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TL;DR

Zed is a high-performance, collaborative editor from the team behind Atom. MCP is supported as 'context servers', configured in `~/.config/zed/settings.json` under a `context_servers` key. The inner shape is slightly different from Claude Code (command is an object with `path`/`args`/`env` fields). Best choice for speed-sensitive engineers and teams that want collaborative AI editing.

AI Client

Best MCPs for Zed

High-performance collaborative editor with AI panel and native MCP support (called 'Context Servers')

Official siteJSON config

Setup: add an MCP server to Zed

  1. 1
    Install Zed from zed.dev (native macOS/Linux, Windows support in beta)
  2. 2
    Open ~/.config/zed/settings.json (or Zed → Settings → Open Settings JSON)
  3. 3
    Add a `context_servers` block with your MCP server entries
  4. 4
    Save — Zed hot-reloads settings. Open the AI panel (Cmd/Ctrl+?) and the servers appear
  5. 5
    Ask the assistant a question; it auto-invokes the relevant MCP tools
Config file~/.config/zed/settings.json

Config example

{
  "context_servers": {
    "github": {
      "command": {
        "path": "npx",
        "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-github"],
        "env": {
          "GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN": "ghp_..."
        }
      }
    },
    "postgres": {
      "command": {
        "path": "npx",
        "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-postgres"],
        "env": {
          "POSTGRES_URL": "postgres://user:pass@host:5432/db"
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Real secrets should never be committed — use environment variables or your editor's secrets manager.

Top 10 MCPs for Zed

1🐙

GitHub

View MCP

Zed's collaborative editing + GitHub MCP = pair programming with AI opening PRs on the fly.

2🐘

Postgres

View MCP

Zed's speed shines on DB-heavy work — querying Postgres via MCP feels nearly instant.

3🟢

Supabase

View MCP

Same reasoning — Zed + Supabase MCP makes schema exploration lightning-fast.

4🐳

Docker

View MCP

Zed's performance + Docker MCP = managing containers without lag. Great for infrastructure work.

5💳

Stripe

View MCP

Quick Stripe lookups while coding billing flows — Zed's minimal UI keeps focus on the code.

6📐

Linear

View MCP

Ticket-to-code flow that feels snappy. Zed's keyboard-first UX pairs well with Linear's hotkeys.

7📝

Notion

View MCP

Read specs in the Zed AI panel without switching windows. Perfect for spec-driven work.

8🐛

Sentry

View MCP

Zed's AI panel summarises Sentry traces cleanly — great for quick triage.

9🔥

Firecrawl

View MCP

Pull docs into Zed's context. Useful for unfamiliar libraries where RTFM is required.

10🔍

Tavily

View MCP

Quick web search without leaving Zed. Tavily's LLM-tuned results work naturally with Zed's AI panel.

What Zed does well

  • Blazingly fast — written in Rust, GPU-accelerated. MCP tool calls feel local even when they're not
  • Collaborative editing built in — MCP outputs visible to all collaborators in real time
  • Context servers (Zed's term for MCP) integrate with the AI assistant panel natively
  • Minimal, keyboard-first UX — no mouse needed for MCP tool invocation
  • Open source (Zed editor itself), trustworthy for privacy-sensitive teams

Honest limitations

  • Smaller MCP ecosystem than Claude Code / Cursor — fewer community-authored servers tested with Zed
  • Windows support still in beta (Mac/Linux are stable)
  • Uses `context_servers` key (Zed's naming) which is a small quirk if you're copy-pasting config from elsewhere

Frequently asked questions

What's the best MCP for Zed?

GitHub MCP first. After that: Postgres/Supabase for data (Zed's speed shines here), Linear for tickets, Docker for infra work. Same top picks as other editors, just in Zed's config shape.

Where is Zed's MCP config?

In the main settings file: `~/.config/zed/settings.json` (or via Cmd/Ctrl+, → 'Open Settings JSON'). Use the `context_servers` key. No separate file like other editors.

Why does Zed use `context_servers` instead of `mcpServers`?

Historical naming — Zed adopted MCP when it was still called 'context servers' internally. The feature is the same as MCP; only the key name differs. Future Zed versions may alias to `mcpServers`.

Does Zed support per-project MCP config?

Yes via `.zed/settings.json` in the project root. Project settings merge with user settings; per-project context_servers override or extend global ones.

Does Zed's collaborative mode share MCPs across collaborators?

MCP invocations happen on the host's machine (the person who opened the session). Collaborators see results in the shared buffer but don't run MCPs on their own machines. Plan secrets accordingly.

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Install your first MCP on Zed

Pick from the top 10 curated above, or browse the full marketplace of 100+ MCPs.

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