Zed: A Modern Editor Built for Collaboration

Zed is the editor built by Nathan Sobo (Atom creator) and team, after leaving GitHub. Released open-source in January 2024, it’s an explicit bet: “Atom but genuinely fast, written in Rust, with live collaboration as a native feature”. In a world dominated by VS Code and its forks (Cursor, Codespaces), is there room for another editor? This article takes an honest look at what Zed offers, where it shines, and whether the time to switch has come.

The Technical Bet

Zed is 100% Rust. Its own UI framework, GPUI, renders directly on GPU via Metal (macOS) and eventually Vulkan (Linux). No Electron, no WebView.

Practical consequences:

Exceptional latency: keyboard → screen in ~8ms, notably lower than VS Code.
Low memory use: ~100-200MB vs 500MB-1GB Electron.
Fluid scrolling and navigation even on large files.
<1s startup, with large project.

For someone editing code hours daily, the difference shows.

Live Collaboration, Not Bolt-On

The differentiating feature: native collaboration, integrated from day one.

Voice integrated (like Discord) between collaborators on a project.
Shared cursors for each collaborator, colour-coded and named.
Following mode: follow what another is viewing. File switch, line jump, all follows.
Share project with a click to channel members.

Not “Live Share on top” — designed into the core. The collaboration model is more “work together in the same editor” than “async co-edit”.

Languages and LSP

Zed supports Language Server Protocol. Languages with mature support:

Rust (obviously).
JavaScript / TypeScript.
Python.
Go.
Markdown.
JSON / YAML / TOML.
C / C++ via clangd.

Supported but less polished: PHP, Ruby, Elixir, Swift, Zig, Lua.

For exotic languages or specific extensions, work remains. VS Code maintains ecosystem advantage.

Integrations and Extensions

Zed has a Rust/WASM extension system. For 2024 it’s less mature than VS Code:

Themes: many available, some are VS Code ports.
Language extensions: for languages not built-in.
Git integration: built-in, no extension needed.
Vim mode: integrated, functional but not full like NeoVim.
AI assistants: direct integration with GPT-4, Claude, Ollama.

Extensions ecosystem is current weakness. But growing fast.

AI Integrations

Zed has AI integrated with several providers:

Inline completion: Copilot-like, with OpenAI, Anthropic, or local models.
Code chat: side panel to ask about the open file.
/ai command: pointwise code transformations.
Local model via Ollama for privacy.

Integration is solid but not as refined as Cursor’s multi-file Composer.

Zed vs VS Code / Cursor

Honest comparison:

Aspect	Zed	VS Code	Cursor
Runtime	Rust + native GPU	Electron	Electron (VS Code fork)
Edit latency	<10ms	~30ms	~30ms
Memory	~200MB	~500MB+	~500MB+
Collaboration	Built-in, high quality	Live Share extension	Live Share
AI	Integrated	Copilot ext	Strong integrated
Extensions	Basic	Vast	Vast
Remote dev	Limited	Excellent (SSH, Containers)	Good
Cross-platform	macOS now, Linux beta, Windows WIP	macOS/Linux/Windows	macOS/Linux/Windows
Open source	GPL v3	MIT (with telemetry)	Closed

Zed is faster. VS Code more extensible and mature. Cursor better for AI.

Where Zed Shines

Cases where it’s the best option:

Pairs and teams of 3-4 working on same code. Collaboration is superior.
Remote pair programming. With integrated voice, almost like sitting together.
Performance matters: laptops struggling with VS Code.
Fan of native, elegant software.
Primarily Rust/Go/JS/TS/Python in your stack.

Where It Falls Short

Be honest:

Needed extensions may not exist.
Remote dev (SSH, containers, WSL) lags VS Code.
Python DS / notebooks: VS Code + Jupyter is standard.
Windows in development, not stable.
Devcontainers limited support.
Large teams with corporate tooling (custom plugins) difficult.

For cases where VS Code is corporate default with 15 specific extensions, switching costs more than it saves.

The Open Source Model

Important change: Zed released code under GPL v3 + Apache 2.0 (different components) in January 2024. This opens:

External contributions to the core.
Possible forks (none serious yet).
Longevity confidence — not solely company-dependent.

Zed Industries keeps Zed Channels (collaboration SaaS) proprietary. The editor itself is open.

Installation

Installing Zed:

# macOS
brew install --cask zed

# Linux (Ubuntu 22.04+, Debian 12+, Arch, Fedora)
curl -f https://zed.dev/install.sh | sh

First launch asks for GitHub login (for collaboration features). Works offline without login but no collaboration.

Shortcuts and UI Philosophy

Zed has opinion on how an editor should feel:

Minimalist: fewer floating panels, less decoration.
Keyboard first: everything keyboard-accessible.
Powerful command palette (Cmd-Shift-P on macOS).
Migratable shortcuts: Atom, JetBrains, VS Code-like presets.

Atom users will feel at home; VS Code users need 1-2 days of adjustment.

Migration from VS Code

Basic steps:

Install Zed.
Import keybindings (vscode preset in settings).
Install extensions for your main languages.
Reconfigure AI settings with your API key.
Give 1 week honest use.

What you lose: your 30 VS-Code-specific extensions. What you gain: performance, collaboration, more polished editor.

Conclusion

Zed is a serious editor, not a toy. It’s out of preview and its business model (open editor + collaboration SaaS) is plausible. For individual developers who value performance and real-time collaboration, it’s the most interesting VS Code alternative in years. For large teams with corporate-extension ecosystems or heavy devcontainer/remote flows, VS Code (or Cursor) remain more productive. The future will tell if Zed achieves what Atom couldn’t: enough critical mass to thrive. For now, it’s a valuable addition to the landscape and worthy of honest trial.