Get started with Zed and Neon Postgres MCP Server

This guide shows how to use Zed with the Neon MCP Server to manage your Neon databases.

Setting up Neon MCP Server in Zed

Prerequisites

Make sure you have:

1. Zed editor: Download and install Zed from zed.dev.

2. A Neon account and project: You'll need a Neon account and a project. You can create a new Neon project in the Neon Console

3. Neon API Key (for Local MCP server): After signing up, get your Neon API Key from the Neon console. This API key is needed to authenticate your application with Neon. For instructions, see Manage API keys.

   Neon API Key Security

   Keep your Neon API key secure, and never share it publicly. It provides access to your Neon projects.

4. Node.js (>= v18) and npm: Ensure Node.js (version 18 or later) and npm are installed. Download them from nodejs.org.

Option 1: Setting up the Remote Hosted Neon MCP Server

1. Open Zed.

2. Click the Assistant (✨) icon in the bottom right corner of Zed.

3. Click Add custom server in the top right panel of the Assistant.

4. Enter the following configuration for the Neon MCP server in the JSON input field.

   {
     "Neon": {
       "command": "npx",
       "args": ["-y", "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.neon.tech/mcp"],
       "env": {}
     }
   }

   

5. Click Add Server.

6. An OAuth window will open. Follow the prompts to authorize Zed to access your Neon account

7. Check the Model Context Protocol (MCP) Servers section in Zed Settings to ensure the connection is successful. Neon should be listed as an MCP server.

Option 2: Setting up the Local Neon MCP Server

This method runs the Neon MCP server locally on your machine, using a Neon API key for authentication.

1. Open Zed.
2. Click the Assistant (✨) icon in the bottom right corner of Zed.
3. Click Add custom server in the top right panel of the Assistant.
4. Enter the following configuration for the Neon MCP server in the JSON input field.

   {
     "Neon": {
       "command": "npx",
       "args": ["-y", "@neondatabase/mcp-server-neon", "start", "<YOUR_NEON_API_KEY>"],
       "env": {}
     }
   }

   
5. Click Add Server.
6. Check the Model Context Protocol (MCP) Servers section in Zed Settings to ensure the connection is successful. Neon should be listed as an MCP server.

Verification

Verify the connection:

1. Open Zed Assistant.

2. Type List my Neon projects in the Assistant text field.

3. When prompted, click Allow to authorize the tool to access your Neon project.

4. Zed will use the list_projects MCP tool to retrieve and display your Neon projects, including project ID, name, and other details.

Troubleshooting

If you experience issues adding an MCP server from the Assistant panel, you can also do so through the Settings. Follow these steps:

1. Open the ~/.config/zed/settings.json file. You can access this file by clicking on Settings in the Zed menu bar.
2. Add the following context_servers section to the file.

"context_servers": {
    "Neon": {
      "source": "custom",
      "enabled": true,
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [ "-y", "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.neon.tech/mcp" ],
      "env": {}
    }
}

Troubleshooting on Windows

If you are using Windows, and you encounter issues with the command line, you may need to adjust the command to use cmd or wsl to run the MCP server. For example, here's how you can set it up:

"context_servers": {
   "neon": {
      "command": {
         "path": "cmd",
         "args": ["/c", "npx", "-y", "@neondatabase/mcp-server-neon", "start", "<YOUR_NEON_API_KEY>"],
         "env": null
      },
      "settings": {}
   }
}

For a full list of available tools, see available tools in the Neon MCP Server overview.

Development Workflow: Adding a Column with Zed and Neon MCP

Here's an example interaction adding a created_at column to a table:

User: List my neon projects
Zed: I'll use the list_projects tool to show your Neon projects.
> Run MCP tool `list_projects`
> You have one Neon project:
> Name: mcp
> Project ID: red-math-82356803
> Region: aws-ap-southeast-1
> ...other details...

User: what tables are present in it?
Zed: I'll use the `get_database_tables` tool to list the tables in your project. I'll use the project ID we just found.
> Run MCP tool `get_database_tables`
> There is one table in your project's database:
> Schema: public
> Table Name: `playing_with_neon`
> Type: Base Table
> Let me fetch the details of this table's schema so you can see its structure:
> Run MCP tool `describe_table_schema`
> The "playing_with_neon" table has three columns:
> 1. id: An auto-incrementing integer (primary key)
> 2. value: A real (floating-point) number that can be null
> 3. name: A text field that cannot be null

Would you like to see the data in this table or perform any operations on it?

User: Can you show me first 5 rows in it?
Zed: I'll query the first 5 rows from the playing_with_neon table:
> Run MCP tool `run_sql`
> xxx (table rows are returned by Zed)

User: can you add a created_at column to the table?
Zed: I'll use the prepare_database_migration tool to add a created_at column to the playing_with_neon table:
> Run MCP tool `prepare_database_migration`
> I've added the `created_at` column in a temporary branch. Let me verify the change by checking the table structure:
> Run MCP tool `run_sql`
> I've verified that the created_at column has been successfully added in the temporary branch.
> Migration Details:
> - Migration ID: a78e2a3b-8498-48a0-9c7a-2dec30da84bc
> - Temporary Branch Name: br-royal-mode-a1nfvzag
> - Temporary Branch ID: br-royal-mode-a1nfvzag
> - Migration Result: Success
> Would you like to commit this migration to the production branch?

User: yes do it
Zed: I'll complete the migration using the provided migration ID:
> Run MCP tool `complete_database_migration`
> The migration has been successfully completed. The `created_at` column has been added to the `playing_with_neon` table in the production branch, and the temporary branch has been deleted.

You can verify the changes in your Neon Console or by querying the database directly.

Resources

• MCP Protocol
• Zed MCP Docs
• Neon Docs
• Neon API Keys
• Neon MCP server GitHub