diff --git a/layers/+tools/lsp/README.org b/layers/+tools/lsp/README.org
index 0aeaed478bf3..5087e757606d 100644
--- a/layers/+tools/lsp/README.org
+++ b/layers/+tools/lsp/README.org
@@ -4,38 +4,89 @@
 - [[#description][Description]]
   - [[#features][Features:]]
 - [[#configuration][Configuration]]
+  - [[#derived-layers][Derived layers]]
+    - [[#spacemacslsp-append-jump-handlers-mode][=(spacemacs/lsp-append-jump-handlers mode)=]]
+    - [[#spacemacslsp-define-keys-for-mode-mode][=spacemacs/lsp-define-keys-for-mode mode=]]
+  - [[#variables][Variables]]
+  - [[#diagnostics][Diagnostics]]
 
 * Description
-This layer adds support for basic language server protocol packages speaking
-[[https://microsoft.github.io/language-server-protocol/specification][language server protocol]].
+  This layer adds support for basic language server protocol packages speaking
+  [[https://microsoft.github.io/language-server-protocol/specification][language server protocol]].
+
+  Different language servers may support the language server protocol to varying degrees
+  and they may also provide extensions; check the language server's website for
+  details.
+  =M-x lsp-capabilities= in a LSP buffer to list capabilities of the server.
 
 ** Features:
-- Cross references (definitions, references, document symbol, workspace symbol
-  search and others)
-- Workspace-wide symbol rename
-- Symbol highlighting
-- Flycheck
-- Completion with =company-lsp=
-- Signature help with eldoc
-- Symbol documentation in a child frame (=lsp-ui-doc=)
-
-Each language server may support the language server protocol in varying degree
-and they may also provide extensions, check the language server's website for
-details.
-=M-x lsp-capabilities= in a LSP buffer to list capabilities of the server.
+   - Cross references (definitions, references, document symbol, workspace symbol
+     search and others)
+   - Workspace-wide symbol rename
+   - Symbol highlighting
+   - Flycheck
+   - Completion with =company-lsp=
+   - Signature help with eldoc
+   - Symbol documentation in a child frame (=lsp-ui-doc=)
+   - Navigation using imenu
 
 * Configuration
-The LSP ecosystem is based on two packages: [[https://github.com/emacs-lsp/lsp-mode][lsp-mode]] and [[https://github.com/emacs-lsp/lsp-ui][lsp-ui]].
-Please check out their documentation.
+  The LSP ecosystem is based on two packages: [[https://github.com/emacs-lsp/lsp-mode][lsp-mode]] and [[https://github.com/emacs-lsp/lsp-ui][lsp-ui]].
+  Please check out their documentation.
+
+  If you add =lsp-*-enable= to major mode hooks for auto initialization of
+  language clients, customize =lsp-project-whitelist= =lsp-project-blacklist= to
+  disable projects you don't want to enable LSP.
+
+** Derived layers
+   A number of elisp functions have been added to facilitate development of derived layers.
+
+*** =(spacemacs/lsp-append-jump-handlers mode)=
+    Appends =lsp-ui-peek-find-definitions= to the list of jump-handlers for a given mode.
+
+*** =spacemacs/lsp-define-keys-for-mode mode=
+    Binds keys to a number of lsp features useful for all/most modes for the given major mode.
+
+    The prefix conventions suggested in spacemacs CONVENTIONS.org have been observed, where appropriate.
+
+    The default bindings are listed below. Derived language server layers should extend this list.
+
+    | binding | function                                        |
+    |---------+-------------------------------------------------|
+    | ~m = b~ | format buffer (lsp)                             |
+    |---------+-------------------------------------------------|
+    | ~m g i~ | browse file symbols (lsp-ui-imenu)              |
+    | ~m g d~ | find definitions                                |
+    | ~m g r~ | find references                                 |
+    | ~m g s~ | find-workspace-symbol                           |
+    |---------+-------------------------------------------------|
+    | ~m r r~ | rename                                          |
+    |---------+-------------------------------------------------|
+    | ~m T d~ | toggle documentation overlay                    |
+    | ~m T F~ | toggle documentation overlay function signature |
+    | ~m T s~ | toggle symbol info overlay                      |
+    | ~m T S~ | toggle symbol info overlay symbol name          |
+    | ~m T I~ | toggle symbol info overlay duplicates           |
+
+** Variables
+   A number of configuration variables have been exposed via the LSP layer =config.el=.
+   Sensible defaults have been provided, however they may all be overridden in your .spacemacs, or dynamically using the bindings added
+   under the derived mode t prefix by =(spacemacs/lsp-define-keys-for-mode mode)=
 
-If you add =lsp-*-enable= to major mode hooks for auto initialization of
-language clients, customize =lsp-project-whitelist= =lsp-project-blacklist= to
-disable projects you don't want to enable LSP.
+   | Variable name                   | Default | Description                                                                               |
+   |---------------------------------+---------+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
+   | =lsp-remap-xref-keybindings=    | nil     | When non-nil, xref keybindings remapped to lsp-ui-peek-find-{definition,references}       |
+   | =lsp-ui-doc-enable=             | t       | When non-nil, the documentation overlay is displayed                                      |
+   | =lsp-ui-doc-include-signature=  | nil     | When nil, signature omitted from lsp-ui-doc overlay (this is usually redundant)           |
+   | =lsp-ui-sideline-enable=        | nil     | When non-nil, the symbol information overlay is displayed                                 |
+   | =lsp-ui-sideline-show-symbol=   | nil     | When non-nil, the symbol information overlay includes symbol name (redundant for c-modes) |
+   | =lsp-ui-peek-expend-by-default= | t       | When non-nil, =lsp-ui-peek= overlay expands file matches automatically                    |
 
-If some features doe not work as intended, here is a common check list.
+** Diagnostics
+  If some features do not work as expected, here is a common check list.
 
-- =M-x lsp-capabilities= If the LSP workspace is initialized correctly
-- =M-: xref-backend-functions= should be =(lsp--xref-backend)= for cross
-  references
-- =M-: completion-at-point-functions= should be =(lsp-completion-at-point)= for
-  completion
+  - =M-x lsp-capabilities= If the LSP workspace is initialized correctly
+  - =M-: xref-backend-functions= should be =(lsp--xref-backend)= for cross
+    references
+  - =M-: completion-at-point-functions= should be =(lsp-completion-at-point)= for
+    completion
diff --git a/layers/+tools/lsp/config.el b/layers/+tools/lsp/config.el
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..4d4889b71b08
--- /dev/null
+++ b/layers/+tools/lsp/config.el
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+;;; config.el --- lsp Layer config File for Spacemacs
+;;
+;; Copyright (c) 2012-2018 Sylvain Benner & Contributors
+;;
+;; Author: Fangrui Song <i@maskray.me>
+;; URL: https://github.com/syl20bnr/spacemacs
+;;
+;; This file is not part of GNU Emacs.
+;;
+;;; License: GPLv3
+
+;; ;; These all have toggles bound under 't' in spacemacs/lsp-define-keys-for-mode
+(defvar lsp-remap-xref-keybindings nil "When non-nil, xref keybindings remapped to lsp-ui-peek-find-*")
+(defvar lsp-ui-peek-expand-by-default t "Expand lsp-ui-peek by default (may have performance implications)")
+(defvar lsp-ui-doc-enable t "Enable/disable lsp-ui-doc overlay")
+(defvar lsp-ui-doc-include-signature nil "Omit type signature in the lsp-ui-doc overlay")
+(defvar lsp-ui-sideline-enable nil "Enable/disable lsp-ui-sideline overlay")
+(defvar lsp-ui-sideline-show-symbol nil "When non-nil, sideline includes symbol info (largely redundant for c modes)")  ; don't show symbol on the right of info
+(defvar lsp-ui-sideline-ignore-duplicate t "Ignore duplicates")
diff --git a/layers/+tools/lsp/funcs.el b/layers/+tools/lsp/funcs.el
index 5b6aa6ae6097..053079698c99 100644
--- a/layers/+tools/lsp/funcs.el
+++ b/layers/+tools/lsp/funcs.el
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-;;; packages.el --- Language Server Protocol functions File for Spacemacs
+;;; funcs.el --- lsp Layer funcs File for Spacemacs
 ;;
 ;; Copyright (c) 2012-2018 Sylvain Benner & Contributors
 ;;
@@ -30,3 +30,68 @@
                       :background (face-attribute 'highlight :background nil t)
                       :foreground (face-attribute 'default :foreground nil t))
   )
+
+(defun spacemacs/lsp-append-jump-handlers (mode)
+    ;;; Override
+  (let ((handler (intern (format "spacemacs-jump-handlers-%s" mode))))
+    (add-to-list handler 'lsp-ui-peek-find-definitions))
+  ;; The notion of 'spacemacs-reference-handlers' is the subject of this PR:
+  ;; https://github.com/syl20bnr/spacemacs/pull/9911
+  ;; Disabling for now...
+  ;; (let ((handler (intern (format "spacemacs-reference-handlers-%s" mode))))
+  ;;   (add-to-list handler 'lsp-ui-peek-find-references))
+  )
+
+(defun spacemacs/lsp-bind-keys-for-mode (mode)
+  "Define key bindings for the specific MODE."
+  (spacemacs/declare-prefix-for-mode mode "m=" "format")
+  (spacemacs/declare-prefix-for-mode mode "mg" "goto")
+  (spacemacs/declare-prefix-for-mode mode "ml" "lsp")
+  (spacemacs/declare-prefix-for-mode mode "mr" "refactor")
+  (spacemacs/declare-prefix-for-mode mode "mT" "toggle")
+
+  (spacemacs/set-leader-keys-for-major-mode mode
+    ;;Format
+    "=b" #'spacemacs/lsp-format-buffer
+    ;;goto
+    "gi" #'lsp-ui-imenu
+    "gd" #'lsp-ui-peek-find-definitions
+    "gr" #'lsp-ui-peek-find-references
+    "gs" #'lsp-ui-peek-find-workspace-symbol
+    ;;refactor
+    "rr" #'lsp-rename
+    ;;toggles
+    "Td" #'lsp-ui-doc-mode
+    "Ts" #'lsp-ui-sideline-mode
+    "TF" #'spacemacs/lsp-ui-doc-func
+    "TS" #'spacemacs/lsp-ui-sideline-symb
+    "TI" #'spacemacs/lsp-ui-sideline-ignore-duplicate
+    )
+
+  )
+
+
+(defun spacemacs/lsp-ui-doc-func ()
+  "Toggle the function signature in the lsp-ui-doc overlay"
+  (interactive)
+  (setq lsp-ui-doc-include-signature (not lsp-ui-doc-include-signature)))
+
+(defun spacemacs/lsp-ui-sideline-symb ()
+  "Toggle the symbol in the lsp-ui-sideline overlay.
+(generally redundant in C modes)"
+  (interactive)
+  (setq lsp-ui-sideline-show-symbol (not lsp-ui-sideline-show-symbol)))
+
+(defun spacemacs/lsp-ui-sideline-ignore-duplicate ()
+  "Toggle ignore duplicates for lsp-ui-sideline overlay"
+  (interactive)
+  (setq lsp-ui-sideline-ignore-duplicate (not lsp-ui-sideline-ignore-duplicate)))
+
+;; Used for lsp-ui-peek-mode, but may be able to use some spacemacs fn. instead?
+(defun spacemacs/lsp-define-key (keymap key def &rest bindings)
+  "Define multiple key bindings with KEYMAP KEY DEF BINDINGS."
+  (interactive)
+  (while key
+    (define-key keymap (kbd key) def)
+    (setq key (pop bindings)
+      def (pop bindings))))
diff --git a/layers/+tools/lsp/packages.el b/layers/+tools/lsp/packages.el
index 83c3651221c8..cfddf70aa7ed 100644
--- a/layers/+tools/lsp/packages.el
+++ b/layers/+tools/lsp/packages.el
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-;;; packages.el --- Language Server Protocol packages File for Spacemacs
+;;; packages.el --- lsp Layer packages File for Spacemacs
 ;;
 ;; Copyright (c) 2012-2018 Sylvain Benner & Contributors
 ;;
@@ -11,15 +11,17 @@
 
 (defconst lsp-packages
   '(
-    (company-lsp :requires company)
-    ;; `flycheck-lsp' does not exist so we defined it as built-in to avoid
-    ;; fetching it from ELPA repositories.
-    ;; this logical package serves to hook all flycheck related configuration
-    ;; for LSP.
-    (flycheck-lsp :requires flycheck :location built-in)
-    lsp-mode
-    lsp-ui
-    ))
+     (company-lsp :requires company)
+     ;; `flycheck-lsp' does not exist so we defined it as built-in to avoid
+     ;; fetching it from ELPA repositories.
+     ;; this logical package serves to hook all flycheck related configuration
+     ;; for LSP.
+     (flycheck-lsp :requires flycheck :location built-in)
+     lsp-mode
+     lsp-ui
+     (lsp-imenu :requires imenu :location built-in)
+     (lsp-ui-imenu :requires lsp-imenu :location built-in)
+     ))
 
 (defun lsp/init-company-lsp ()
   (use-package company-lsp
@@ -28,8 +30,8 @@
     ;; Language servers have better idea filtering and sorting,
     ;; don't filter results on the client side.
     (setq company-transformers nil
-          company-lsp-async t
-          company-lsp-cache-candidates nil)))
+      company-lsp-async t
+      company-lsp-cache-candidates nil)))
 
 (defun lsp/init-flycheck-lsp ()
   ;; Disable lsp-flycheck.el in favor of lsp-ui-flycheck.el
@@ -37,15 +39,39 @@
 
 (defun lsp/init-lsp-mode ()
   (use-package lsp-mode
+    :defer t
     :config
     (progn
       (spacemacs|hide-lighter lsp-mode))))
 
 (defun lsp/init-lsp-ui ()
   (use-package lsp-ui
+    :defer t
     :init (add-hook 'lsp-mode-hook #'lsp-ui-mode)
     :config
     (progn
       (spacemacs//lsp-sync-peek-face)
       (add-hook 'spacemacs-post-theme-change-hook
-                #'spacemacs//lsp-sync-peek-face))))
+        #'spacemacs//lsp-sync-peek-face))
+
+    (if lsp-ui-peek-expand-by-default
+      (setq lsp-ui-peek-expand-function (lambda (xs) (mapcar #'car xs))))
+
+    (if lsp-remap-xref-keybindings
+      (progn (define-key lsp-ui-mode-map [remap xref-find-definitions] #'lsp-ui-peek-find-definitions)
+        (define-key lsp-ui-mode-map [remap xref-find-references] #'lsp-ui-peek-find-references)))
+
+    (spacemacs/lsp-define-key
+      lsp-ui-peek-mode-map
+      "h" #'lsp-ui-peek--select-prev-file
+      "j" #'lsp-ui-peek--select-next
+      "k" #'lsp-ui-peek--select-prev
+      "l" #'lsp-ui-peek--select-next-file
+      )
+    ))
+
+(defun lsp/init-lsp-imenu ()
+  (use-package lsp-imenu :defer t :init (add-hook 'lsp-after-open-hook #'lsp-enable-imenu)))
+
+(defun lsp/init-lsp-ui-imenu ()
+  (use-package lsp-ui-imenu :defer t :config (evil-make-overriding-map lsp-ui-imenu-mode-map)))