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.
MCP Servers as Extensions
Zed supports exposing MCP servers as extensions.
You can check which servers are currently available in a few ways: through the Zed website or directly through the app by running the zed: extensions
action or by going to the Agent Panel's top-right menu and looking for "View Server Extensions".
In any case, here are some of the ones available:
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 MCP server
You can bring your own MCP 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.