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You can generate images, videos, or PDFs from Zed by connecting an MCP server that provides the relevant tools, then asking a tool-capable agent to use them. Zed is the MCP client—not a universal media-generation server—and the available formats, setup, credentials, billing, and file handling depend on the provider you connect.
What “Zed MCP Server” means
Zed’s documented architecture uses the Model Context Protocol to interact with context servers. Zed is the client: it connects to local or remote MCP servers, which supply tools that an agent can call. A connected server may expose image or video generation, PDF creation, or none of those capabilities. Zed documents support for MCP Tools and Prompts; it does not promise that every MCP server or model can perform every media task.
So the practical question is not “Which media can Zed generate by itself?” but “Which MCP server exposes the right generation workflow, and can the model selected in Zed call it?” The options below are documented by their respective providers or projects. Their capabilities should not be read as a guarantee of output quality, speed, availability, or compatibility with every Zed version.
Choose a server for the output you need
| Server or route | Documented media workflows | Connection and account notes | File and operational notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Runway hosted MCP | Image and video generation from MCP-compatible agents. | Runway’s May 27, 2026 announcement says generations are associated with the user’s existing Runway plan. This is the vendor’s description of its hosted service. | The announcement does not establish a universal output-retention period or guarantee a particular file format; check the service’s current instructions. |
| Runway API MCP server | Tools listed by the repository include image and video generation, video editing and upscaling, audio generation, and task tools. | This is a distinct route from the hosted generation MCP. Its repository says it requires a Runway Developer account, billing setup, and API key. | The repository warns that generated image links expire after 24 hours. Download or otherwise preserve an asset you need before its link expires. |
| VideoGen MCP | Documented workflows include script-to-video, voiceover-to-video, slideshow-to-video, storyboard-to-video, prompt-to-video clips, and image generation. | It requires an API key, and calls run as the team that owns that key. Verify current plan and cost details with VideoGen. | The documented workflow names do not establish a retention period or guarantee a particular output format for every tool. |
| mcp-z | Project documentation describes PDF creation tools and rendering PDF pages as images. | The README provides stdio and HTTP configuration examples and says no OAuth or API key is required. | This is project documentation, not an independent compatibility or security assessment. Check maintenance, package integrity, and compatibility before installing it. |
These are not interchangeable products. Pick by workflow first: a prompt-to-video tool is different from a PDF creation tool, and a hosted service is operationally different from a local process you install and maintain. Do not assume one provider’s authentication or billing model applies to another. In particular, the Runway API MCP repository’s developer-account and API-key requirements should not be generalized to Runway’s separate hosted MCP offering.
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Set up an MCP server in Zed
The provider’s setup instructions are authoritative for its transport, package, credentials, and supported tools. Zed’s configuration surface allows local servers, which use a command, arguments, and environment, and remote servers, which use a URL and may need headers. The exact values come from the selected server; there is no single configuration that works for every provider.
- Open Zed’s AI/MCP server settings. Add the provider as a local server or remote server, using the transport and configuration values in that provider’s current instructions.
- Supply credentials only through the provider’s documented mechanism. For a local server, that may involve environment values; a remote server may require headers. Zed says a remote MCP server without a configured Authorization header prompts for the standard MCP OAuth flow. Whether OAuth is appropriate depends on that server.
- Check server status and its tool list. Confirm the server connects and that the tools you expect—such as image generation or PDF creation—are visible. A successful connection alone does not show that the desired tool is available.
- Check the selected model and agent profile. The model must support tool calling, and the active agent profile must make the MCP tools available. If tools are missing or ignored, verify model support and profile settings before changing provider configuration.
- Review permissions before running generation tools. Zed supports MCP-specific permission entries using the pattern
mcp:<server>:<tool_name>. Grant only the access needed, especially where a tool creates or alters remote assets. - Make one low-risk test request. Ask for a small, clearly specified output, inspect the returned result, then save or download it using the provider’s instructions. Do not assume that a link or generated asset persists indefinitely.
Zed supports runtime tool-list updates when a server reports changed tools using the MCP notifications/tools/list_changed notification. That helps a client learn that a server’s tool list changed; it does not make every listed tool compatible with every model or guarantee that a generation call will succeed.
Generate images, video, or a PDF from an agent
Once the intended server is connected and its tools are available, describe the deliverable and constraints in the agent conversation. The wording should match the provider’s actual tool workflow: a text prompt, a script, a storyboard, or a document-to-PDF request are not equivalent inputs.
For an image
Choose a server that explicitly exposes image generation, such as the documented Runway routes or VideoGen. State the subject, intended use, aspect ratio or dimensions if the provider accepts them, and any content constraints. Ask the agent to use the server’s image-generation tool, then inspect the returned asset and preserve it according to the provider’s download or retention instructions.
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For a video
Runway’s hosted MCP announcement describes image and video generation. The separate Runway API MCP repository lists a video-generation tool, while VideoGen documents several distinct paths: script, voiceover, slideshow, storyboard, and prompt-to-video clips. Name the workflow you want rather than asking vaguely for “a video”; provide the script, storyboard, or prompt needed by that workflow. Confirm the resulting asset is accessible before relying on it elsewhere.
For a PDF
The mcp-z project documents PDF creation and PDF-page rendering as images. Connect that server using its current stdio or HTTP instructions, then ask the agent to create a PDF from the material and requirements you provide. Check page order, text, links, and rendering in the resulting document. The project documentation says no OAuth or API key is required, but that does not remove the need to assess the package and its compatibility before installing it.
In each case, the agent’s reply is not proof that a valid file was created. Confirm that the tool ran, that the returned result is the expected type, and that the file or link can actually be opened.
Authentication, cost, permissions, and retention
MCP describes how a client and server expose tools; it does not set the provider’s account terms. Runway’s hosted generation MCP is described as using an existing Runway plan, while the separate API MCP route calls for a developer account, billing setup, and API key. VideoGen says requests run under the team that owns the required API key. The mcp-z README says its documented PDF server needs no OAuth or API key. Check each provider’s current terms before generating at scale; the information above does not establish a current per-generation price for these services.
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- Keep secrets out of prompts. Use the server’s intended credential configuration rather than pasting API keys into a chat.
- Limit tool permissions. A tool that creates or edits a remote asset can have effects beyond answering a question. Review Zed’s MCP-specific permissions and the provider’s own access controls.
- Plan for output retrieval. The Runway API MCP repository specifically warns that generated image links expire after 24 hours. For other routes, use the provider’s current instructions instead of assuming a retention period.
- Check who pays and whose account is used. With VideoGen, the key owner’s team is the calling identity. For Runway, distinguish the hosted service from its API MCP server.
Troubleshooting common failures
The server does not connect
For a local server, recheck the command, arguments, and environment values against the provider’s current setup steps. For a remote server, verify the URL and any required headers. If it uses authorization, follow the provider’s authentication instructions; Zed’s OAuth prompt for a remote server without an Authorization header does not prove that the provider supports OAuth.
The server connects but the desired tool is absent
Confirm that you installed or configured the server route that provides that capability. The hosted Runway MCP and Runway API MCP are separate routes with different documented setup requirements. Also check the server’s status, available tool list, and whether a runtime tool-list change has been reported.
The agent answers in text instead of generating an asset
Verify that the selected model supports tool calling, the active agent profile has access to MCP tools, and the tool is permitted. Then make the request explicit—for example, ask it to use the connected image-generation tool rather than merely describe an image.
Authentication or billing fails
Check which provider route you configured and whose credentials it uses. For the Runway API MCP server, the repository specifies a Developer account, billing setup, and API key; for VideoGen, the key belongs to the team whose account performs calls. Do not substitute requirements from one route for another.
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A generated link no longer works
If you used the Runway API MCP server, its repository says image links last 24 hours. Retrieve the image before expiry. For other providers, consult their current retention instructions; no general MCP retention behavior exists.
The PDF or media output is incomplete or unusable
Check that the correct tool and input workflow were used, then open the returned asset rather than relying only on the agent’s description. For PDFs, inspect page rendering and content. For generated media, verify the actual format and access path offered by the service. The documented tool list alone is not evidence of a particular output’s quality.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Performance and reliability: what to validate
The available provider descriptions establish tool categories and some account requirements, not comparative benchmarks. They do not support claims that one service is faster, produces better media, or is more reliable than another. Before depending on a workflow, test the specific Zed version, model, server transport, credentials, and output route you intend to use.
- Run a small test with a representative prompt or document before a time-sensitive or batch workflow.
- Confirm the returned file opens, has the needed format, and can be saved where you need it.
- Check provider billing and usage terms before repeated or high-volume calls.
- For a local server, account for installation and maintenance; for a remote service, account for its authentication and provider availability.
- Keep a fallback copy of valuable outputs, particularly when the provider returns expiring links.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Does Zed itself generate video, images, or PDFs?
No. Zed connects to MCP servers; a connected server must provide the generation tool.
Can one Zed MCP setup handle every media type?
Not necessarily. Available tools are server-specific, and the model must support tool calling.
Does Zed automatically save generated files permanently?
The server controls returned files and links. For example, the Runway API MCP repository says image links expire after 24 hours.
Quick Recap
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