Zed: The Code Editor That Puts Collaboration at the Core
You've probably felt the friction of pair programming—the screen-sharing lag, the awkward "can you scroll up?" dance, the context switching between your editor and a video call. What if the editor itself handled all of that natively? That's the bet behind Zed, a high-performance, multiplayer code editor from the team that previously built Atom and Tree-sitter.
Zed isn't just another Electron-based editor trying to catch up to VS Code. It's a ground-up reimagining of what a modern editor should be, built with performance and real-time collaboration as first-class features rather than afterthoughts.
What It Does
Zed is a native code editor available on macOS, Linux, and Windows. It's developed by Zed Industries, Inc., a for-profit company, and the source code is open—primarily licensed under GPL-3.0-or-later, with some Apache-2.0 components marked as such.
The technical foundation is worth noting. The project is written in Rust, which explains its performance ambitions. The creators brought their experience from Atom (the editor that popularized hackability) and Tree-sitter (the incremental parsing system that powers syntax highlighting in many modern tools) to build something that doesn't compromise on speed or capability.
The "multiplayer" aspect isn't a side feature. It's baked into the editor's design. Instead of sharing your screen or using a third-party tool, Zed allows multiple developers to work in the same editor instance in real time. You're not watching a video stream of someone's screen—you're all working in the same document, with each keystroke and cursor movement synchronized.
Why It's Cool
It's built by people who've shipped editors before. The team behind Zed didn't start from zero. They built Atom, which showed the world what a hackable editor could be, and Tree-sitter, which solved performance problems around syntax highlighting. That experience shows in the design decisions—Zed isn't experimenting with what an editor should be; it's executing on a clear vision.
Performance is the default, not the goal. Because Zed is native (not Electron-based), it starts fast, responds instantly, and doesn't eat your RAM like a browser tab. For developers who spend hours daily in their editor, that difference is tangible. You'll notice it from the first launch.
Collaboration is architectural, not bolted on. This is the differentiator. Most editors add collaboration through plugins or extensions, which always feels tacked on. Zed treats multiplayer as a core feature. When you open a project with someone else, you're genuinely working in the same environment—not fighting over who has control of the screen.
It's open source with a sustainable model. Zed's source is available on GitHub, and it's developed by a for-profit company. That's a refreshingly honest approach—the README states plainly that sponsorships go directly to Zed Industries and are used as general company revenue, with no perks or entitlements. You're supporting the project because you want it to exist, not because you're buying a premium tier.
The licensing is thoughtful. GPL-3.0-or-later with Apache-2.0 components is a deliberate choice. It keeps the core open while allowing flexibility where it makes sense. And they use cargo-about to automate license compliance, which shows a level of care about the open-source ecosystem that not every project demonstrates.
How to Try It
Getting started with Zed is straightforward. Here's what you need to do:
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Download the installer from zed.dev/download for macOS, Linux, or Windows.
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Or use your package manager. The README links to installation docs for each platform:
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If you want to build from source, the docs cover that too:
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Check out the repository on GitHub for contributing guidelines and to see the current state of development.
One thing to note: web support isn't available yet, though there's a tracking discussion if you want to follow that progress.
Final Thoughts
Zed is worth watching if you care about editor performance or if you frequently collaborate with other developers. It's not trying to be everything to everyone—it's a focused tool from a team that knows exactly what it's building. The project is young, and the ecosystem around it is still forming, but the foundation is solid and the vision is clear.
If you've ever been frustrated by the sluggishness of Electron-based editors or the clunkiness of remote pairing, give Zed a shot. It might just change how you think about what an editor can do.
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