OpenLens

OpenLens MCP + Zed: Integration Guide

Add the OpenLens Model Context Protocol server to Zed as a context server. Zed uses the name context_servers for its MCP entries (instead of the more common mcpServers), and we route the connection through the mcp-remote stdio shim. From there, the Zed assistant can drive AI visibility scans, citations, and project management right from the editor.

TL;DR

Server URLhttps://openlens.com/mcp
Transportstdio via mcp-remote shim
AuthOAuth 2.1 (browser flow)
Config file~/.config/zed/settings.json

Add the context server

Open ~/.config/zed/settings.json and add:

{
  "context_servers": {
    "openlens": {
      "source": "custom",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "mcp-remote", "https://openlens.com/mcp"]
    }
  }
}

If you already have a context_servers block, merge the openlens key into it. Note the JSON shape: Zed nests servers under context_servers, not the standard mcpServers key.

Restart Zed

Quit and reopen Zed. Settings changes for context servers take effect at startup.

Complete OAuth

The first time the Zed assistant calls an OpenLens tool, the mcp-remote shim opens a browser tab for the Clerk OAuth handshake. Sign in with your OpenLens account and approve. The token is cached under ~/.mcp-auth/.

Verify it works

Open the Zed assistant panel and ask:

“List my OpenLens projects.”

The assistant should call list_projects and return at least one row. If the call hangs, see Troubleshooting below.

What you can do once connected

The OpenLens MCP server exposes ~40 tools across project setup, brands, topics, prompts, runs, visibility analytics, citations, workstreams, and scheduling. From Zed you can ask:

  • “Trigger a new scan for project Meridian on Claude and Gemini, then tell me which prompts saw the biggest swing in mentions.”
  • “Group last month's citations for Meridian by domain category. Tell me where review sites are over-represented.”
  • “Add a new competitor brand to project Meridian and backfill the workstream so I can compare share of voice going back 90 days.”
  • “Generate an exec-friendly visibility summary for Meridian as Markdown and write it to ./reports/meridian.md.”

Troubleshooting

  • Server fails to start: confirm npx is on Zed's inherited PATH (install Node.js LTS if not). Restart Zed after installing.
  • Wrong JSON key: Zed expects context_servers, not mcpServers. Pasting a config from another client and forgetting to rename the top key is the most common cause of a silent no-op.
  • OAuth loop: clear the cached token with rm -rf ~/.mcp-auth/ and trigger a tool call again.
  • Anything else: email contact@aibread.com with your Zed version and the exact error.

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