Zed + xCloud
Manage Your Hosting from Zed with xCloud
Zed is a code editor from Zed Industries with a built-in Agent Panel, where an AI agent works on your project and can call MCP tools. Connected to xCloud with one settings entry, it deploys repositories, updates WordPress, checks SSL and diagnoses failures from the same panel.
- One context_servers entry
- Zed prompts for OAuth for you
- Free with every xCloud account
YouUse xCloud to check my Frankfurt server and reboot it if it has been up more than 90 days.
servers_showread-only
Agentfrankfurt-1 has been up 112 days. A reboot makes every site on it briefly unavailable. Reboot now?
YouYes, go ahead.
servers_reboots_storeneeds approval
AgentReboot started. I will check that the new boot is verified and that your sites answer 200.
. Keep a human in the loop: xCloud stops and asks before anything that creates, deploys, updates, reboots, deletes or buys.
Setup
How Do I Connect Zed to xCloud?
Point Zed at the xCloud MCP server, approve access in your browser, then ask. The whole thing takes a couple of minutes.
Add xCloud as a remote server
Open Settings, then AI, then MCP Servers, click Add Server and choose Add Remote Server. Or run the zed: open settings file action and add this to settings.json yourself. Zed writes the same entry either way.
{ "context_servers": { "xcloud": { "url": "https://app.xcloud.host/mcp" } } }Sign in and check the dot
Because the entry has no Authorization header, Zed prompts you to authenticate through the MCP OAuth flow. Approve the teams and the access level in the browser. In Settings, AI, MCP Servers a green dot next to xcloud with the tooltip Server is active means it worked. Then ask this in the Agent Panel.
Who am I on xCloud?No browser sign-in? Use an API key
Create a token with the mcp:invoke scope plus the read abilities for the areas it will use (read:servers and read:sites, with read:billing and read:addons for billing and add-on tools) and the matching write: abilities if it should change things in Settings, Developers, API Tokens and add it as a header. With an Authorization header set, Zed skips its OAuth prompt. Replace YOUR_TOKEN with the token, which contains a pipe character, and keep it out of git and out of chat.
{ "context_servers": { "xcloud": { "url": "https://app.xcloud.host/mcp", "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_TOKEN" } } } }Check it worked
With no Authorization header in the entry, Zed starts the standard MCP OAuth flow and you approve access in the browser. Setting an Authorization header with an API key that carries the mcp:invoke scope and the read or write abilities it needs replaces that flow.
Who am I on xCloud?
Three surfaces
Which Way Should I Connect Zed to xCloud?
The MCP server exposes one tool per customer-facing xCloud operation and leaves out eleven internal ones that only the Public API carries; the skills add workflow know-how on top of an MCP connection and, on their own, only read access. All three are free with every account and differ in what you set up and what holds the credentials.
| xCloud MCP server | xCloud Agent Skills | Public API | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Terminal needed | No (recommended for Zed) | Yes for the plugin or ClawHub install | Yes |
| Authentication | OAuth sign-in, or an API key with mcp:invoke plus read or write abilities (recommended for Zed) | The MCP connection, or a read-scoped API token | API token with scoped abilities |
| What it adds | One tool per customer-facing xCloud operation (188 today) (recommended for Zed) | Workflow know-how: routing, dry run, confirm, poll, diagnose | Raw REST for your own code |
| Changes to your infrastructure | Yes, after confirmation (recommended for Zed) | Only through a connected MCP tool, after confirmation | Yes, with write scopes |
| Best for | Most people; every MCP client (recommended for Zed) | Agents that run shell commands and read skills | CI jobs, dashboards and long-running loops |
Background
What Is Zed?
Zed is a code editor made by Zed Industries. Its Agent Panel is where you give an AI agent a task, and Zed supports three agent paths: the built-in Zed Agent, External Agents connected over the Agent Client Protocol, and Terminal Threads that run command-line agents.
Zed uses the Model Context Protocol for what it calls context servers, and supports MCP tools and prompts. You declare servers under context_servers in settings.json: a local one with a command, or a remote one with a url and optional headers. Servers configured in Zed are also forwarded to External Agents.
Adding xCloud there gives the Zed Agent one tool per customer-facing xCloud operation. You stay in the editor, name the site or server the way you would to a colleague, and the Agent Panel shows each tool call before anything that changes your hosting goes through.
Why Zed with xCloud?
Hosting from the editor you already use
Ask for a deploy, a backup or a certificate check in the Agent Panel while the project is open. There is no dashboard tab to switch to and no CLI to install.
Authentication Zed handles for you
Leave the Authorization header out and Zed starts the MCP OAuth flow itself. You approve the teams and the access level once, and no token sits in your settings file.
Approval you control in settings
Zed's agent.tool_permissions.default setting is confirm by default, so each MCP tool call asks first. xCloud adds its own explicit confirmation for anything that creates, deploys, updates, reboots, deletes or buys.
Guides
What Can Zed Do on xCloud?
One guide per hosting job, each with the Zed setup, the xCloud tools involved, a settings reference, example prompts and the limits that apply.
- Deploy from Git with ZedTurn a GitHub, GitLab or Bitbucket repository into a live site on a server you already have.
- Run Docker apps with ZedRun a Dockerfile or Docker Compose app on a Docker server, keep it backed up and recover it when a deploy fails.
- Install one-click apps with ZedPick an app from the xCloud catalogue, check it fits your server, install it and get the login details.
- Manage WordPress with ZedKeep WordPress sites updated, scanned and healthy, and create new ones, by asking in plain words.
- Back up and stage sites with ZedCheck that your sites are backed up, take a backup before a risky change, and open a staging copy to test it on.
- Manage SSL and domains with ZedCheck a site's certificate and DNS, install or renew HTTPS, and see which domains point at it.
- Manage servers with ZedSee how your servers are doing, change services and runtimes, tighten security and reboot with proof it worked.
- Troubleshoot a broken site with ZedFind out why a site returns a 500, 502 or 503, shows a critical error or has stopped answering.
- Speed up a slow site with ZedFind out why a site is slow, from real numbers, and learn which fix is a dashboard switch.
- Secure sites and servers with ZedFind vulnerable sites, manage server firewall rules and banned IPs, and see which protections are on.
Example prompts
What Can You Ask Zed to Do on xCloud?
Type these as written and swap in your own site and server names. Reads and routine actions such as backups, cache purges, PageSpeed scans and vulnerability scans run straight away; creating, deploying, updating, rebooting, deleting, buying or starting a broken-link scan stops and asks first.
Use xCloud to list my servers and tell me which have a pending reboot or low disk space.Use xCloud to deploy https://github.com/acme/shop to my Frankfurt server and show me the dry run first.Use xCloud to find every site with pending plugin updates and list them, worst first.Use xCloud to check why staging.example.com returns a 502 and summarise the latest deployment events.Use xCloud to renew the SSL certificate for shop.example.com and tell me when it expires.Good to know
- Mention xCloud by name in your prompt, for example Use xCloud to. Zed notes that how reliably MCP tools get called varies by model, and naming the server helps the model choose its tools.
- Zed's approval setting is agent.tool_permissions.default from v0.224.0. Before that version it was agent.always_allow_tool_actions. Keep it on confirm unless you only run read-only questions.
- For per-tool rules, Zed's key format is mcp:<server>:<tool_name>, so the xCloud entry is named xcloud in those keys.
More prompts, grouped by job: What you can ask xCloud MCP to do.
Zed and xCloud: Frequently Asked Questions
Short answers about connecting Zed, what it may change and what it costs.
How do I connect Zed to xCloud?
Open Settings, AI, MCP Servers, click Add Server and choose Add Remote Server, or add an xcloud entry under context_servers in settings.json with url set to https://app.xcloud.host/mcp. Approve access in the browser when Zed prompts for sign-in, then ask who am I on xCloud in the Agent Panel.
Do I need an xCloud API key in Zed?
No. When the entry has no Authorization header, Zed prompts you to authenticate through the standard MCP OAuth flow. An API key is only for a setup without a browser: create a token with the mcp:invoke scope plus the read abilities for the areas it will use (read:servers and read:sites, with read:billing and read:addons for billing and add-on tools) and the matching write: abilities if it should change things and pass it as an Authorization header under headers.
How do I know the xCloud server is working in Zed?
Open Settings, AI, MCP Servers and look at the dot beside xcloud. Green with the tooltip Server is active means it is connected. Other colors and tooltip messages say what is wrong, such as a sign-in still pending.
Can Zed change my servers without asking?
Not for the operations xCloud gates. Zed's default is to confirm before any tool action, including MCP calls, so with the default settings every xCloud call, reads included, waits for your approval in Zed; a per-tool rule under agent.tool_permissions can let reads through. xCloud adds its own gate on top: reads and routine actions such as backups, PageSpeed scans and vulnerability scans need no xCloud confirmation, while creating, deploying, updating, rebooting, deleting, buying or starting a broken-link scan is refused unless the call carries an explicit confirmation.
Does the xCloud connection work with external agents in Zed?
Zed forwards the MCP servers you configure to External Agents over the Agent Client Protocol, so xCloud is available to them too. External Agents can also read their own native MCP configuration, so check which source an agent uses if the tools do not appear.
Should I use the compact xCloud profile in Zed?
Start with the full URL. Zed's documentation does not state a tool limit. If your model picks the wrong tool among the 188 operations, connect to https://app.xcloud.host/mcp?profile=compact, which exposes five tools, or narrow the connection with a toolsets query such as ?toolsets=sites,servers.
Which xCloud tools can the Zed Agent use?
All of them, as MCP tools: one per xCloud operation, plus two search tools for finding the right operation and answering questions from the documentation. Zed supports MCP tools and prompts, so the tool set is what the Agent Panel uses.
Is it free to use Zed with xCloud?
The xCloud side is free: the MCP server, the skills and the Public API are included with every xCloud account, including the free plan. Zed and the AI models you use in it are provided under Zed's own plans or your own provider keys.
Other agents
Also Works With
The same xCloud account, the same operations, a guide for each client.
- Claude CodeAnthropic's terminal coding agent. One claude mcp add command, plus the xCloud skills plugin with nine skills on top.
- ClaudeAnthropic's chat assistant on the web and desktop. Add xCloud as a custom connector, no terminal needed.
- Claude CoworkAnthropic's desktop agent for delegated work. Add the xCloud connector, then hand off hosting jobs.
- CursorThe AI code editor. One mcp.json entry with the compact URL, because Cursor stops at 40 tools.
- CodexOpenAI's coding agent for the terminal. A codex mcp add command or a config.toml entry, then codex mcp login.
- OpenCodeThe open-source terminal coding agent. One remote MCP entry, then opencode mcp auth xcloud.
- Hermes AgentNous Research's agent with memory and a built-in scheduler. An mcp_servers entry in config.yaml and one login.
- OpenClawThe open-source agent runtime with chat apps and automations. ClawHub skill plus the MCP client.
- WindsurfThe Cognition editor, now Devin Desktop. devin mcp add for the Devin Local agent, a serverUrl entry for legacy Cascade.
- GitHub CopilotCopilot agent mode in VS Code. One .vscode/mcp.json entry, or the Agent Plugins package.
- Gemini CLIGoogle's terminal agent. One gemini mcp add command, OAuth found automatically.
- ChatGPTOpenAI's chat assistant. A developer-mode app with the xCloud MCP URL and OAuth.
- ChatGPT dotsOpenAI's always-on agent in ChatGPT. Uses the xCloud MCP plugin you add in ChatGPT, with custom rules and scheduled tasks.
- GrokxAI's terminal agent, Grok Build. One grok mcp add command or a config.toml entry.
- Grok BotxAI's always-on Bots on a cloud computer. One Remote HTTPS MCP plugin, OAuth sign-in, routines on a schedule.
- KiroAWS's agentic IDE. One url entry in .kiro/settings/mcp.json, plus the portable xCloud Agent Plugins package.
- AntigravityGoogle's agentic IDE. One serverUrl entry in mcp_config.json and a browser sign-in.
Run Your Hosting from Zed
xCloud MCP, the Agent Skills and the Public API are free with every account. Connect once and ask.