How to Use Zed Editor: GPU-Accelerated Coding with AI and Collaboration

If you've been watching the code editor space, you've likely noticed Zed — a GPU-accelerated editor built from the ground up in Rust by the team that created Atom and Tree-sitter. Where most editors bolt performance improvements onto aging architectures, Zed takes the opposite approach: start with a rendering pipeline that treats your code like a game engine treats frames, then build editing features on top of that foundation. The result is an editor that opens instantly, handles million-line files without stuttering, and renders at native refresh rates. For developers who've felt VS Code slow down as extensions pile up, or who've watched Electron consume gigabytes of RAM, Zed represents a fundamentally different philosophy: performance isn't a feature you add later — it's the architecture itself.

Why Zed Matters for Web Developers

Zed isn't just another editor chasing feature parity with VS Code. It makes deliberate architectural bets that matter for professional development workflows:

Raw speed as a productivity multiplier. Zed uses GPUI, a custom GPU-accelerated UI framework written in Rust. Every keystroke, every scroll, every file switch happens at native speed. There's no JavaScript runtime interpreting your actions, no Electron overhead consuming memory. File switching is measured in microseconds, not milliseconds. When you work across dozens of files in a complex web application, this speed compounds into hours saved per week.

Native AI integration. Unlike editors that bolt on AI through extensions, Zed ships with first-class AI features — inline code generation, a persistent assistant panel, and multi-model support for OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and local models through Ollama. The AI features are tightly integrated into the editing experience, not running in a separate process that competes for resources.

Real-time multiplayer editing. Zed's collaboration features aren't screen sharing with extra steps. Multiple developers edit the same codebase simultaneously with sub-second latency, each with their own cursor, their own viewport, and their own undo history. This is built into the editor's core protocol, not added as an afterthought.

Open source with a focused team. Zed is open source under a copyleft license (GPL for the editor, AGPL for server components). The core team includes Nathan Sobo and Max Brunsfeld — the creators of Atom and Tree-sitter respectively — alongside engineers from Electron, GitHub, and the broader systems programming community. This isn't a side project. It's a well-funded, full-time effort to build the next generation of code editors.

Extensions without the bloat. Zed's extension system uses WebAssembly, meaning extensions run in a sandboxed environment that can't crash the editor or leak memory. Compare that to VS Code, where a single misbehaving extension can freeze your entire workspace.

Step 1: System Requirements

macOS

Zed's primary platform. Requires macOS 10.15 (Catalina) or later. Both Intel and Apple Silicon are supported natively — no Rosetta translation layer needed. Apple Silicon users see the best performance due to the unified GPU architecture that GPUI leverages directly.

Linux

Zed runs on Linux with Wayland and X11 support. You'll need:

• A GPU with Vulkan support (most modern GPUs, including integrated Intel and AMD graphics)
• glibc 2.29 or later (Ubuntu 20.04+, Fedora 31+, Debian 11+)
• Various system libraries for window management and input handling

Linux support has matured significantly, though some features (like system keychain integration) may behave differently than on macOS.

Windows

Zed added Windows support starting in 2024. It requires Windows 10 version 1809 or later with Vulkan-capable graphics drivers. Windows support is functional but newer than the macOS and Linux builds — expect some rough edges with Windows-specific integrations like credential management and path handling.

Hardware Recommendations

Zed is remarkably efficient, but for the best experience:

• Minimum: 4 GB RAM, any GPU from the last decade
• Recommended: 8 GB+ RAM, dedicated or modern integrated GPU
• Large projects (monorepos with 100K+ files): 16 GB+ RAM for comfortable indexing

Step 2: Install Zed

macOS — Direct Download

The fastest path: download from zed.dev, open the .dmg, and drag Zed to Applications. On first launch, Zed installs the zed CLI tool automatically.

Verify the CLI is available:

zed --version

macOS — Homebrew

brew install --cask zed

This installs the stable channel. For the preview channel with bleeding-edge features:

brew install --cask zed@preview

Linux — Installation Script

The official install script handles distribution detection:

curl -fsSL https://zed.dev/install.sh | sh

This installs Zed to ~/.local/bin/ and sets up the desktop entry. Make sure ~/.local/bin is in your PATH.

Linux — Package Managers

For Arch Linux:

# Stable
pacman -S zed

# Or from AUR for the latest
yay -S zed-editor

For Nix:

nix-env -iA nixpkgs.zed-editor

Flatpak and Snap packages are community-maintained — the official team recommends the install script or building from source for the most reliable experience.

Windows

Download the installer from zed.dev. The installer handles PATH setup and shell integration. Alternatively, use winget:

winget install Zed.Zed

Building from Source

For contributors or users who want the absolute latest:

git clone https://github.com/zed-industries/zed.git
cd zed
cargo run --release

You'll need Rust (latest stable), a C/C++ compiler, and platform-specific dependencies. On Linux, install the development packages listed in the project's script/linux setup script. Expect the first build to take 10-15 minutes — Rust compilation is thorough.

Step 3: Configure Zed

Settings Architecture

Zed uses a JSON-based settings system. Open settings with Cmd+, (macOS) or Ctrl+, (Linux/Windows):

{
  "theme": "One Dark",
  "buffer_font_family": "JetBrains Mono",
  "buffer_font_size": 14,
  "buffer_line_height": {
    "custom": 1.6
  },
  "tab_size": 2,
  "format_on_save": "on",
  "autosave": {
    "after_delay": {
      "milliseconds": 1000
    }
  },
  "soft_wrap": "editor_width",
  "scroll_beyond_last_line": "one_page",
  "relative_line_numbers": true,
  "inlay_hints": {
    "enabled": true
  }
}

Settings live at ~/.config/zed/settings.json on Linux and ~/Library/Application Support/Zed/settings.json on macOS. Zed also supports project-level settings via .zed/settings.json in your project root — useful for per-project formatting rules.

Keybindings

Customize keybindings in the keymap file (Cmd+K Cmd+S or via Zed > Settings > Open Key Bindings):

[
  {
    "context": "Editor",
    "bindings": {
      "ctrl-shift-k": "editor::DeleteLine",
      "cmd-d": "editor::SelectNext",
      "cmd-shift-l": "editor::SelectAllMatches"
    }
  },
  {
    "context": "Workspace",
    "bindings": {
      "cmd-shift-e": "workspace::ToggleLeftDock",
      "cmd-j": "terminal_panel::ToggleFocus"
    }
  }
]

Keybindings are context-aware. The same key combination can do different things depending on whether you're in the editor, terminal, file panel, or assistant panel.

Themes

Zed ships with a solid set of built-in themes. Switch with Cmd+K Cmd+T (macOS) or Ctrl+K Ctrl+T. Popular choices include One Dark, Gruvbox, Catppuccin, and Solarized. Additional themes are available through the extension marketplace.

Migrating from VS Code

If you're coming from VS Code, a few orientation notes:

• Command palette: Cmd+Shift+P (same as VS Code)
• Quick file open: Cmd+P (same as VS Code)
• Multi-cursor: Cmd+D to select next occurrence (same as VS Code)
• Split panes: Cmd+K then arrow key (similar to VS Code)
• Integrated terminal: Ctrl+` (same as VS Code)
• Extensions: Zed's marketplace is smaller but growing — check for your must-haves before committing

Key differences to expect: Zed doesn't have a settings UI (everything is JSON), the extension ecosystem is younger, and some niche language servers may need manual configuration. What you gain is dramatically faster startup, lower memory usage, and an editor that never freezes when indexing.

Step 4: Core Features

Speed and Performance

This isn't marketing. Open a 500 MB log file in Zed and start scrolling. Open it in VS Code and do the same. The difference is visceral. Zed renders text through the GPU pipeline at your display's native refresh rate. File operations use Rust's zero-cost abstractions and async runtime, meaning the editor stays responsive even during heavy indexing or search operations.

Practical benchmarks you'll feel immediately:

• Startup: Under 100 ms cold start vs. 2-5 seconds for VS Code with extensions
• File switching: Essentially instant, even in large monorepos
• Project-wide search: Ripgrep-based, searches millions of lines in under a second
• Memory: Typically 200-400 MB for large projects vs. 1-2 GB for VS Code

Multi-Buffer Editing

One of Zed's most distinctive features. Multi-buffer editing lets you view and edit excerpts from multiple files in a single pane. When you do a project-wide search, the results appear as an editable multi-buffer — you can make changes directly in the search results, and they're applied to the source files.

This is enormously useful for refactoring. Search for a function signature, see every call site in context, edit them all in one view, and save. No tab switching, no split-screen juggling.

Open a multi-buffer from project search: Cmd+Shift+F (macOS), type your query, and the results appear as editable excerpts with file context.

Integrated Terminal

Zed's terminal is built on Alacritty's rendering engine — the same GPU-accelerated approach applied to terminal output. Open it with Ctrl+` and you get a fast, properly colour-rendered terminal that doesn't compete with the editor for resources.

Key terminal features:

• Multiple terminal tabs and splits
• Clickable file paths that open in the editor
• Shell integration for detecting command boundaries
• Proper Unicode and emoji rendering
• Theme-aware colour schemes

Language Server Support

Zed uses the Language Server Protocol (LSP) for intelligent code features. It ships with built-in support for:

• TypeScript/JavaScript: Via the bundled TypeScript language server
• Rust: Via rust-analyzer
• Python: Via pyright
• Go: Via gopls
• HTML/CSS: Built-in support
• JSON/YAML/TOML: Built-in support

Additional language servers are configured in settings or installed through extensions. For example, to configure a custom language server:

{
  "languages": {
    "PHP": {
      "language_servers": ["intelephense"]
    }
  },
  "lsp": {
    "intelephense": {
      "binary": {
        "path": "intelephense",
        "arguments": ["--stdio"]
      }
    }
  }
}

Zed's LSP integration is notably fast because the editor's async Rust runtime handles language server communication without blocking the UI thread — something Electron-based editors struggle with when language servers are slow to respond.

Step 5: AI Features

Zed's AI capabilities are built into the editor's core, not bolted on through extensions. This means tighter integration, faster response times, and a more cohesive workflow.

Inline Assist

Trigger inline AI assist with Cmd+Enter (macOS) or Ctrl+Enter. Select a block of code and invoke the assist to:

• Refactor the selection based on a natural language instruction
• Generate new code from a description
• Transform code between patterns (e.g., convert a class component to a function component)
• Add error handling, types, or documentation

The inline assist streams changes directly into your editor buffer. You see the AI's output appear in real-time and can accept or reject the changes immediately.

Assistant Panel

Open the assistant panel with Cmd+? (macOS) for a persistent chat interface. Unlike inline assist, the assistant panel maintains conversation context and supports multi-turn interactions. Use it for:

• Asking questions about your codebase (Zed provides file context automatically)
• Planning complex refactors before executing them
• Debugging by pasting error messages and stack traces
• Generating boilerplate that you'll paste into specific files

You can reference files in the assistant panel using /file commands, giving the AI full context about relevant parts of your project.

Model Selection

Zed supports multiple AI providers, configured in settings:

{
  "assistant": {
    "default_model": {
      "provider": "anthropic",
      "model": "claude-sonnet-4-20250514"
    },
    "version": "2"
  }
}

Supported providers include:

• Anthropic: Claude models (Sonnet, Opus, Haiku) — strong for code understanding and generation
• OpenAI: GPT-4o and related models
• Google: Gemini models
• Ollama: Local models for offline or privacy-sensitive work (Llama, CodeLlama, Mistral, etc.)
• Zed AI: Zed's own hosted AI service with a free tier

API keys are configured in settings or through Zed's credential management. For Ollama, point Zed at your local instance:

{
  "language_models": {
    "ollama": {
      "api_url": "http://localhost:11434"
    }
  }
}

Prompt Library

Zed includes a prompt library for saving and reusing custom system prompts. Access it through the assistant panel settings. Create specialized prompts for different tasks — one for code review, another for documentation, another for test generation — and switch between them without retyping context.

Using Zed's AI features to build faster? DeployHQ handles the next step — automated deployments from your Git repo to any server, with build commands and atomic file transfers. Try it free.

Step 6: Collaboration Features

Real-Time Multiplayer Editing

Zed's collaboration features work through Zed's relay servers. To start a collaboration session:

1. Sign in to Zed with your account (Cmd+Shift+P > "Sign In")
2. Open a project
3. Share the project via Cmd+Shift+P > "Share Project" or click "Share" in the title bar
4. Share the generated link with collaborators

Each participant gets:

• Independent viewport: You scroll where you want, not where your collaborator scrolls
• Personal undo history: Your undo stack is yours — collaborator edits don't interfere
• Cursor tracking: See collaborator cursors in real time, with their display name
• Follow mode: Click a collaborator's avatar to follow their cursor and see what they see

The latency is noticeably lower than alternatives like VS Code Live Share because Zed's protocol is purpose-built for collaborative editing rather than retrofitted onto an existing architecture.

Channels

Zed includes a channels system — persistent spaces where team members can communicate, share projects, and collaborate. Think of them as Slack channels but integrated directly into your editor, with the ability to jump into shared editing sessions from the conversation.

Create channels for your team, invite members, and use them for quick code discussions without leaving your editor context.

Screen Sharing

Within a collaboration session, you can share your screen with participants. This is useful for code walkthroughs, pair programming orientation, or showing application behaviour that isn't captured in the code alone.

Step 7: Advanced Features

Extensions

Browse and install extensions with Cmd+Shift+X (macOS) or Ctrl+Shift+X. Extensions are distributed as WebAssembly modules, which means:

• Sandboxed execution: An extension can't access your filesystem or network without explicit permission
• Cross-platform: The same extension binary works on macOS, Linux, and Windows
• Fast: WebAssembly executes at near-native speed without JIT warmup

Popular extensions include additional language support (PHP, Ruby, Elixir, Zig), themes, and specialized tools. The extension ecosystem is growing rapidly — check the marketplace for your specific needs.

Custom Tasks

Define project-specific tasks in .zed/tasks.json:

[
  {
    "label": "dev server",
    "command": "npm run dev",
    "use_new_terminal": true
  },
  {
    "label": "test",
    "command": "npm test",
    "use_new_terminal": true
  },
  {
    "label": "build",
    "command": "npm run build",
    "reveal": "always"
  },
  {
    "label": "lint fix",
    "command": "npx eslint --fix .",
    "reveal": "always"
  }
]

Run tasks with Cmd+Shift+P > "task: spawn" or bind them to keyboard shortcuts. Tasks run in the integrated terminal, and Zed can parse their output for clickable error locations.

Vim Mode

Zed has robust Vim emulation. Enable it in settings:

{
  "vim_mode": true,
  "vim": {
    "use_system_clipboard": "always",
    "use_multiline_find": true
  }
}

The Vim implementation covers normal, visual, visual line, visual block, insert, replace, and command modes. It supports motions, text objects, registers, macros, and most common ex commands. Vim users will find it substantially more responsive than VS Code's Vim extension because the keybinding processing happens in Rust rather than JavaScript.

Custom Vim keybindings go in the keymap file with a Vim context:

[
  {
    "context": "VimControl",
    "bindings": {
      "space f": "file_finder::Toggle",
      "space e": "workspace::ToggleLeftDock",
      "space t": "terminal_panel::ToggleFocus"
    }
  }
]

Project-Wide Search

Cmd+Shift+F opens project search powered by ripgrep. Features include:

• Regex support with full PCRE syntax
• File type filtering (e.g., *.ts to search only TypeScript files)
• Include/exclude path patterns
• Case sensitivity toggle
• Whole word matching
• Results displayed as editable multi-buffers

The speed is remarkable. Searching a 100,000-file monorepo completes in under a second for most queries.

Git Integration

Zed integrates Git directly into the editor experience:

• Gutter indicators: Added, modified, and deleted lines shown in the editor gutter
• Inline blame: See who last changed each line with Cmd+Alt+G
• Git panel: Stage, unstage, commit, and push without leaving the editor
• Branch management: Switch branches, create branches, and view branch history
• Diff view: Inline diff highlighting with navigation between hunks

The Git panel (Cmd+Shift+G or via the activity bar) provides a focused interface for staging changes, writing commit messages, and managing your Git workflow.

Step 8: Deploy with DeployHQ

Zed's speed and feature set create a uniquely efficient path from writing code to shipping it. Here's how the workflow connects end-to-end with DeployHQ.

The Zed-to-Deploy Workflow

1. Implement features with AI assist.

Use Zed's inline assist (Cmd+Enter) to implement changes across your codebase. The AI generates code directly in your buffers — modify a React component, update an API route, and adjust configuration files in rapid succession. Zed's speed means the AI responses stream in without the editor stuttering or lagging.

2. Review all changes in a single multi-buffer view.

This is where Zed shines for deployment workflows. After making changes across multiple files, use Cmd+Shift+F to search for your modified patterns, or open the Git panel to see all changed files. Zed's multi-buffer editing lets you review every change in context — scroll through modified components, updated tests, and configuration changes in one continuous view. Catch issues before they reach production.

3. Commit and push from Zed's Git panel.

Open the Git panel with Cmd+Shift+G. Stage your changes selectively (or stage all), write a descriptive commit message, and push — all without leaving the editor. Zed's Git integration is fast enough that staging and committing feels instantaneous, even in repositories with thousands of files.

# Or use the integrated terminal if you prefer CLI
git add -A
git commit -m "feat: add real-time notifications with WebSocket support"
git push origin main

4. DeployHQ detects the push and deploys automatically.

With DeployHQ configured to watch your repository, the push triggers an automatic deployment. DeployHQ handles the heavy lifting:

• Pulls the latest code from your Git provider (GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, or any Git remote)
• Runs your build commands — npm run build, composer install, asset compilation, whatever your project needs
• Deploys via atomic transfers, meaning your site switches from old to new in a single operation with zero downtime
• Notifies your team via Slack, email, or webhook on success or failure

5. Stay in flow.

The entire cycle — code with AI assist, review changes, commit, push, deploy — happens without Zed breaking a sweat. There's no "wait for the editor to catch up" moment that breaks your concentration. You write code, Zed stays out of your way, and DeployHQ handles everything after the push.

Configuring DeployHQ for This Workflow

If you haven't set up DeployHQ yet:

1. Create a free account at deployhq.com
2. Connect your Git repository (GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, or custom remote)
3. Configure your server connection (SFTP, SSH, AWS, DigitalOcean, etc.)
4. Set up build commands if your project needs a build step
5. Enable automatic deployments on push to your target branch

DeployHQ's automatic deployment hooks mean every git push from Zed's Git panel or terminal triggers a deployment — no manual steps, no context switching to a separate deployment dashboard.

Zed Task for Deployment Status

Add a task to check deployment status directly from Zed:

[
  {
    "label": "deploy status",
    "command": "curl -s -H 'Accept: application/json' https://deployhq.com/api/v1/projects/YOUR_PROJECT/deployments?count=1 -u YOUR_API_KEY: | python3 -m json.tool",
    "use_new_terminal": true
  }
]

Step 9: Troubleshooting

Zed Won't Start

macOS: If macOS blocks the app, go to System Settings > Privacy & Security and click "Open Anyway." If Zed crashes on launch, try resetting the database:

# Back up your settings first
cp -r ~/Library/Application\ Support/Zed ~/Library/Application\ Support/Zed.backup
# Remove the database (preserves settings)
rm -rf ~/Library/Application\ Support/Zed/db

Linux: Ensure Vulkan drivers are installed. For NVIDIA:

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt install nvidia-driver-535 vulkan-tools

# Verify Vulkan works
vulkaninfo --summary

For AMD/Intel integrated graphics, install mesa-vulkan-drivers.

Language Server Not Working

If code intelligence (completions, diagnostics, go-to-definition) isn't working:

1. Check that the language server binary is installed and in your PATH
2. Open the Zed log (Cmd+Shift+P > "zed: open log") and look for LSP errors
3. Verify settings for the specific language server in settings.json
4. For TypeScript projects, ensure node_modules exists (run npm install)

# Common language server installations
npm install -g typescript typescript-language-server  # TypeScript
npm install -g @tailwindcss/language-server           # Tailwind CSS
pip install pyright                                     # Python

Performance Issues

Zed is fast by default, but if you notice slowness:

• Large files: Zed handles large files well, but files over 50 MB may trigger soft limits. Check if soft_wrap is causing re-layout on very wide lines
• Extension issues: Disable extensions one by one to isolate problematic ones (Cmd+Shift+X > disable)
• GPU driver issues: Update your graphics drivers. On Linux, check vulkaninfo output for errors
• Indexing: The first time you open a large project, Zed indexes it for search and code intelligence. This is a one-time cost that's cached

AI Features Not Responding

• Verify your API key is configured correctly in settings
• Check that you've selected a valid model for your provider
• For Ollama: ensure the Ollama service is running (ollama serve) and the model is pulled
• Open the Zed log for API error messages — authentication failures show up clearly

Vim Mode Conflicts

If keybindings conflict with Vim mode:

{
  "vim": {
    "use_smartcase_find": true
  }
}

Check for keybinding conflicts in Cmd+Shift+P > "zed: open keymap" and ensure Vim-context bindings don't overlap with editor-context bindings.

Conclusion

Zed represents a genuine architectural leap in code editors. By building on Rust and GPU rendering from the ground up — rather than wrapping a browser engine in a desktop frame — the team behind Atom and Tree-sitter has created an editor that's fast enough to disappear. You stop thinking about the tool and focus entirely on the code.

The combination of native speed, built-in AI, real-time collaboration, and a growing extension ecosystem makes Zed a compelling choice for web developers who want to work faster without sacrificing features. Whether you're building single-page applications, managing microservices, or maintaining legacy codebases, Zed's performance characteristics pay dividends across every workflow.

Pair it with DeployHQ for automated deployments, and you get a complete pipeline from keystroke to production — no overhead, no context switching, no waiting.

If you have questions about integrating Zed with your deployment workflow, reach out to our team at support@deployhq.com or find us on Twitter/X.