Installation

Installing and setting up Zed on your system.

System Requirements

• macOS: 10.15 (Catalina) or later
• Linux: Ubuntu 20.04+, Fedora 36+, Arch (experimental)
• GPU: Metal-capable GPU (macOS), Vulkan-capable GPU (Linux)

Installation

macOS (Homebrew)

brew install --cask zed

macOS (Direct Download)

Download from zed.dev and drag to Applications.

Linux

# Download and install
curl -f https://zed.dev/install.sh | sh

Or via package manager:

# Arch Linux (AUR)
yay -S zed-editor

# Flatpak
flatpak install flathub dev.zed.Zed

First Launch

1. Open Zed from Applications or run zed in terminal
2. Sign in (optional, required for collaboration features)
3. Configure settings via Cmd+,

Shell Integration

Add Zed to your PATH for terminal access.

macOS

# Add to ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc
export PATH="$PATH:/Applications/Zed.app/Contents/MacOS"

# Or create symlink
sudo ln -s "/Applications/Zed.app/Contents/MacOS/cli" /usr/local/bin/zed

Verify Installation

zed --version

Configuration Location

Settings are stored in:

Platform	Location
macOS	~/.config/zed/settings.json
Linux	~/.config/zed/settings.json

Keybindings

Custom keybindings:

Platform	Location
macOS	~/.config/zed/keymap.json
Linux	~/.config/zed/keymap.json

Initial Setup

Open Settings

Press Cmd+, or use Command Palette (Cmd+Shift+P) and search "settings".

Minimal Configuration

{
  "theme": "One Dark Pro",
  "buffer_font_family": "JetBrains Mono",
  "buffer_font_size": 14,
  "ui_font_family": "JetBrains Mono",
  "ui_font_size": 14,
  "format_on_save": "on",
  "telemetry": {
    "diagnostics": false,
    "metrics": false
  }
}

Font Installation

Zed works best with a Nerd Font for icons:

# JetBrains Mono Nerd Font
brew install --cask font-jetbrains-mono-nerd-font

# Fira Code Nerd Font
brew install --cask font-fira-code-nerd-font

# Hack Nerd Font
brew install --cask font-hack-nerd-font

Sign In

For collaboration features, sign in with GitHub:

1. Click profile icon (bottom left)
2. Select "Sign In"
3. Authenticate with GitHub

Extensions

Install extensions for additional language support:

1. Press Cmd+Shift+P
2. Search "extensions"
3. Browse and install

Or via settings:

# Open extensions directory
open ~/.config/zed/extensions

Dotfiles Integration

To manage Zed config with dotfiles:

# Move config to dotfiles
mv ~/.config/zed ~/dotfiles/config/zed

# Create symlink
ln -s ~/dotfiles/config/zed ~/.config/zed

Updating

macOS (Homebrew)

brew upgrade --cask zed

Built-in Updater

Zed auto-updates by default. Check for updates:

1. Click Zed menu
2. Select "Check for Updates"

Disable Auto-Update

{
  "auto_update": false
}

Uninstalling

macOS

# Remove application
rm -rf /Applications/Zed.app

# Remove configuration
rm -rf ~/.config/zed

# Remove cache
rm -rf ~/Library/Caches/Zed
rm -rf ~/Library/Application\ Support/Zed

Homebrew

brew uninstall --cask zed

Troubleshooting Installation

Zed Won't Start

1. Check system requirements (GPU support)
2. Reset preferences:

   rm -rf ~/.config/zed
   

3. Check logs:

   open ~/Library/Logs/Zed
   

CLI Not Found

Ensure PATH includes Zed:

# Add to shell config
export PATH="$PATH:/Applications/Zed.app/Contents/MacOS"

Font Not Displaying

1. Verify font installed: fc-list | grep JetBrains
2. Restart Zed after font installation
3. Check exact font name in Font Book

Project Setup

Open Project

# Open directory
zed ~/projects/myapp

# Open multiple directories
zed ~/project1 ~/project2

Workspace Settings

Create .zed/settings.json in project root for project-specific settings:

{
  "tab_size": 2,
  "languages": {
    "JavaScript": {
      "tab_size": 2
    }
  }
}