Zed Editor: VS Code Alternative Built in Rust

Zed has been turning heads in the developer community as a fresh, Rust‑powered alternative to Visual Studio Code. If you’ve ever felt VS Code lagging on large projects or craved a more native feel, Zed’s promise of speed, extensibility, and a modern UI might be exactly what you need. In this article we’ll dive deep into Zed’s core architecture, walk through real‑world workflows, and compare it side‑by‑side with the editor you already know.

Why Rust Matters for an Editor

Rust’s reputation for memory safety and zero‑cost abstractions translates directly into a snappy, crash‑resistant editor. Unlike Electron‑based tools that bundle an entire Chromium instance, Zed compiles down to a single native binary, dramatically reducing startup time and RAM consumption.

Because Rust enforces strict ownership rules at compile time, many common bugs—like use‑after‑free or data races—are eliminated before the editor even runs. The result is a smoother typing experience, especially on lower‑end hardware or when handling massive codebases.

Performance Benchmarks

• Startup Time: Zed launches in under 500 ms on a typical laptop, compared to 1.2–1.8 s for VS Code.
• Memory Footprint: Zed stays under 200 MB for a full‑stack project, while VS Code often exceeds 600 MB.
• CPU Usage: Background indexing in Zed is incremental and non‑blocking, keeping CPU spikes under 5 %.

Pro tip: On Linux, add Zed to your startup applications to benefit from its fast cold‑start behavior without the overhead of loading a heavy Electron runtime.

Getting Started: Installation & First Run

Installing Zed is straightforward. It offers pre‑built binaries for Windows, macOS, and Linux, as well as a Homebrew formula for macOS users. Below is a quick guide for each platform.

1. macOS (Homebrew)

   brew install zed-editor
   

2. Linux (Snap)

   sudo snap install zed-editor
   

3. Windows (Winget)

   winget install ZedEditor.Zed
   

Once installed, launch Zed from your terminal or application menu. The first screen greets you with a clean workspace, a minimalist sidebar, and a powerful command palette accessed via Ctrl+Shift+P (or Cmd+Shift+P on macOS).

Core Features That Set Zed Apart

Zed’s feature set mirrors the expectations set by VS Code, but with a focus on speed and ergonomics. Below are the pillars that make it a compelling choice.

1. Lightning‑Fast Syntax Highlighting

Zed uses a custom, Rust‑based language server that parses source files on the fly. Because the parsing happens in a separate thread, you’ll never see the “syntax highlighting paused” message that occasionally appears in VS Code.

2. Built‑In LSP Support

Language Server Protocol (LSP) integration is native. Zed automatically discovers LSP servers installed on your system, and you can enable or disable them per workspace via the settings UI.

3. Modal Editing (Vim & Emacs Modes)

If you love modal editing, Zed ships with both Vim and Emacs keymaps out of the box. Switching between them is as simple as toggling a checkbox in the preferences panel.

4. Extensible Plugin System

Zed’s plugin ecosystem is still young, but it’s built on a Rust API that lets you write high‑performance extensions. Plugins are distributed as compiled crates, ensuring they run as fast as the core editor.

Writing Your First Zed Plugin (Rust)

Let’s walk through a minimal plugin that adds a custom command to reverse the current line. This example demonstrates the plugin lifecycle and how to interact with the editor’s buffer.

use zed::prelude::*;

#[derive(Default)]
pub struct ReverseLine;

impl Plugin for ReverseLine {
    fn name(&self) -> &'static str {
        "reverse-line"
    }

    fn activate(&mut self, ctx: &mut PluginContext) {
        ctx.register_command("reverse_line", |editor| {
            let mut line = editor.current_line_text();
            line = line.chars().rev().collect();
            editor.replace_current_line(&line);
        });
    }
}

Compile the crate with cargo build --release and drop the resulting .so (or .dll on Windows) into Zed’s plugins/ folder. Restart Zed, open the command palette, and type “reverse_line” to see it in action.

Pro tip: Keep your plugin’s dependencies minimal. Because Zed loads plugins in the same process, heavyweight crates can negate the performance gains you’re after.

Real‑World Use Cases

Now that you’ve seen the basics, let’s explore how Zed shines in everyday development scenarios.

1. Large Monorepos

Monorepos often contain thousands of files, and VS Code’s file watcher can become a bottleneck. Zed’s incremental indexing means you can open the root of a 2 GB repository and start searching within seconds, without the UI freezing.

2. Data‑Science Notebooks

Zed supports Markdown and code fences natively. By pairing it with a Python LSP and the built‑in terminal, you can treat a .md file as a lightweight notebook, executing cells via Ctrl+Enter and visualizing plots inline with the preview pane.

# Example: Quick data analysis in a Zed Markdown file
import pandas as pd
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

df = pd.read_csv('sales.csv')
df.groupby('region')['revenue'].sum().plot(kind='bar')
plt.show()

Run the above block directly from Zed’s terminal, and the generated chart appears in the preview pane, giving you a notebook‑like workflow without leaving the editor.

3. Remote Development

Zed includes built‑in SSH tunneling, allowing you to edit files on a remote server as if they were local. The connection is encrypted, and because the heavy lifting (syntax parsing, LSP) happens on the remote host, your local machine stays lightweight.

To start a remote session, open the command palette and select “Remote: Connect via SSH”. Provide the host address, and Zed will mount the remote filesystem using FUSE, giving you seamless access.

Comparing Zed and VS Code: Feature Matrix

Feature	Zed	VS Code
Core Language	Rust (native binary)	Electron (Chromium + Node.js)
Startup Time	≈0.5 s	≈1.5 s
Memory Usage	150‑200 MB	600‑800 MB
Extension Model	Compiled Rust crates	JavaScript/TypeScript
Built‑in Terminal	Yes (native)	Yes (Electron)
Remote Editing	SSH + FUSE	Remote‑SSH extension
Modal Editing	Vim & Emacs modes out of the box	Vim extension required

The table highlights Zed’s lean footprint and native performance, while VS Code still leads in ecosystem size. Your choice will depend on which trade‑offs matter most for your workflow.

Advanced Workflow: Continuous Integration from Within Zed

One of Zed’s hidden strengths is its ability to run custom tasks without leaving the editor. Below is a Python script that Zed can invoke as a task to lint and test a project, displaying results in a dedicated output pane.

import subprocess
import sys

def run_command(cmd):
    result = subprocess.run(cmd, shell=True, capture_output=True, text=True)
    return result.stdout + result.stderr

if __name__ == "__main__":
    lint = run_command("flake8 src/")
    tests = run_command("pytest -q")
    print("=== Linting Results ===")
    print(lint)
    print("\n=== Test Results ===")
    print(tests)
    sys.exit(0)

Save this script as ci_task.py in your project root. In Zed, open the task runner (via Ctrl+Shift+T), add a new task pointing to python ci_task.py, and assign it a hotkey. Press the hotkey, and the output pane will show linting errors followed by test results—all without opening a separate terminal window.

Pro tip: Combine Zed’s task runner with Git hooks to automatically run the CI script on pre‑commit, catching issues before they enter your repository.

Customizing the UI: Themes and Layouts

Zed ships with a handful of built‑in themes, but you can also create your own by editing a simple TOML file. Themes control colors for syntax tokens, UI elements, and the terminal.

# my_theme.toml
[colors]
background = "#1e1e2e"
foreground = "#cdd6f4"
keyword    = "#f38ba8"
string     = "#a6e3a1"
comment    = "#585b70"

[ui]
sidebar_background = "#11111b"
status_bar_foreground = "#f5e0dc"

Place my_theme.toml in ~/.config/zed/themes/ and select it from the preferences dialog. The UI updates instantly, letting you fine‑tune the visual experience to match your ergonomics.

Migrating from VS Code: Tips for a Smooth Transition

Switching editors can feel daunting, but Zed provides several compatibility layers to ease the move.

• Keymap Import: Export your VS Code keybindings (keybindings.json) and use Zed’s Import VS Code Keymap command to translate them.
• Settings Sync: Zed reads settings.json for common options like font size, tab width, and auto‑save.
• Extension Parity: Many popular VS Code extensions have Rust equivalents, or you can run the original extension via the code‑bridge compatibility layer (still experimental).

Start by opening a familiar project, enable the Vim keymap, and import your settings. Within an hour you’ll have a workflow that feels both familiar and faster.

Community and Support

Zed’s community is vibrant and growing. The official Discord server hosts channels for plugin development, theme sharing, and troubleshooting. Additionally, the #zed tag on Stack Overflow is gaining traction, offering quick answers to common questions.

Because Zed is open source, you can contribute directly on GitHub. The maintainers encourage pull requests that improve performance, add language support, or enhance the UI. Even a single line of documentation can earn you community recognition.

Future Roadmap: What’s Next for Zed?

The Zed team has an ambitious roadmap that includes:

• Integrated Git UI with inline diff annotations.
• First‑class support for LSP over WebSockets, enabling remote language servers.
• Advanced collaborative editing (similar to VS Live Share).
• Native support for notebooks with rich output cells.

These upcoming features aim to close the gap with VS Code while preserving Zed’s performance edge. Keep an eye on the GitHub milestones for the latest updates.

Conclusion

Zed demonstrates that a modern code editor can be both lightweight and powerful when built on Rust’s safe, performant foundations. Its fast startup, low memory usage, and native plugin model make it an attractive alternative for developers who value speed and stability. Whether you’re tackling massive monorepos, building data‑science notebooks, or simply seeking a smoother typing experience, Zed offers a compelling toolkit. Give it a try, experiment with its extensibility, and join the growing community shaping the next generation of developer tools.