Local-first, extreme performance, and real-time collaboration—Zed is redefining what modern developers expect from a code editor using a Rust technology stack.
Overview
Zed is a next-generation, high-performance code editor built by core authors of Atom and Tree-sitter. It emphasizes local ultra-low latency, multiplayer real-time collaboration, and seamless integration with modern language toolchains. Built entirely in Rust and powered by gpui, a proprietary GPU-accelerated UI framework, Zed aims to deliver editing at “thought speed” on your local machine.
Design Goals
Zed’s core objectives include:
- Delivering sub-millisecond local response times for a supremely smooth editing experience.
- Enabling true multiplayer real-time editing with document-level synchronization through LiveKit and custom collaboration infrastructure.
- Providing project navigation, code intelligence, and structured language processing suited for large-scale engineering.
- Creating a unified terminal, extension, and editing experience that reduces plugin fragmentation.
These goals collectively position Zed as a next-generation development environment for human-AI collaboration.
Technical Foundation
Zed is built entirely in Rust, with system architecture centered around gpui, a custom framework that leverages GPU-accelerated rendering for stable, high-frame-rate UI. Language parsing and structured editing rely on Tree-sitter, enabling fast syntax highlighting, incremental parsing, and code structure manipulation. Zed includes a built-in collaboration server component using LiveKit for real-time communication.
Key Features
Here are Zed’s major functionality highlights:
- High-performance local editing with exceptionally fast response times.
- Real-time multiplayer collaboration supporting synchronized multi-user editing similar to Google Docs.
- Tree-sitter-based language support with powerful syntax highlighting and structured editing capabilities.
- Built-in terminal for seamless developer workflow.
- Extensible plugin system for customizable functionality.
- Cross-platform support for macOS, Linux, and Windows.
- Enterprise-grade project management suited for large-scale collaborative engineering.
Zed’s multiplayer collaboration features are particularly standout, making it ideal for pair programming and remote team scenarios.
Platform and Installation
Zed supports macOS, Linux, and Windows with straightforward downloads from the official website or via Linux package managers. Web-based versions are not yet available; development progress can be tracked on GitHub.
Development and Building
Zed provides detailed build documentation for macOS, Linux, and Windows, allowing users to compile from source locally. It supports local collaboration server deployment for self-hosted testing. The repository includes comprehensive contributor documentation and scripts covering CI pipelines, build tooling, and Nix support.
License
Zed uses a multi-license model including AGPL, Apache, and GPL components. The project employs cargo-about for automated dependency license compliance verification, ensuring third-party dependencies meet open-source requirements.
Positioning Summary
Zed is dedicated to building a local-first, ultra-high-performance, deeply collaborative modern development environment. Its technology stack—built on Rust, GPU-accelerated rendering, and Tree-sitter—demonstrates significant engineering and performance advantages in the evolution of code editors.
Summary
Zed delivers extreme local performance and real-time collaboration as its core value, combining a Rust technology stack and Tree-sitter language parsing to advance code editors toward greater intelligence and efficiency. For developers prioritizing high performance and team collaboration, Zed is well worth exploring and following.