diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index f46946c..39f7c43 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -80,6 +80,11 @@ There are several settings you can configure to customize the behavior of this e
       <td><code>off</code></td>
       <td> Controls when notifications are shown by this extension.  Accepted values are <code>onError</code>, <code>onWarning</code>, <code>always</code> and <code>off</code>.</td>
     </tr>
+    <tr>
+      <td>black-formatter.serverTransport</td>
+      <td><code>stdio</code></td>
+      <td> Selects the transport protocol to be used by the Black server. When set to <code>stdio</code>, the extension will use the standard input/output streams to communicate with the Black server. When set to <code>pipe</code>, the extension will use a named pipe (on Windows) or Unix Domain Socket (on Linux/Mac) to communicate with the Black server. The <code>stdio</code> transport protocol is the default and recommended option for most users.</td>
+    </tr>
   </tbody>
 </table>
 
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index d96f77e..00484ce 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -155,6 +155,20 @@
                     ],
                     "scope": "machine",
                     "type": "string"
+                },
+                "black-formatter.serverTransport": {
+                    "default": "stdio",
+                    "enum": [
+                        "stdio",
+                        "pipe"
+                    ],
+                    "markdownDescription": "%settings.serverTransport.description%",
+                    "markdownEnumDescriptions": [
+                        "%settings.serverTransport.stdio.description%",
+                        "%settings.serverTransport.pipe.description%"
+                    ],
+                    "scope": "window",
+                    "type": "string"
                 }
             }
         },
diff --git a/package.nls.json b/package.nls.json
index 98abc02..5a9cae6 100644
--- a/package.nls.json
+++ b/package.nls.json
@@ -8,6 +8,9 @@
     "settings.importStrategy.useBundled.description": "Always use the bundled version of Black to format Python files.",
     "settings.importStrategy.fromEnvironment.description": "Use the Black binary from the selected Python environment. If the extension fails to find a valid Black binary, it will fallback to using the bundled version of Black.",
     "settings.interpreter.description": "Path to a Python executable or a command that will be used to launch the Black server and any subprocess. Accepts an array of a single or multiple strings. When set to `[]`, the extension will use the path to the selected Python interpreter. If passing a command, each argument should be provided as a separate string in the array.",
+    "settings.serverTransport.description": "Selects the transport protocol to be used by the Black server. When set to `stdio`, the extension will use the standard input/output streams to communicate with the Black server. When set to `pipe`, the extension will use a named pipe (on Windows) or Unix Domain Socket (on Linux/Mac) to communicate with the Black server. The `stdio` transport protocol is the default and recommended option for most users.",
+    "settings.serverTransport.stdio.description": "Use the standard input/output streams to communicate with the Black server.",
+    "settings.serverTransport.pipe.description": "Use a named pipe (on windows) and Unix Domain Socket (on linux/mac) to communicate with the Black server.",
     "settings.showNotifications.description": "Controls when notifications are shown by this extension.",
     "settings.showNotifications.off.description": "All notifications are turned off, any errors or warnings when formatting Python files are still available in the logs.",
     "settings.showNotifications.onError.description": "Notifications are shown only in the case of an error when formatting Python files.",
diff --git a/src/common/server.ts b/src/common/server.ts
index 6405fdd..6aaf453 100644
--- a/src/common/server.ts
+++ b/src/common/server.ts
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ import {
 import { DEBUG_SERVER_SCRIPT_PATH, SERVER_SCRIPT_PATH } from './constants';
 import { traceError, traceInfo, traceVerbose } from './logging';
 import { getDebuggerPath } from './python';
-import { getExtensionSettings, getGlobalSettings, ISettings } from './settings';
+import { getExtensionSettings, getGlobalSettings, getServerTransport, ISettings } from './settings';
 import { getDocumentSelector, getLSClientTraceLevel } from './utilities';
 import { updateStatus } from './status';
 import { unregisterEmptyFormatter } from './nullFormatter';
@@ -29,7 +29,8 @@ async function createServer(
     initializationOptions: IInitOptions,
 ): Promise<LanguageClient> {
     const command = settings.interpreter[0];
-    const cwd = settings.cwd === '${fileDirname}' ? Uri.parse(settings.workspace).fsPath : settings.cwd;
+    const workspaceUri = Uri.parse(settings.workspace);
+    const cwd = settings.cwd === '${fileDirname}' ? workspaceUri.fsPath : settings.cwd;
 
     // Set debugger path needed for debugging python code.
     const newEnv = { ...process.env };
@@ -57,7 +58,7 @@ async function createServer(
         command,
         args,
         options: { cwd, env: newEnv },
-        transport: TransportKind.pipe,
+        transport: getServerTransport(serverId, workspaceUri),
     };
 
     // Options to control the language client
diff --git a/src/common/settings.ts b/src/common/settings.ts
index e5d7580..f7e3a2c 100644
--- a/src/common/settings.ts
+++ b/src/common/settings.ts
@@ -1,11 +1,12 @@
 // Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
 // Licensed under the MIT License.
 
-import { ConfigurationChangeEvent, ConfigurationScope, WorkspaceConfiguration, WorkspaceFolder } from 'vscode';
+import { ConfigurationChangeEvent, ConfigurationScope, Uri, WorkspaceConfiguration, WorkspaceFolder } from 'vscode';
 import { getInterpreterDetails } from './python';
 import { getConfiguration, getWorkspaceFolders } from './vscodeapi';
 import { traceInfo, traceLog, traceWarn } from './logging';
 import { EXTENSION_ID } from './constants';
+import { TransportKind } from 'vscode-languageclient/node';
 
 export interface ISettings {
     cwd: string;
@@ -17,6 +18,12 @@ export interface ISettings {
     showNotifications: string;
 }
 
+export function getServerTransport(namespace: string, uri: Uri): TransportKind {
+    const config = getConfiguration(namespace, uri);
+    const value = config.get<string>('serverTransport', 'stdio');
+    return value === 'pipe' ? TransportKind.pipe : TransportKind.stdio;
+}
+
 export function getExtensionSettings(namespace: string, includeInterpreter?: boolean): Promise<ISettings[]> {
     return Promise.all(getWorkspaceFolders().map((w) => getWorkspaceSettings(namespace, w, includeInterpreter)));
 }
@@ -152,6 +159,7 @@ export function checkIfConfigurationChanged(e: ConfigurationChangeEvent, namespa
         `${namespace}.interpreter`,
         `${namespace}.importStrategy`,
         `${namespace}.showNotifications`,
+        `${namespace}.serverTransport`,
     ];
     const changed = settings.map((s) => e.affectsConfiguration(s));
     return changed.includes(true);