# Zed

Source: /docs/mcp/connect/zed

Zed reads MCP servers from its `settings.json`, under `context_servers`.

### Get a token [#get-a-token]

Open the dashboard's [Connect an agent](https://app.orbitorca.com/mcp) page and create a token. **Read & write** is the recommended choice — it lets the agent deploy, restart, and manage your apps hands-free. Pick read-only if the agent should only look. The full token is shown **once**, at creation — copy it now.

### Add the server [#add-the-server]

Add this to Zed's `settings.json` (`~/.config/zed/settings.json`), with your token in place of `{{token}}`. If the file already has a `context_servers` object, add the `orbitorca` entry inside it:

```json
{
  "context_servers": {
    "orbitorca": {
      "url": "https://api.orbitorca.com/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer {{token}}"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

Open **Settings → AI → MCP Servers**: a green dot next to `orbitorca` means the server is active.

### Try it [#try-it]

Ask Zed's agent to *"list my OrbitOrca apps"*. If it comes back with your apps, you're connected.

## Approvals [#approvals]

Zed asks before any tool runs: `agent.tool_permissions.default` is `"confirm"` unless you change it to `"allow"` or `"deny"`. Rules for a single tool use the key `mcp:orbitorca:<tool>` — for example `mcp:orbitorca:list_user_apps` — so you can allow the read tools you use often and keep confirming the rest. See [Zed's MCP docs](https://zed.dev/docs/ai/mcp) for the exact settings.

## OAuth instead of a token [#oauth-instead-of-a-token]

Zed can also connect over OAuth. Leave out the `headers` entry and Zed asks you to sign in when it first connects. The consent screen offers write access only when the connecting app asks for it — if it doesn't, the connection is read-only. Use a token when you want the agent to deploy and change apps.

The dashboard's [Connect an agent](https://app.orbitorca.com/mcp) page generates this block with your token already filled in — copy it from there if you'd rather not edit by hand.

Next: [what a token can and can't do](/docs/mcp/scopes-and-safety).