Model Context Protocol

Zed uses the Model Context Protocol to interact with context servers.

The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open protocol that enables seamless integration between LLM applications and external data sources and tools. Whether you're building an AI-powered IDE, enhancing a chat interface, or creating custom AI workflows, MCP provides a standardized way to connect LLMs with the context they need.

Check out the Anthropic news post and the Zed blog post for an introduction to MCP.

Try it out

Want to try it for yourself? Here are some MCP servers available as Zed extensions:

• Postgres
• GitHub
• Puppeteer
• BrowserTools
• Brave Search
• Prisma
• Framelink Figma
• Linear

Browse all available MCP extensions either on Zed's website or directly in Zed via the zed: extensions action in the Command Palette.

If there's an existing MCP server you'd like to bring to Zed, check out the context server extension docs for how to make it available as an extension.

Bring your own context server

You can bring your own context server by adding something like this to your settings:

{
  "context_servers": {
    "some-context-server": {
      "command": {
        "path": "some-command",
        "args": ["arg-1", "arg-2"],
        "env": {}
      }
      "settings": {}
    }
  }
}

If you are interested in building your own MCP server, check out the Model Context Protocol docs to get started.