Terminal.skills
Skills/zed
>

zed

Expert guidance for 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.

#editor#ide#collaboration#rust#performance
terminal-skillsv1.0.0
Works with:claude-codeopenai-codexgemini-clicursor
Source

Usage

$
✓ Installed zed v1.0.0

Getting Started

  1. Install the skill using the command above
  2. Open your AI coding agent (Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI, or Cursor)
  3. Reference the skill in your prompt
  4. The AI will use the skill's capabilities automatically

Example Prompts

  • "Review the open pull requests and summarize what needs attention"
  • "Generate a changelog from the last 20 commits on the main branch"

Documentation

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:

jsonc
// ~/.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:

jsonc
// ~/.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:

markdown
## 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:

markdown
## 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:

rust
// 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);
toml
# 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

bash
# 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

  1. Use Vim mode — Zed's Vim emulation is excellent and first-class; combine with Zed-specific keybindings for best productivity
  2. Configure per-language formatting — Set formatters per language (Prettier for JS, Ruff for Python, rustfmt for Rust)
  3. AI context matters — Drag relevant files into the assistant panel; more context = better AI responses
  4. Inline assist for quick edits — Select code + Ctrl+L is faster than copy-pasting into a chat
  5. Use follow mode in pairing — Click a collaborator's avatar to see exactly what they see; great for code reviews
  6. Autosave with delay — 1000ms delay avoids constant disk writes while keeping files saved
  7. Extensions are WASM — Write extensions in Rust compiled to WebAssembly; they run in a sandbox for security
  8. Keyboard-first design — Learn Cmd+P (files), Cmd+Shift+P (commands), Cmd+T (symbols) for fast navigation

Information

Version
1.0.0
Author
terminal-skills
Category
Development
License
Apache-2.0