Zed
High-performance code editor with AI features via API keys. Bring your own Anthropic or OpenAI key for inline code generation and chat.
Developer Tool, Coding Agent
Indirect
No
No
No — runs in the cloud
Fast editor with AI-assisted coding
Easy
macOS, Linux
Free (not open source)
Zed is High-performance code editor with AI features via API keys. Bring your own Anthropic or OpenAI key for inline code generation and chat. Zed is a high-performance, open-source code editor built in Rust.
Zed runs in the cloud via API providers. Zed is open source (https://github.com/zed-industries/zed), so you can inspect the code and self-host. No GPU required for the editor itself. AI features run in the cloud via your Anthropic or OpenAI API keys.
Can it run on my hardware?
Zed runs entirely in the cloud — no GPU required on your end. All AI inference happens on remote servers.
You bring your own API keys for the AI providers you want to use.
App compatibility
| Feature | Supported |
|---|---|
| Local models | No |
| OpenRouter | No |
| OpenAI-compatible API | No |
| Ollama | No |
| LM Studio | No |
| Anthropic API | Yes |
| Google API | No |
| Mistral API | No |
| Docker | No |
| Works offline | No |
| Needs GPU | No |
Recommended models
Local vs cloud: which should you use?
Use local models if
- You want privacy — data never leaves your machine
- You already have a GPU with sufficient VRAM
- You want zero per-token API costs
- You need offline access
Use cloud/API if
- Your GPU has insufficient VRAM for the models you need
- You want access to frontier model quality
- You need maximum coding/reasoning performance
- You don't want to manage local model downloads and updates
Setup overview
Setting up Zed is straightforward. It runs on macos, linux.
Limitations
- Autonomous agentic coding (use Cline, Roo Code, or Aider)
- Local model users (cloud API keys only)
- OpenRouter users (uses direct provider APIs)
- Windows (macOS and Linux only)
Related
Frequently asked questions
- What is Zed?
- Zed is High-performance code editor with AI features via API keys. Bring your own Anthropic or OpenAI key for inline code generation and chat. Zed is a high-performance, open-source code editor built in Rust.
- What is the best local model for Zed?
- Zed does not support local models directly. Use cloud API models for the best experience.
- Can I run Zed on 12 GB VRAM?
- 12 GB VRAM is generally not sufficient for serious agentic coding with Zed. You can run smaller models (7B-14B at Q4) but tool-calling reliability and context handling will be limited. For the best experience, 24 GB VRAM (RTX 3090/4090) is the community-recommended minimum for local agentic coding.
- Is Zed free and open source?
- Yes. Zed is open source under the free model. You can find the source code on GitHub at https://github.com/zed-industries/zed.