terminalskills Zed — High-Performance Code Editor
Overview
Zed, the high-performance code editor built in Rust with native collaboration, AI integration, and GPU-accelerated rendering. Helps developers configure Zed, create custom extensions, set up collaborative editing sessions, and integrate AI assistants for productive coding.
Instructions
Configuration
Customize Zed through its JSON settings:
// ~/.config/zed/settings.json — Main configuration file
{
// Editor appearance and behavior
"theme": "One Dark",
"ui_font_size": 14,
"buffer_font_size": 14,
"buffer_font_family": "JetBrains Mono",
"buffer_line_height": { "custom": 1.6 },
// Vim mode (built-in, no extension needed)
"vim_mode": true,
"vim": {
"use_system_clipboard": "always",
"use_smartcase_find": true
},
// Tab and indentation
"tab_size": 2,
"hard_tabs": false,
"format_on_save": "on",
"formatter": "language_server",
// Git integration
"git": {
"inline_blame": { "enabled": true, "delay_ms": 500 },
"git_gutter": "tracked_files"
},
// AI Assistant configuration
"assistant": {
"enabled": true,
"default_model": {
"provider": "anthropic",
"model": "claude-sonnet-4-20250514"
},
"version": "2" // Use Assistant v2 panel
},
// Inline completions (code suggestions)
"inline_completions": {
"disabled_globs": [".env", "*.pem", "*.key"]
},
// Language-specific settings
"languages": {
"TypeScript": {
"tab_size": 2,
"formatter": { "external": { "command": "prettier", "arguments": ["--stdin-filepath", "{buffer_path}"] } }
},
"Python": {
"tab_size": 4,
"formatter": { "external": { "command": "ruff", "arguments": ["format", "--stdin-filename", "{buffer_path}"] } }
},
"Rust": {
"tab_size": 4,
"formatter": "language_server"
}
},
// Terminal
"terminal": {
"shell": { "program": "zsh" },
"font_size": 13,
"line_height": { "custom": 1.4 },
"copy_on_select": true
},
// File tree
"project_panel": {
"auto_reveal_entries": true,
"auto_fold_dirs": true,
"file_icons": true
},
// Performance
"autosave": { "after_delay": { "milliseconds": 1000 } },
"soft_wrap": "editor_width"
}
Key Bindings
Configure custom keyboard shortcuts:
// ~/.config/zed/keymap.json — Custom keybindings
[
// Quick file switching (like VS Code Cmd+P)
{
"context": "Workspace",
"bindings": {
"cmd-p": "file_finder::Toggle",
"cmd-shift-p": "command_palette::Toggle",
"cmd-shift-f": "project_search::ToggleFocus",
"cmd-b": "workspace::ToggleLeftDock",
"cmd-j": "terminal_panel::ToggleFocus",
// Custom: open AI assistant panel
"cmd-shift-a": "assistant::ToggleFocus",
// Custom: toggle inline AI completions
"cmd-shift-i": "editor::ToggleInlineCompletions"
}
},
// Editor-specific bindings
{
"context": "Editor",
"bindings": {
"cmd-d": "editor::SelectNext", // Multi-cursor select next match
"cmd-shift-l": "editor::SelectAllMatches", // Select all occurrences
"alt-up": "editor::MoveLineUp",
"alt-down": "editor::MoveLineDown",
"cmd-shift-k": "editor::DeleteLine",
"cmd-/": "editor::ToggleComments",
// Quick AI actions
"ctrl-l": "assistant::InlineAssist" // Inline AI edit at cursor
}
},
// Vim-specific overrides
{
"context": "VimControl",
"bindings": {
"space f": "file_finder::Toggle",
"space g": "project_search::ToggleFocus",
"space e": "project_panel::ToggleFocus",
"space a": "assistant::ToggleFocus",
"space t": "terminal_panel::ToggleFocus"
}
}
]
Collaborative Editing
Set up real-time pair programming sessions:
## How Collaboration Works in Zed
1. **Start a session**: Click "Share" in the title bar or run `collaboration::ShareProject`
2. **Share the link**: Copy the invite link and send to teammates
3. **Real-time editing**: All participants see each other's cursors and edits instantly
4. **Follow mode**: Click a collaborator's avatar to follow their cursor (see what they see)
5. **Voice chat**: Built-in voice channels — no need for a separate call
### Collaboration Features
- **Shared terminal**: Collaborators can see your terminal output
- **Shared diagnostics**: LSP errors and warnings are visible to all participants
- **Conflict-free**: Uses CRDT (similar to Yjs) for concurrent edit resolution
- **Low latency**: Edits propagate in <50ms on good connections
AI Assistant Usage
Leverage Zed's integrated AI for coding tasks:
## AI Workflows in Zed
### Inline Assist (Ctrl+L)
Select code → Ctrl+L → type instruction:
- "Add error handling to this function"
- "Refactor to use async/await"
- "Add TypeScript types"
- "Write a unit test for this"
### Assistant Panel (Cmd+Shift+A)
Full conversation with AI, with context from your codebase:
- Drag files into the panel to add them as context
- Use `/file` to reference specific files
- Use `/tab` to include all open tabs as context
- Ask architectural questions about your codebase
### Slash Commands in Assistant
- `/file path/to/file.ts` — Include file content as context
- `/tab` — Include all open editor tabs
- `/diagnostics` — Include current LSP errors/warnings
- `/selection` — Include currently selected code
- `/terminal` — Include recent terminal output
Extension Development
Build custom extensions for Zed:
// extensions/my-extension/src/lib.rs — Zed extension in Rust (WASM)
use zed_extension_api::{self as zed, Result};
struct MyExtension;
impl zed::Extension for MyExtension {
fn new() -> Self { MyExtension }
fn language_server_command(
&mut self,
_language_server_id: &zed::LanguageServerId,
worktree: &zed::Worktree,
) -> Result<zed::Command> {
// Configure a custom language server
Ok(zed::Command {
command: "my-lsp-binary".to_string(),
args: vec!["--stdio".to_string()],
env: Default::default(),
})
}
}
zed::register_extension!(MyExtension);
# extensions/my-extension/extension.toml — Extension manifest
[extension]
id = "my-extension"
name = "My Extension"
version = "0.1.0"
schema_version = 1
authors = ["Your Name"]
description = "Custom language support for Zed"
repository = "https://github.com/you/zed-my-extension"
[grammars.my-language]
repository = "https://github.com/tree-sitter/tree-sitter-my-language"
commit = "abc123"
[language_servers.my-lsp]
language = "MyLanguage"
Installation
# macOS (official)
brew install --cask zed
# Linux
curl -f https://zed.dev/install.sh | sh
# Build from source
git clone https://github.com/zed-industries/zed.git
cd zed
cargo build --release
Examples
Example 1: Setting up Zed with a custom configuration
User request:
I just installed Zed. Help me configure it for my TypeScript + React workflow with my preferred keybindings.
The agent creates the configuration file with TypeScript-aware settings, configures relevant plugins/extensions for React development, sets up keyboard shortcuts matching the user's preferences, and verifies the setup works correctly.
Example 2: Extending Zed with custom functionality
User request:
I want to add a custom key bindings to Zed. How do I build one?
The agent scaffolds the extension/plugin project, implements the core functionality following Zed's API patterns, adds configuration options, and provides testing instructions to verify it works end-to-end.
Guidelines
- Use Vim mode — Zed's Vim emulation is excellent and first-class; combine with Zed-specific keybindings for best productivity
- Configure per-language formatting — Set formatters per language (Prettier for JS, Ruff for Python, rustfmt for Rust)
- AI context matters — Drag relevant files into the assistant panel; more context = better AI responses
- Inline assist for quick edits — Select code + Ctrl+L is faster than copy-pasting into a chat
- Use follow mode in pairing — Click a collaborator's avatar to see exactly what they see; great for code reviews
- Autosave with delay — 1000ms delay avoids constant disk writes while keeping files saved
- Extensions are WASM — Write extensions in Rust compiled to WebAssembly; they run in a sandbox for security
- Keyboard-first design — Learn
Cmd+P(files),Cmd+Shift+P(commands),Cmd+T(symbols) for fast navigation