# Zed MCP Server for Image, PDF and Video Generation

> Connect Zed to Orshot's MCP server and generate images, PDFs and videos from your own templates by asking in plain language, then publish or schedule them to 15 social platforms. Free plan: 100 credits every month.

[Full Zed guide](https://orshot.com/agents/zed) | [All agents](https://orshot.com/agents.md) | [Start free](https://orshot.com/signup)

## At a glance

- **MCP server:** `https://mcp.orshot.com/mcp`, the same URL for every client, with OAuth sign-in and no API key to paste.
- **Tools:** 97 tools for Zed, discovered on connection and scoped to one Orshot workspace.
- **Speed:** a typical image renders in 0.8s (median over the last day).
- **Time to first render:** Half of new users who render do it within 13 minutes of signing up, and a quarter within 5 minutes.
- **In production:** 31% of customer renders in the last 30 days came from AI agents over MCP.
- **Agents in use:** 85% of workspaces that rendered in the last 30 days used an AI agent at least once.
- **Agent apps:** 12 apps called Orshot in the last 30 days. Share of agent tool calls: Claude 75%, ChatGPT 15%, Codex 8%, other MCP clients 2%.
- **Agent tool calls:** more than 65,000 in the last 30 days.
- **What agent users did** (share of agent users): designed templates 49%, pulled in brand kits and stock photos 48%, rendered images or PDFs 31%, posted or scheduled to social 29%, made AI videos 11%, set up workflows 5%.
- **Agent speed** (median per call): `orshot_render_template` 1s, `orshot_create_template_design` 3.2s.
- **Cost:** no charge for connecting. Renders use your plan's credits ([pricing](https://orshot.com/pricing.md)).

## Connect Zed

Config file `Zed settings.json`:

```json
{
  "context_servers": {
    "orshot": {
      "source": "custom",
      "url": "https://mcp.orshot.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}
```

Native remote servers need a recent Zed, which prompts the standard MCP OAuth flow. On older versions, connect via the mcp-remote bridge (see Zed's MCP docs).

## Try this first

> Use Orshot to generate a thumbnail for this README and reference it at the top.

## What Zed can do with Orshot

### Social media automation

- **Automate social media posts end to end:** social media automation that generates each post from a template, then publishes it or lets you schedule social media posts to Instagram, LinkedIn, X, TikTok and 11 more platforms from the same API call or workflow (social publishing is a paid add-on). ([more](https://orshot.com/features/social-publishing.md))
- **Bulk create social media posts** from a spreadsheet: an Instagram post generator, Instagram carousel generator and LinkedIn carousel generator in one, making one post, carousel or story per row of Google Sheets or Airtable instead of designing each one by hand. ([more](https://orshot.com/integrations/no-code.md))
- **Instagram automation with n8n, Make or Zapier:** auto post to Instagram, automate LinkedIn posts and run n8n social media automation on a schedule, with a fresh image or video rendered for each post. ([more](https://orshot.com/integrations/automation.md))
- **Recurring posts from your data:** real estate social media posts for every new listing, a quote image generator for weekly quote cards, product launches, event announcements and results graphics. ([more](https://orshot.com/templates.md))

### Image generation

- **Image generation API for templates:** an image API where you send the template ID and the values that change (text, photos, colors) and get back a PNG, JPG or WebP. For bulk image generation, render one image per row from a spreadsheet, a workflow, the CLI or an AI agent. ([more](https://orshot.com/solutions/image-generation-api.md))
- **OG image generator** for every blog post, docs page or product: render the Open Graph image automatically from your CMS, including Framer, Webflow and WordPress. ([more](https://orshot.com/integrations/automation.md))
- **Banner generator, YouTube thumbnail generator and ad creatives in every size:** design once and Smart Resize re-lays out the same design for each format, so ad creative automation does not mean redrawing each size. ([more](https://orshot.com/solutions/banner-generation-api.md))
- **Ecommerce product images and personalized images:** promo banners for every product in your Shopify catalog, or a personalized image per contact for email and CRM campaigns. ([more](https://orshot.com/integrations/e-commerce.md))

### PDF generation

- **PDF generation API:** automate PDF generation for invoices, reports, proposals and one-pagers from a template, multi-page. It works as an invoice generator API without maintaining an HTML to PDF API and its print CSS. ([more](https://orshot.com/solutions/pdf-generation-api.md))
- **Bulk certificate generator and Google Sheets to PDF:** one certificate, badge or ticket per attendee row, from Google Sheets or Airtable. ([more](https://orshot.com/integrations/no-code.md))

### Video generation

- **Video generation API and automated video creation:** video automation for listing videos, faceless videos, personalized video and short social clips, rendered from a template with your data as MP4 (paid plans). ([more](https://orshot.com/solutions/video-generation-api.md))

## Example prompts

### Generate & render

- "Render the pricing template with this month's numbers and give me the PNG."
- "Resize my banner design to every social format in one call."

### Create & edit templates

- "Build a testimonial card template with a quote, name and avatar."
- "Show me every editable field on the newsletter template."

### Automate with workflows

- "Schedule a workflow to generate a daily quote graphic from a Google Sheet."
- "Create a workflow that reads today's sale items from a sheet and renders banners each morning."

### Publish & deliver

- "Render the certificate and email me a signed URL to download it."
- "Schedule the carousel to post to TikTok tomorrow at 9am."

## FAQ

### My Zed doesn't support remote MCP servers, what now?

Older Zed versions only speak stdio. Connect through the mcp-remote bridge, a local proxy that forwards to the HTTP endpoint. See Zed's MCP docs.

### Where does Orshot go in Zed's settings?

Under context_servers in Zed's settings.json, as a custom server with the Orshot MCP URL.

### Does the latest Zed support remote MCP servers directly?

Yes. Recent Zed releases connect to HTTP context servers directly. Only older versions need the mcp-remote bridge.

### Can Zed's agent render images and PDFs from my templates?

Yes. Add Orshot under context_servers and the agent can render images, PDFs and video from your Orshot templates.

### What can Zed do with Orshot once connected?

You can ask Zed in plain language to render images, PDFs and video from your Orshot templates, resize one design to every social format, and publish the result to social. No image infrastructure to build.

### Is the Orshot MCP server free to use?

Connecting is free. Renders draw from your Orshot plan, and every account starts with 100 free credits a month and no credit card.

### What data can the Orshot MCP server access?

Only the Orshot workspaces of the account that authorized it, over OAuth 2.0 with PKCE. The server receives tool calls and their inputs, never your conversation or files, and every call goes to Orshot's own API. Disconnect from your client at any time to end access.

### How are risky actions like delete or publish handled?

Every tool declares whether it reads or writes, and destructive actions carry an explicit annotation, so MCP clients ask for confirmation before running them. Read-only tools like listing templates can run without a prompt.

### Can Zed post to my social accounts?

Yes, once you connect that account in your Orshot dashboard. After it is connected, Zed can draft, schedule or publish to it. Rendering and everything else works without connecting any social account.

## Links

- [Orshot for AI agents](https://orshot.com/agents.md)
- [MCP server docs](https://orshot.com/docs/integrations/mcp-server.md)
- [Zed MCP docs](https://zed.dev/docs/assistant/model-context-protocol)
- [Pricing](https://orshot.com/pricing.md)
- [All pages for agents](https://orshot.com/llms.txt)