Zed

Overview

Zed supports MCP servers as context servers, configured under context_servers in your Zed settings. Once Rekall is registered, its 40+ memory tools become available to the Assistant — creating memories, semantic search, entities, workflows, execution state, and more.

Prerequisites

• check_circleZed installed with the Assistant configured
• check_circleA local Rekall checkout with the start-mcp.sh launch script
• check_circleNode.js 18+ (the script runs the MCP server with npx tsx)

Step 1: Open settings.json

Zed stores context-server configuration in its main settings file. Open it from the command palette (cmd-shift-p → zed: open settings), or edit it directly:

~/.config/zed/settings.json

Step 2: Add the Rekall Server

Add a rekall entry under context_servers. Rekall ships as a custom (stdio) server launched via start-mcp.sh — use the absolute path to the script in your checkout:

{
  "context_servers": {
    "rekall": {
      "source": "custom",
      "command": "/bin/bash",
      "args": [
        "/absolute/path/to/rekall/start-mcp.sh"
      ],
      "env": {
        "REKALL_USER_ID": "your_user_id",
        "WORKSPACE": "work"
      }
    }
  }
}

Step 3: Verify the Connection

Save the file. Zed picks up the context server automatically; open the Assistant panel and confirm rekall appears as a connected context server with its tools available. You can also ask the Assistant directly:

You: "Do you have access to Rekall memory tools?"

Assistant: "Yes — the rekall context server is connected. I can create and search
memories, manage entities and workflows, and read agent context."

Using Memory in Zed

Ask the Assistant to remember decisions as you work, and it will recall them in future sessions on the same project:

You: "Remember that this repo uses pnpm, not npm, and all tests run with vitest."

Assistant: [stores a semantic memory] "Noted — I'll use pnpm and vitest going forward."

--- later, new session ---

You: "Add a test for the new parser."

Assistant: [recalls memory] "I'll add a vitest test and run it with pnpm, matching
this repo's conventions."

Troubleshooting