MCP setup guide · Zed · October 29, 2026

Connect Zed to SnapshotFlow MCP

In Zed, MCP servers are called context servers. Add SnapshotFlow as a remote one, authenticate in the browser, and the agent panel can capture, compare, and read live pages.

Start free — 300 screenshots

Before you start

A SnapshotFlow account. Sign up free if you do not have one.
The server URL: https://api.snapshotflow.com/mcp
No API key. The server uses OAuth, so Zed signs you in through the browser.

Add the server

Open Settings → AI → MCP Servers (command agent: open settings), select Add Server, then Add Remote Server, and paste the URL. Or add it to settings.json yourself (command zed: open settings file):

{
  "context_servers": {
    "snapshotflow": {
      "url": "https://api.snapshotflow.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Leave out headers. Without an Authorization header, Zed uses the standard MCP OAuth flow.

Sign in

Zed shows an Authenticate button next to SnapshotFlow. Select it and sign in in the browser. When the connection is ready, the indicator next to the server turns green and its tooltip says Server is active.

Use it in the agent panel

The default agent profile can use all context servers. If you use a custom profile with "enable_all_context_servers": false, enable the SnapshotFlow tools under context_servers in that profile.

SnapshotFlow renders pages on its own servers, so use a deployed or preview URL rather than localhost.

Take a full-page screenshot of https://preview.example.com with SnapshotFlow and list the layout problems you see.

Use SnapshotFlow extract_text to read https://docs.example.com/changelog and tell me which changes affect this project.

Troubleshooting

No Authenticate button. Remove any headers from the entry; a configured Authorization header turns OAuth off.
Two entries with the same URL. Zed keys sign-in sessions by URL, so keep a single SnapshotFlow entry.
Indicator stays red. Check the URL, then authenticate again.

What it costs

Your AI client spends its own model tokens, billed by your AI provider. SnapshotFlow only counts screenshots against your account:

Tool	Counts as
`screenshot`	1 screenshot (repeat requests served from cache are free)
`batch_screenshot`	1 screenshot per captured URL (cache hits are free)
`visual_diff`	2 screenshots
`extract_text`	1 screenshot
`check_job`	Free

New accounts get 300 free screenshots for the lifetime of the account. No credit card required. See pricing for paid plans.

Sources

Steps checked against the official documentation on October 29, 2026. Client menus change often; if a label differs, the linked page has the current name.

Zed docs: Model Context Protocol

Zed signs in with its published client metadata (https://zed.dev/oauth/client-metadata.json) and a loopback callback on a random port; SnapshotFlow accepts both.

Other MCP clients

The same server works with any client that supports remote MCP over Streamable HTTP with OAuth. Setup guides:

See SnapshotFlow MCP server for all clients, the tool list, and capture options, or the MCP reference for tool schemas. For more tasks to try, browse the MCP prompt library.