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Add Agent Rules

First add the agent rules file, either as .rules in the root of your project or as one of the other acceptable files/locations. 
curl -o .rules https://raw.githubusercontent.com/dagger/container-use/main/rules/agent.md

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Configure MCP Server

Configure the Container Use MCP server in the Zed settings.json. Provide the absolute path to the cu executable: 
"context_servers": {
  "container-use": {
    "source": "custom",
    "command": {
      "path": "/opt/homebrew/bin/cu",
      "args": ["stdio"],
      "env": {}
    }
  }
}

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Add Container Use Agent Profile (Optional)

To lock the Zed agent out of your host system, you can create a dedicated agent profile that only enables Container Use tools. Add this to your settings.json under the agent section: 
"agent": {
  "profiles": {
    "container-use": {
      "name": "Container Use",
      "tools": {
        "fetch": true,
        "thinking": true,
        "copy_path": false,
        "find_path": false,
        "delete_path": false,
        "create_directory": false,
        "list_directory": false,
        "diagnostics": false,
        "read_file": false,
        "open": false,
        "move_path": false,
        "grep": false,
        "edit_file": false,
        "terminal": false
      },
      "enable_all_context_servers": false,
      "context_servers": {
        "container-use": {
          "tools": {
            "environment_create": true,
            "environment_add_service": true,
            "environment_update": true,
            "environment_run_cmd": true,
            "environment_open": true,
            "environment_file_write": true,
            "environment_file_read": true,
            "environment_file_list": true,
            "environment_file_delete": true,
            "environment_checkpoint": true
          }
        }
      }
    }
  }
}
This profile ensures your agent can only use Container Use tools, preventing it from modifying your local files directly. Next open the Zed Agent Panel ✨ in the lower right, select the “Container Use” profile from the dropdown to the left of the model dropdown, and prompt away!

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Verification

After setting up Zed, verify Container Use is working:
  1. Check MCP Connection: Zed should recognize Container Use tools
  2. Test Environment Creation: Ask Zed to create a new environment
  3. Verify Isolation: Multiple environments should work independently

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Troubleshooting

  • Verify the cu command is in your PATH: which cu
  • Check MCP configuration syntax
  • Restart Zed after configuration changes
  • Ensure Docker is running and accessible
  • Check file permissions for configuration files
  • Verify cu stdio command works: echo '{}' | cu stdio
  • Check your Zed MCP server logs
  • Verify Container Use tools are enabled in settings

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Next Steps

Back to Quickstart

Return to the quickstart guide to create your first environment

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