemodeBase`	`boolean \| null`	`null` (enabled)	Auto-detect base gamemodes from the gamemode `.txt` file
`gluals.gmod.templatePath`	`gmod.templatePath`	`string`	`null`	Custom scaffolding template path
`gluals.gmod.vgui.codeLensEnabled`	`gmod.vgui.codeLensEnabled`	`boolean`	`true`	VGUI code lens
`gluals.gmod.vgui.inlayHintEnabled`	`gmod.vgui.inlayHintEnabled`	`boolean`	`false`	VGUI inlay hints

​Overview

​Top-level options

​Annotations

​Scaffolding

​Gamemode inheritance

​Scripted classes

​Example

​Hooks

​Network analysis

​Example

​VGUI

​Outline verbosity

​VS Code extension settings

Overview

Top-level options

Annotations

Scaffolding

Gamemode inheritance

Scripted classes

Example

Hooks

Network analysis

Example

VGUI

Outline verbosity

VS Code extension settings