Z Sitemaps and indexing

Manage sitemaps and indexing with Zed

Managing sitemaps and indexing with Zed means asking the Agent Panel to read StoreSEO's sitemap, noindex and nofollow flags on your Shopify resources, approve each change in Zed's own prompt and set up the HTML sitemap, next to your theme code.

Jump to the prompts Connect Zed

Last updated: October 2026

Set up Zed for StoreSEO

Skip this if Zed is already connected. The full guide, with the alternatives, is on the Zed page.

1
Add StoreSEO as a remote server

Open Settings, then AI, then MCP Servers and add a remote server, or add this to settings.json yourself. Leave out headers so Zed can sign you in.
JSON

{ "context_servers": { "storeseo": { "url": "https://mcp.storeseo.com/mcp" } } }
2
Sign in and check the dot

Because the entry has no Authorization header, Zed prompts you to authenticate. Pick your Shopify store and approve in the browser. In Settings, AI, MCP Servers a green dot next to storeseo means the server is active. Then ask this in the Agent Panel.
Prompt

Use StoreSEO to show me my store's SEO score breakdown.

How does this work in Zed?

You open the Agent Panel in the editor with the theme folder loaded and type a request such as which collections are noindex. The agent calls storeseo_start, then storeseo_list_resource_sitemaps for the collection resource type. Zed's default tool-permission value is confirm, so each of those calls stops for your approval in the panel before it runs, reads included. For an audit that touches only the listing tools, that is a handful of clicks, and you can reduce them by allowing individual read tools with keys such as mcp:storeseo:storeseo_list_resource_sitemaps.

This is the client where the approval prompt does the heavy lifting. When the agent proposes storeseo_update_resource_sitemap, StoreSEO has already told it to name the resource and the flags and wait for your yes, and Zed adds its own confirmation on the call itself, so you see the tool call before it runs. Keep the write tools on confirm: a noindex flag removes a page from search results. After the write, ask the agent to list the resource again, because the flags can be changed in the StoreSEO app too. The HTML sitemap goes through storeseo_get_html_sitemap_settings, storeseo_update_html_sitemap and storeseo_list_sitemap_menus, and the menu edit links it returns are opened in Shopify admin.

The editor pays off when the answer touches code. If the flags look right but a collection page still carries a stray robots meta tag, the agent can open the template in the same window and show you the line, while StoreSEO shows the flag it holds. The sitemap tools work on every active plan.

Zed + StoreSEO Illustrative session

You: Is the Staff Login page indexable? I do not want it in search.
storeseo_start read-only
storeseo_list_resource_sitemaps read-only
Zed: Staff Login is in the sitemap and has no noindex. I can exclude it from the sitemap and set noindex, which removes it from search results. Make that change?
You: Yes, exclude it and set noindex.
storeseo_update_resource_sitemap needs approval
storeseo_list_resource_sitemaps read-only
Zed: Staff Login now shows excluded from the sitemap and noindex on.

What to ask Zed

Prompt 1

Use StoreSEO to list my pages that are excluded from the sitemap or set to noindex. Read only.

Prompt 2

Set the collection Holiday Bundle back to indexable and into the sitemap. Show me the call before you make it.

Prompt 3

Set up my HTML sitemap with StoreSEO and list the menus so I can add the link in Shopify admin.

Which of my products are set to noindex or excluded from the sitemap?
Exclude the product Gift Card Test from the sitemap and set it to noindex.
Set up an HTML sitemap for my store and tell me which menu to add it to.
Are any of my blog posts set to nofollow?
Remove noindex from the page About Us.

What StoreSEO does: sitemaps and indexing

StoreSEO controls two things here: per-resource sitemap flags (left out of the XML sitemap, noindex, nofollow) and an HTML sitemap page. The agent lists flags, changes them one resource at a time and walks you through the HTML sitemap setup.

1

List the flags

The agent lists products, collections, pages or articles with their sitemap, noindex and nofollow flags, filtered as you ask.
2

Change one resource

After your yes it sets the flags on one resource, which writes the matching Shopify metafields.
3

Re-read before reporting

Flags can also change in the StoreSEO app, so the agent re-lists before telling you the current state.
4

Create the HTML sitemap

It reads the HTML sitemap settings, then generates and enables the page.
5

Add it to a menu

It lists your navigation menus with their edit links; you add the sitemap link to a menu in Shopify admin, then the agent marks setup complete.

storeseo_list_resource_sitemapsstoreseo_update_resource_sitemapstoreseo_get_html_sitemap_settingsstoreseo_update_html_sitemapstoreseo_list_sitemap_menus

Sitemaps and indexing reference

Flags per resource	Excluded from sitemap, noindex, nofollow
Resource types	Products, collections, pages and articles
Where flags live	Shopify metafields on the resource
HTML sitemap steps	Generate and enable, add the link to a menu yourself, mark complete
HTML sitemap settings	Replaced wholesale on update; read first
Menus	Listed with edit links; the menu you choose is not stored
Plan	Every active plan

Rules Zed follows

A noindex flag removes a page from search results, so the agent names the resource and waits for your yes.
The agent re-lists flags in the same turn before telling you their current state.
Adding the sitemap link to a menu is a step you do in Shopify admin; no tool does it.
HTML sitemap settings are read before every update, because an update replaces them.

In Zed

Zed asks before every tool action by default, reads included, so a sitemap audit of several resource types means several prompts. Allow only the listing tools with per-tool keys like mcp:storeseo:storeseo_list_resource_sitemaps and leave storeseo_update_resource_sitemap and storeseo_update_html_sitemap on confirm. Setting agent.tool_permissions.default to allow removes Zed's check, and then the confirmation StoreSEO asks the agent for is the only one before a noindex flag is written, so use allow sparingly. A token in settings.json is a secret, so keep that file out of a public repository.

What runs without asking. Reads such as SEO scores, store listings, settings and Google reports run straight away. Generating a preview spends AI credit but writes nothing, and StoreSEO tells the agent to say what a generation will cost before it runs one. Applying content, optimizing images, changing settings, publishing llms.txt or agents.md, writing a product description and deleting anything wait for your yes in the conversation. That yes is an instruction the agent follows, not a lock on the server, so your client's own tool-approval setting is the hard stop.

Questions

Will Zed ask before StoreSEO changes a noindex flag?

By default yes. Zed's tool permission is confirm, so the Agent Panel prompts before it runs a tool call, and StoreSEO also tells the agent to name the resource and wait for your yes. Setting the default to allow removes Zed's prompt.

How do I stop Zed prompting for every sitemap listing?

Add per-tool permission keys of the form mcp:storeseo:storeseo_list_resource_sitemaps set to allow for the read tools, and leave the update tools on confirm so a write still stops for your approval.

What is the difference between excluding a page from the sitemap and noindex?

Excluding a resource leaves it out of your XML sitemap, so crawlers are not pointed at it. Noindex tells search engines not to show the page in results even if they find it. StoreSEO sets each flag separately per resource.

Can the agent add the HTML sitemap to my menu?

No. The agent generates the HTML sitemap and lists your menus with their edit links, and you add the sitemap link to a menu in Shopify admin. Then the agent can mark setup complete.

Do sitemap tools need a paid plan?

No. The sitemap tools work on every active StoreSEO plan.

Why does the agent check the flags again before answering?

Sitemap flags can also be changed in the StoreSEO app outside the conversation, so an earlier listing may be stale. Re-reading in the same turn keeps the answer accurate.