Zed

Prerequisites

• Node.js ≥ 18 (check with node --version)
• Zed — zed.dev (macOS, Linux, Windows preview)

Install

1. Open settings.json

   Cmd/Ctrl+, (comma) opens settings. Click the “Open settings.json” link at the top.

   macOS / LinuxWindows

   bash

   Copy

   ~/.config/zed/settings.json

2. Add the context_servers block

   Merge with your existing settings. Shape is { command: { path, args, env? } } — not { command: "npx", args: [...] } as in Cursor/Claude Desktop.

   settings.jsonjson

   Copy

   {
     "context_servers": {
       "acf": {
         "command": {
           "path": "npx",
           "args": ["-y", "acf-mcp"]
         }
       }
     }
   }

3. Reload the project

   Zed reloads settings.json on save. If the Assistant Panel does not see the server, run Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+P → “workspace: reload”.

Verify

1. Open the Assistant Panel

   Cmd/Ctrl+? (or sparkle icon in the sidebar). Type / to see the slash commands: acf tools should be there as /acf.advisor, /acf.search, etc.

2. Smoke test

   Type: “Use acf.advisor to assess governance of a B2B lead-qualification agent”.

   The assistant’s inserted reply must contain the signed footer (doctrine_hash, doctrine_signature, generated_at) — Zed does not alter the tool output.

Advanced config

Environment variables

{
  "context_servers": {
    "acf": {
      "command": {
        "path": "npx",
        "args": ["-y", "acf-mcp"],
        "env": {
          "ACF_LOG_LEVEL": "info"
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Transport

Zed only supports the stdio transport for context_servers today. For HTTP, use another client or wait for the MCP stabilization in Zed.

Slash commands

Zed exposes each MCP tool as a slash command in the Assistant Panel. That’s the idiomatic shortcut: type /acf and tab-complete.

Troubleshooting

• Wrong command schema. Most frequent mistake. Zed requires nested command: { path, args }, not command: \"npx\", args: [...] at the same level.
• Slash command missing. Server is likely started but tool-less. Reload the window. If it persists, run `zed --foreground` from a terminal to see plain logs.
• Zed does not pick up the config. Make sure you edit settings.json (user settings) and not project-settings.json. context_servers only apply at the user level.
• JSON5 vs strict JSON. Zed accepts JSON5 (comments, trailing commas) — but the parser is strict on escaped strings. Use a JSON5-aware editor to avoid pitfalls.
• Model without tool-use. The Assistant Panel must run a tool-capable model (Claude Sonnet 4.5, GPT-4o). Legacy models without function-calling will ignore acf-mcp.