Install GitHub MCP Server in Zed

Zed is a high-performance multiplayer code editor with native MCP support. Zed exposes MCP servers under the context_servers settings key. For general setup information (prerequisites, Docker installation, security best practices), see the Installation Guides README.

Prerequisites

1. Zed installed (latest version — Zed v0.224.0+ recommended for the modern agent.tool_permissions settings shape)
2. GitHub Personal Access Token with appropriate scopes
3. For local installation: Docker installed and running

Installation Methods

There are two ways to install the GitHub MCP server in Zed:

• Option A — Zed Extension (easiest): a community-maintained GitHub MCP extension is available in the Zed extension gallery. Install it from the Agent Panel's top-right menu → "View Server Extensions", or from the command palette via the zed: extensions action. After installation, Zed pops up a modal asking for your GitHub Personal Access Token.
• Option B — Custom Server (recommended for the official remote endpoint): add the configuration manually to settings.json to use either GitHub's hosted remote server or the official Docker image directly. The rest of this guide covers Option B.

Remote Server (Recommended)

Uses GitHub's hosted server at https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp/. Open your Zed settings file (Command Palette → zed: open settings) and add the configuration below under context_servers.

{
  "context_servers": {
    "github": {
      "url": "https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp/",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_GITHUB_PAT"
      }
    }
  }
}

Replace YOUR_GITHUB_PAT with your GitHub Personal Access Token. To customize toolsets, add server-side headers like X-MCP-Toolsets or X-MCP-Readonly to the headers object — see the Server Configuration Guide.

[!NOTE] If you omit the Authorization header, Zed will attempt the standard MCP OAuth flow on first use. The GitHub MCP server does not currently advertise OAuth for non-Copilot hosts, so a Personal Access Token in the Authorization header is the supported path.

Local Server (Docker)

The local GitHub MCP server runs via Docker and requires Docker Desktop (or another Docker runtime) to be installed and running.

{
  "context_servers": {
    "github": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run", "-i", "--rm",
        "-e", "GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN",
        "ghcr.io/github/github-mcp-server"
      ],
      "env": {
        "GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN": "YOUR_GITHUB_PAT"
      }
    }
  }
}

[!IMPORTANT] Zed expects command as a string plus a separate args array, not a single array combining both. This differs from hosts like OpenCode and Claude Desktop.

Verify Installation

1. Open the Agent Panel and click into its Settings view (or run agent: open settings).
2. Find github in the context servers list. A green indicator dot with the tooltip "Server is active" confirms a working configuration. Other colors and tooltip messages indicate startup or auth errors.
3. Try a prompt that should invoke a tool — for example, List my recent GitHub pull requests. Zed will prompt for tool approval before the first call unless your agent.tool_permissions.default is set to "allow".

Tool Permissions (Optional)

Zed v0.224.0+ controls tool approval via agent.tool_permissions. Approve a specific GitHub MCP tool without per-call prompts by using the mcp:<server>:<tool_name> key format:

{
  "agent": {
    "tool_permissions": {
      "default": "confirm",
      "rules": [
        { "tool": "mcp:github:list_pull_requests", "permission": "allow" },
        { "tool": "mcp:github:list_issues", "permission": "allow" }
      ]
    }
  }
}

See the Zed tool permissions docs for the full schema.

Troubleshooting

• Server indicator stays red / "Server is not running": check the Agent Panel's settings view for the per-server error string. Most common cause is invalid JSON in settings.json — Zed surfaces JSON parse errors in the editor itself.
• 401 Unauthorized: verify your PAT has not expired and includes the scopes for the tools you intend to call. The remote endpoint will reject requests with no Authorization header (no anonymous access).
• Tools missing from prompts: confirm the Agent profile in use has not disabled the server. If you're using a custom profile, make sure enable_all_context_servers is true or that github is explicitly listed.
• Docker errors on the local server: ensure Docker Desktop is running and the ghcr.io/github/github-mcp-server image has been pulled at least once. Try docker pull ghcr.io/github/github-mcp-server from a terminal.

Important Notes

• Configuration key: Zed uses context_servers (not mcpServers).
• Command shape: command is a string + separate args array.
• OAuth: omitting Authorization triggers Zed's MCP OAuth flow, but the GitHub MCP server's PAT-based auth is the supported path today.
• External agents: MCP servers configured in context_servers are forwarded to external agents via the Agent Client Protocol.