`python.analysis.pyrightVersion` does not resolve `${workspaceFolder}` or relative paths

[MtkN1]

Environment data

• Pylance version: 2026.2.1
• OS and version: WSL2 Ubuntu 24.04
• Python version (& distribution if applicable, e.g. Anaconda): CPython 3.14

Description

python.analysis.pyrightVersion appears to accept only a static absolute path.

If I set it to a relative path or a path using ${workspaceFolder}, Pylance does not resolve it and instead treats the value literally.

Settings

{
    "python.analysis.diagnosticsSource": "Pyright",
    "python.analysis.pyrightVersion": "${workspaceFolder}/node_modules/pyright/dist/pyright-langserver.js",
    "python.analysis.logLevel": "Trace"
}

Repro steps

1. Install pyright from npm in the workspace so that node_modules/pyright/dist/pyright-langserver.js exists under the project root.
2. Set python.analysis.diagnosticsSource to "Pyright".
3. Set python.analysis.pyrightVersion to "${workspaceFolder}/node_modules/pyright/dist/pyright-langserver.js".
4. Reload VS Code / restart Pylance.
5. Check the Python Language Server output.

Expected behavior

python.analysis.pyrightVersion should resolve ${workspaceFolder} and, ideally, relative paths as well, so a workspace-local pyright-langserver.js can be used.

Actual behavior

Pylance does not resolve ${workspaceFolder} and reports the following error:

2026-04-23 10:37:55.429 [info] (16583): ExternalServerController exception leak: Error: Pyright server file not found for version: ${workspaceFolder}/node_modules/pyright/dist/pyright-langserver.js

From my testing, python.analysis.pyrightVersion seems to recognize only a static absolute path. Relative paths and ${workspaceFolder} are not resolved.

Why this matters

In my project, we use the npm version of Pyright rather than the PyPI package, so pyright-langserver.js lives under the workspace's node_modules.

Because of that, I need a way to reference a workspace-local Pyright server, similar in spirit to how project-local environments such as .venv are commonly used.

Supporting ${workspaceFolder} or relative paths in python.analysis.pyrightVersion would make this practical for team settings and checked-in workspace configuration.

Related issues

This seems related in spirit to:

• Use pyright from virtual environment #7339

[github-actions]

Hi @MtkN1, I'm an AI Support assistant here to help with your issue. While the team reviews your request, I wanted to provide some possible tips and documentation that might help you in the meantime.

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Potential Duplicate Issues – These issues may be duplicates of your report, but may differ in some of the details.

• Clarifying questions about python.analysis.diagnosticsSource and python.analysis.pyrightVersion Clarifying questions about python.analysis.diagnosticsSource and python.analysis.pyrightVersion #7130
• Option to use workspace version of Pyright with Pylance Option to use workspace version of Pyright with Pylance #4435

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Similar Issues (FYI only, not solutions)

The following issues may or may not be related to your report. They are provided for reference only, as they may describe similar symptoms, affect the same feature, or address related concerns, but may not be the same issue.

• Import other python files in the same directory… dynamic variable substitution in python.analysis.extraPaths not supported. import other python files in the same directory as the compiled file #749
• Bug using ${workspaceFolder} in python.analysis.exclude settings. How to explicitly specify that Pylance only scans specific a few directories in a large multi-root workspace #5794

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The team will respond to your issue shortly. Please note this is a trial feature and may not be fully accurate. I hope these suggestions are helpful in the meantime. If this comment helped you, please give it a 👍. If the suggestion was not helpful or was incorrect, please give it a 👎. Your feedback helps us improve!

[rchiodo]

Thanks for the request. Seems reasonable to me.

[bschnurr]

This issue has been fixed in prerelease version 2026.2.102, which we've just released. You can find the changelog here: CHANGELOG.md