Add MCP servers to Zed

Manage Zed’s MCP servers from one canonical config with mcpfold — the free, open-source CLI. Write your servers once and fold them out to Zed’s own context_servers config, with secrets kept as references, not hardcoded values.

Set up Zed in 4 steps

Install mcpfold. Install the free, open-source mcpfold CLI — no account required.npm install -g mcpfold
Create your config. Create one canonical mcp.config.jsonc — the single source of truth mcpfold folds out to every client.mcpfold init
Add a server. Add an MCP server from the registry (secrets stay references, versions stay pinned), or run `mcpfold import` to pull in servers you already configured.mcpfold add <server> --from-registry
Fold it out to Zed. Write your servers into Zed's own config (/Users/you/.config/zed/settings.json) under its `context_servers` key.mcpfold sync

What mcpfold writes for Zed

Config file

/Users/you/.config/zed/settings.json

Windows: C:\Users\you\AppData\Roaming\Zed\settings.json

Config key

context_servers

Secrets

Secrets stay as `${env:…}` / `${op:…}` references; mcpfold's launcher resolves them at run time, so Zed's config file never contains a raw token.

Remote servers

Zed reaches http/sse remotes natively — mcpfold writes a native remote entry, no bridge needed.

After sync

Changes are picked up without restarting Zed.

Looking for servers to add? Browse the MCP server directory — every entry adds in one mcpfold add. Or see the install options.

mcpfold is an independent, open-source project and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Zed. Names are used only to describe compatibility.