bug: Helix: Incorrect TOML Configuration Generated

[billksun]

Is there an existing issue for this?

• I have searched the existing issues

Issue description

I am trying to override the language configuration for Helix. I want to produce the following languages.toml:

[[language]]
name = "haskell"
language-server = { command = "haskell-language-server", args = [] }

I have the following in my home-nix:

  programs.helix = {
    enable = true;
    languages = [
      {
        name = "haskell";
        language-server = { 
          command = "haskell-language-server";
          args = [];
        };
      }      
    ];
  };

But it instead produces this in languages.toml:

[[language]]
name = "haskell"

[language.language-server]
args = []
command = "haskell-language-server"

Maintainer CC

@Philipp-M

System information

 - system: `"x86_64-linux"`
 - host os: `Linux 5.15.34, NixOS, 22.05 (Quokka), 22.05pre369988.1ffba9f2f68`
 - multi-user?: `yes`
 - sandbox: `yes`
 - version: `nix-env (Nix) 2.8.0pre20220411_f7276bc`
 - channels(root): `"nixos"`
 - channels(bill): `"home-manager"`
 - nixpkgs: `/nix/var/nix/profiles/per-user/root/channels/nixos`

[Philipp-M]

[[language]]
name = "haskell"
language-server = { command = "haskell-language-server", args = [] }

and

[[language]]
name = "haskell"

[language.language-server]
args = []
command = "haskell-language-server"

is actually equivalent in what is interpreted by helix. Is there any issue with it?

Might this: helix-editor/helix#1000 be related?

Other issues/PRs regarding this issue:
helix-editor/helix#2145
helix-editor/helix#2215

[billksun]

Oh, I didn't know that! But indeed Helix seem to be okay with that config.

I'm not too familiar with TOML, but how does the parser know to apply the haskell-language-server config to haskell and not another language? I assumed they needed to be in the same block. Or is the ordering here significant as well? For example, if I had:

[[language]]
name = "haskell"

[language.language-server]
args = []
command = "python-lsp-server"

[[language]]
name = "python"

[language.language-server]
args = []
command = "haskell-language-server"

The Python language server would be grouped with haskell and the Haskell language server would be grouped with python?

[Philipp-M]

It's in the TOML spec:
https://toml.io/en/v1.0.0#array-of-tables

So yeah, for your example the order is relevant.

[berbiche]

nixpkgs' pkgs.formats.toml uses https://github.com/dbohdan/remarshal I believe to convert the JSON representation of the nix expression to TOML.

An issue should be opened against https://github.com/dbohdan/remarshal with the sample generated JSON for your languages entry: {"languages":[{"language-server":{"args":[],"command":"haskell-language-server"},"name":"haskell"}]}, and another issue should be opened on nixpkgs to track the issue.

[billksun]

@Philipp-M, thank you for the information and links.