---
title: "ACP Integration (Zed + Custom Clients)"
description: "Run Cline as an Agent Client Protocol (ACP) server and connect it to Zed or any ACP-compatible client."
---

## Overview

Cline ships an ACP-compatible stdio server so you can run it inside editors like Zed or any client that speaks the Agent Client Protocol.

The ACP entrypoint lives at `dist-standalone/cline-acp.js` after building the standalone bundle.

## Build the ACP server

From the Cline repo root:

```bash
npm install
npm run compile-standalone
```

The ACP server will be available at:

```text
dist-standalone/cline-acp.js
```

## Run manually

```bash
node dist-standalone/cline-acp.js --config ~/.cline
```

Notes:

- `--config` sets the Cline data directory (same as `CLINE_DIR`). If omitted, Cline defaults to `~/.cline`.
- Logs go to stderr to keep ACP JSON-RPC traffic clean on stdout.

## Connect to Zed

Add a custom ACP agent to your Zed `settings.json` (open with `zed: open settings`):

```json [settings]
{
  "agent_servers": {
    "Cline (ACP)": {
      "type": "custom",
      "command": "node",
      "args": [
        "/absolute/path/to/cline/dist-standalone/cline-acp.js",
        "--config",
        "/absolute/path/to/.cline"
      ],
      "env": {}
    }
  }
}
```

Then open the Agent Panel in Zed and start a new thread for **Cline (ACP)**.

Zed will:

- Provide the workspace `cwd` for each session.
- Forward MCP servers you configured in Zed to Cline over ACP.

## Limitations

- Cline currently supports one ACP session at a time; starting a new session closes the previous one.
- Some Cline UI affordances (like special buttons for "start new task") are represented as standard prompts in ACP clients.

## Troubleshooting

- Check Zed’s ACP logs (`Help` → `Open ACP Logs`) if the agent fails to start.
- Ensure the path to `cline-acp.js` is absolute and your Node binary is on `PATH`.