Zed, a collaborative code editor, is now open source

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Zed, a high-performance collaborative code editor built in Rust, has been released as open source, drawing praise for its speed, clean UI, and real‑time pairing features. Commenters are split over its current macOS-only status and priorities like AI/Copilot integration and collaboration, with many requesting Linux/Windows ports, remote SSH/dev‑container workflows, and stronger language and plugin support. The licensing model (GPL/AGPL for Zed, Apache 2 for its GPUI framework) and a contribution CLA prompt debate about long‑term openness, but many see the move as a serious bid to challenge VS Code and Sublime in the editor ecosystem.

Overall reception & performance

  • Many commenters are impressed by Zed’s responsiveness; several say it makes VS Code feel sluggish and liken it to Sublime in “instant” feel.
  • Some note specific performance wins (fast language-server interactions, tree-sitter–based parsing, huge multi-select operations after a fix), while others report occasional slow paths and say Neovim/Helix still feel faster.
  • Several praise the minimal, “non-distracting” UI and default themes; a few find the contrast too low or miss richer syntax highlighting.

Platform support (Mac-only)

  • A major thread: frustration that Zed is macOS-only. Many developers say they won’t invest in an editor that doesn’t run on Linux and/or Windows.
  • Zed engineers state Linux is on the 2024 roadmap and Windows is planned later; some argue Linux should be prioritized, others argue for Windows.
  • A few criticize marketing copy like “work with code on any machine” as misleading when it’s Mac-only.

Collaboration & remote development

  • Real-time collaborative editing is widely discussed. Fans say it’s transformative for pairing, onboarding, and multi-person debugging; critics see it as a gimmick or socially stressful.
  • Some prefer existing solutions (tmux+ssh, screen, VNC, VS Code Live Share) and want a standardized, editor-agnostic protocol similar to LSP.
  • Multiple commenters want robust remote dev: SSH, containers, devcontainers, and even headless “server mode.” Current capabilities are seen as incomplete for that workflow.

GPUI, architecture, and accessibility

  • GPUI (Rust UI framework) being open-sourced excites people; others ask what differentiates it from existing toolkits.
  • It renders via GPU (Metal today), raising porting questions to Vulkan/D3D and concerns about battery usage; replies suggest the GPU load is modest.
  • Accessibility is currently weak; commenters push for AccessKit-style integration, and Zed devs say they want to address this.

AI/LLM integration & privacy

  • Built-in Copilot and GPT-4 support is polarizing. Some want richer “fix it” workflows; others insist AI features should be strictly opt-in or plugin-only and disabled by default.
  • Several ask for local-LLM/ollama integration; community workarounds exist.

Licensing, CLA, and business model

  • Core editor is GPL, collab server AGPL, GPUI Apache 2. Many praise the copyleft choice.
  • The CLA requires broad rights to contributions; some fear a future “rug pull” despite GPL/AGPL and advocate using a DCO instead.
  • Revenue is expected from paid collaboration services, AI compute, and enterprise/on-prem offerings; some are wary of vague monetization plans.

Language support, extensions, and ecosystem

  • Zed’s LSP and tree-sitter support get good feedback, but gaps (e.g., Java, XML, Terraform, some niche languages) are noted.
  • Extension/plugin story is still emerging; many see this, plus cross-platform and remote dev, as key to long-term adoption compared to VS Code, JetBrains, Neovim, Helix, and Emacs.