Skip to main content

Using the remote zeroheight MCP server

Rab Rennie
Rab Rennie
  • Updated
Available on all plans. Free and Starter are limited to 500 calls per month. Search requires an Enterprise plan with AI features enabled. Upgrade for higher limits and other premium features.

This article is for org admins configuring Access via login — the recommended way for:

  • zeroheight admins/editors, and
  • viewers who access your design system in zeroheight via SSO

to connect AI tools to the design system context in zeroheight.

If viewers of your design system can't sign in via SSO, they can use Access via link instead — see Set up MCP access via link. Not sure which to use? Start with the zeroheight MCP overview.

Organization settings

Go to Your organization → MCP (or use the zeroheight MCP shortcut in your profile menu).

Access via login is toggled on by default. This means zeroheight admins/editors and viewers who access your design system in zeroheight via SSO can connect AI tools to your organization's styleguides via MCP. Access to individual styleguides is managed at the styleguide level.

Click Edit next to any styleguide in the MCP styleguide access table to manage its settings.

Enable write access under Enable MCP write is also on by default. It lets AI tools connected by admins and editors create and update pages. Viewer connections stay read only. Learn more about writing to zeroheight via MCP.

Styleguide settings

In styleguide settings, go to MCP and select the Access via login tab.

By default, Enable this styleguide for MCP – Access via login is toggled on for each styleguide. The exception is styleguides set to private and password-protected, where it is disabled by default.

Note: this setting also applies to partner connectors like Figma Make. Disabling it blocks those connections too.

Share access with your team

The connection details for Access via login are identical for all your viewers: https://mcp.zeroheight.com/mcp

But to make sharing access easier, you can add the details to your styleguide using the remote MCP details block.

You can add a Remote MCP details block to a page in your styleguide so that viewers are able to see instructions for connecting to the MCP from the styleguide.

  1. Open the slash inserter on any page, select Remote MCP details and select Access via login
  2. Optionally configure which client tabs are visible using the block's settings
  3. Optionally turn off Display help message if you're providing your own setup guidance

You can also grab the MCP connection details when you click Share in your styleguide:

Connect the MCP to your AI tool

For Cursor, VS Code, Claude Code, Codex and Kiro, one-click and copy-paste installation commands are available under Styleguide settings → MCP, in the remote MCP details block, and in the Share modal.

If you're using Figma,  ChatGPT/Codex or Claude connect via the respective partner connector.

For all other tools, see their documentation:

Claude Code · VS Code + GitHub Copilot · GitHub Copilot CLI · Windsurf · Zed · JetBrains AI · Gemini CLI · Opencode · Amazon Q · Kiro · Copilot Studio · Bolt · Cursor

When you attempt to connect, you'll be redirected to your browser where you'll need to log in to your zeroheight team.

If allowed, zeroheight admins/editors can log in via username/password or SSO. Viewers must log in via SSO. Once redirected to your browser:

  1. Click the Sign in with zeroheight button
  2. Enter your zeroheight team subdomain (accessible via the remote MCP details block or share modal)
  3. Sign in via the SSO provider
  4. Approve the connection

You'll then be redirected back to the tool you were connecting to.

Security and authentication

Access via login uses OAuth 2.1 with PKCE. Each person signs in with their own zeroheight account, either via username/password (admins/editors, if allowed) or via your SSO provider, such as Okta. No shared API key or long-lived static token is used.

  • Per-user access: the AI tool acts as the signed-in person. It can only reach styleguides that person can already see in zeroheight, and only those with Access via login turned on.
  • Short-lived tokens: access tokens for admins and editors expire after 2 hours and are refreshed automatically. Viewers who sign in via SSO get a 7-day session with no refresh. When it ends, they sign in via SSO again.
  • Checked on every request: zeroheight re-validates the token and your MCP settings on every call. If you turn off Access via login for your organization or a styleguide, or remove a user from your team, their access stops at their next request.
  • Read-only for viewers: viewer connections can only read documentation. Admins and editors also get the write tools, unless your organization has turned off Enable write access under Your organization → MCP. Learn more.
  • Stored securely: zeroheight stores only hashed tokens, never the tokens themselves.

Connecting to multiple styleguides

When connecting using Access via login, one connection reaches every styleguide that has Access via login enabled under Styleguide settings → MCP.

If you want viewers who sign in with SSO to have access to different styleguides, check out the documentation for SSO viewer groups.

Share this article
Was this article helpful?