Zed is a modern code editor built for speed, collaboration, and seamless integration with AI. Designed from the ground up to meet the needs of today’s developers, it combines high performance with intelligent features that streamline coding workflows. Whether working solo or in teams, Zed offers a responsive, feature-rich environment that supports real-time collaboration and advanced editing capabilities.
Detailed User Report
After testing Zed across multiple projects and reading through developer feedback on platforms like GitHub, Hacker News, and Reddit, I found a consistent theme: people are impressed by how fast it feels. Developers mention that typing is smooth, startup time is nearly instant, and the UI never lags—even with large codebases.
Comprehensive Description
Zed is a next-generation code editor developed by Zed Industries, the team behind Atom, Electron, and Tree-sitter. Written entirely in Rust, it prioritizes performance and responsiveness, leveraging modern hardware to deliver a snappy editing experience. Unlike traditional editors that struggle with large files or complex syntax highlighting, Zed handles them effortlessly thanks to its multibuffer architecture and GPU-accelerated rendering.
The editor targets professional developers who value speed, precision, and collaboration. It’s especially appealing to those integrating AI into their workflows, as Zed natively supports agentic editing through the Agent Client Protocol (ACP). This allows developers to delegate tasks like code generation, refactoring, or debugging to language models such as OpenAI’s Codex or local LLMs, all within the same interface.
Zed stands out in a crowded market dominated by VS Code and JetBrains IDEs by focusing on minimal latency and deep AI integration. While VS Code relies on Electron and can feel sluggish, Zed’s Rust foundation ensures near-instant boot times and fluid interactions. Its remote development model lets users run heavy workloads on servers while keeping only the UI on their local machine, making it ideal for cloud-based development environments.
The product is positioned as a forward-looking alternative to existing editors, betting on the future of human-AI collaboration in software development. It competes not just on features but on philosophy—building a tool that evolves with how developers work, rather than forcing them to adapt to outdated paradigms.
Technical Specifications
| Specification | Details |
|---|---|
| Platform Compatibility | macOS, Linux, Windows (native) |
| Programming Languages Supported | HTML, PHP, Java, Ruby, Python, JavaScript, TypeScript, Rust, Go, C++, SQL, Lua, Elixir, and more via extensions |
| AI Integration | Native support for ACP (Agent Client Protocol), compatible with OpenAI Codex, local LLMs |
| Remote Development | Yes, via server-side project hosting |
| Version Control | Native Git support: staging, committing, pulling, pushing, diffs |
| Extensibility | Hundreds of community extensions available |
| Editing Model | Multibuffer editing, Vim bindings, inlay hints |
| Performance | GPU-accelerated UI, sub-second startup, real-time collaboration |
| Security | End-to-end encryption for collaborative sessions, local execution by default |
| API Access | Public API for plugin development and automation |
Key Features
- Agentic Editing – Delegate coding tasks to AI agents and review changes in real time
- Edit Prediction – Uses Zeta, an open-source LLM, to anticipate next keystrokes
- Inline Assistant – Transform selected code using language models without leaving the editor
- Multibuffer Editing – Combine code excerpts from different files into a single editable surface
- Native Git Support – Full version control integration with visual diffing and staging
- Remote Development – Run codebases on remote servers while editing locally
- Vim-Friendly – First-class modal editing with text objects and marks
- Real-Time Collaboration – Chat, share screens, and co-edit with teammates
- Language Server Protocol (LSP) Support – Full syntax intelligence for dozens of languages
- Custom Snippets – Create reusable code templates for faster development
- Debugger Integration – Built on DAP for cross-language debugging
- Text Threads – Interact with LLMs in a plain text interface, just like editing a file
Pricing and Plans
| Plan | Price | Key Features |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0/month | Full editor access, basic AI features, community extensions, single-user mode |
| Pro | $15/month or $150/year | Advanced AI editing, edit prediction, team collaboration, priority support |
| Enterprise | Custom pricing | On-premise deployment, SSO, audit logs, dedicated support, custom AI models |
Pros and Cons
- Extremely fast and responsive, even with large codebases
- Seamless AI integration that feels natural and non-disruptive
- Excellent collaboration tools with real-time editing and chat
- Native support for Vim and modal editing workflows
- Lightweight yet powerful out of the box
- Active development with weekly updates and new features
- Smaller extension ecosystem compared to VS Code
- Some advanced debugging features still in development
- Enterprise features require custom pricing, limiting transparency
- Learning curve for developers unfamiliar with Rust-based tools
Real-World Use Cases
Zed is being adopted by research teams working with large language models, where rapid prototyping and AI-assisted coding are essential. One user from an adversarial robustness lab reported going from idea to running experiment code in under 30 minutes using Zed with Claude 3.5 Sonnet. The ability to write a few sentences describing a function and have it generated instantly saved hours of manual coding.
At tech startups, Zed is used for full-stack development with remote teams spread across time zones. The real-time collaboration feature allows developers to pair program seamlessly, share project views, and debug together without switching tools. One Elixir creator mentioned that Zed now has all the features he needs, including test-running shortcuts and snippets.
In open-source projects, the editor’s multibuffer and inlay hint features help contributors navigate complex codebases quickly. The outline view and syntax-aware selections make refactoring easier, while the built-in Git tools eliminate the need for external version control clients.
Another use case involves data scientists who use Zed for scripting in Python and R. With inline assistant support, they can generate data cleaning pipelines or visualization code interactively, reducing reliance on Jupyter notebooks for simple tasks.
User Experience and Interface
Users consistently describe Zed as “feeling” faster than other editors. The UI is clean and minimal, with no unnecessary clutter. Everything from scrolling to searching feels instantaneous. The status bar is informative without being overwhelming, and the command palette is quick to respond.
New users may take some time to get used to the multibuffer concept and agentic editing workflow, but once they do, productivity increases noticeably. The documentation is thorough, and the community is active on GitHub and Discord, helping newcomers with setup and configuration.
On macOS, Zed feels like a native app, blending seamlessly with the system aesthetic. Linux and Windows versions are equally polished, with proper theming and keyboard shortcuts. The Vim mode works well out of the box, appealing to developers who prefer modal editing.
Comparison with Alternatives
| Feature/Aspect | Zed | VS Code | JetBrains IDEs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Performance | Extremely fast, GPU-accelerated | Moderate, Electron-based lag | Heavy, resource-intensive |
| AI Integration | Native ACP support, agentic editing | Extensions required (e.g., GitHub Copilot) | Limited, plugin-dependent |
| Collaboration | Built-in real-time editing and chat | Requires Live Share extension | Available via plugin |
| Startup Time | Sub-second | 1–3 seconds | 5–15 seconds |
| Extensibility | Growing ecosystem, hundreds of extensions | Vast marketplace, thousands of extensions | Rich plugin library |
| Remote Development | Native, seamless | Supported via Remote SSH/WSL | Available, but complex setup |
Q&A Section
Q: Is Zed free to use?
A: Yes, Zed has a free tier with full editor access and basic AI features. Pro and Enterprise plans offer advanced capabilities.
Q: Can I use Zed with Vim keybindings?
A: Yes, Zed has first-class Vim support with text objects, marks, and modal editing.
Q: Does Zed support remote development?
A: Yes, Zed allows you to run your codebase on a remote server while editing locally.
Q: How does Zed handle AI code generation?
A: Through agentic editing and the inline assistant, using ACP to connect with models like Codex or local LLMs.
Q: Is Zed available for Windows?
A: Yes, Zed for Windows was released in October 2025 and is now fully supported.
Q: Can multiple developers work on the same file simultaneously?
A: Yes, Zed supports real-time collaborative editing with live updates and chat.
Q: Does Zed have Git integration?
A: Yes, it includes native Git support for staging, committing, pulling, pushing, and viewing diffs.
Q: Is there a mobile version of Zed?
A: No, Zed is currently available only for desktop platforms.
Performance Metrics
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Startup Time | < 0.5 seconds |
| Typing Latency | ~2ms |
| Uptime (reported) | 99.9% |
| Collaboration Sync Delay | < 100ms |
| User Satisfaction (beta) | 4.7/5.0 |
| Market Adoption Growth | 25% MoM increase in downloads |
Scoring
| Indicator | Score (0.00–5.00) |
|---|---|
| Feature Completeness | 4.10 |
| Ease of Use | 4.30 |
| Performance | 4.90 |
| Value for Money | 4.20 |
| Customer Support | 3.80 |
| Documentation Quality | 4.00 |
| Reliability | 4.40 |
| Innovation | 4.80 |
| Community/Ecosystem | 3.70 |
Overall Score and Final Thoughts
Overall Score: 4.24. Zed represents a significant leap forward in code editor design, combining blistering performance with thoughtful AI integration. It’s not just another VS Code clone—it’s a reimagining of what a code editor can be in the age of large language models. While the ecosystem is still growing and enterprise support could be more transparent, the core experience is polished, fast, and genuinely innovative. For developers who want a responsive, collaborative, and AI-native environment, Zed is quickly becoming the editor of choice.
