Configuring Zed

Folder-specific settings

Folder-specific settings are used to override Zed's global settings for files within a specific directory in the project panel. To get started, create a .zed subdirectory and add a settings.json within it. It should be noted that folder-specific settings don't need to live only a project's root, but can be defined at multiple levels in the project hierarchy. In setups like this, Zed will find the configuration nearest to the file you are working in and apply those settings to it. In most cases, this level of flexibility won't be needed and a single configuration for all files in a project is all that is required; the Zed > Settings > Open Local Settings menu action is built for this case. Running this action will look for a .zed/settings.json file at the root of the first top-level directory in your project panel. If it does not exist, it will create it.

The following global settings can be overridden with a folder-specific configuration:

• copilot
• enable_language_server
• ensure_final_newline_on_save
• format_on_save
• formatter
• hard_tabs
• language_overrides
• preferred_line_length
• remove_trailing_whitespace_on_save
• soft_wrap
• tab_size
• show_copilot_suggestions
• show_whitespaces

See the Global settings section for details about these settings

Global settings

To get started with editing Zed's global settings, open ~/.config/zed/settings.json via ⌘ + ,, the command palette (zed: open settings), or the Zed > Settings > Open Settings application menu item.

Here are all the currently available settings.

Active Pane Magnification

• Description: Scale by which to zoom the active pane. When set to 1.0, the active pane has the same size as others, but when set to a larger value, the active pane takes up more space.
• Setting: active_pane_magnification
• Default: 1.0

Options

float values

Autosave

• Description: When to automatically save edited buffers.
• Setting: autosave
• Default: off

Options

1. To disable autosave, set it to off

{
    "autosave": "off"
}

1. To autosave when focus changes, use on_focus_change:

{
    "autosave": "on_focus_change"
}

1. To autosave when the active window changes, use on_window_change:

{
    "autosave": "on_window_change"
}

1. To autosave after an inactivity period, use after_delay:

{
    "autosave": {
        "after_delay": {
            "milliseconds": 1000
        }
    }
}

Auto Update

• Description: Whether or not to automatically check for updates.
• Setting: auto_update
• Default: true

Options

boolean values

Buffer Font Family

• Description: The name of a font to use for rendering text in the editor.
• Setting: buffer_font_family
• Default: Zed Mono

Options

The name of any font family installed on the user's system

Buffer Font Features

• Description: The OpenType features to enable for text in the editor.
• Setting: buffer_font_features
• Default: null

Options

Zed supports a subset of OpenType features that can be enabled or disabled for a given buffer or terminal font. The following OpenType features can be enabled or disabled too: calt, case, cpsp, frac, liga, onum, ordn, pnum, ss01, ss02, ss03, ss04, ss05, ss06, ss07, ss08, ss09, ss10, ss11, ss12, ss13, ss14, ss15, ss16, ss17, ss18, ss19, ss20, subs, sups, swsh, titl, tnum, zero.

For example, to disable ligatures for a given font you can add the following to your settings:

{
    "buffer_font_features": {
        "calt": false
    }
}

Buffer Font Size

• Description: The default font size for text in the editor.
• Setting: buffer_font_size
• Default: 15

Options

integer values

Confirm Quit

• Description: Whether or not to prompt the user to confirm before closing the application.
• Setting: confirm_quit
• Default: false

Options

boolean values

Copilot

• Description: Copilot-specific settings.
• Setting: copilot
• Default:

"copilot": {
  "disabled_globs": [
    ".env"
  ]
}

Options

Disabled Globs

• Description: The set of glob patterns for which Copilot should be disabled in any matching file.
• Setting: disabled_globs
• Default: [".env"]

Options

List of string values

Cursor Blink

• Description: Whether or not the cursor blinks.
• Setting: cursor_blink
• Default: true

Options

boolean values

Default Dock Anchor

• Description: The default anchor for new docks.
• Setting: default_dock_anchor
• Default: bottom

Options

1. Position the dock attached to the bottom of the workspace: bottom
2. Position the dock to the right of the workspace like a side panel: right
3. Position the dock full screen over the entire workspace: expanded

Enable Language Server

• Description: Whether or not to use language servers to provide code intelligence.
• Setting: enable_language_server
• Default: true

Options

boolean values

Ensure Final Newline On Save

• Description: Whether or not to ensure there's a single newline at the end of a buffer when saving it.
• Setting: ensure_final_newline_on_save
• Default: true

Options

boolean values

LSP

• Description: Configuration for language servers.
• Setting: lsp
• Default: null

Options

The following settings can be overridden for specific language servers:

• initialization_options

To override settings for a language, add an entry for that language server's name to the lsp value. Example:

"lsp": {
  "rust-analyzer": {
    "initialization_options": {
      "checkOnSave": {
        "command": "clippy" // rust-analyzer.checkOnSave.command
      }
    }
  }
}

Format On Save

• Description: Whether or not to perform a buffer format before saving.
• Setting: format_on_save
• Default: on

Options

1. on, enables format on save obeying formatter setting:

{
    "format_on_save": "on"
}

1. off, disables format on save:

{
    "format_on_save": "off"
}

Formatter

• Description: How to perform a buffer format.
• Setting: formatter
• Default: language_server

Options

1. To use the current language server, use "language_server":

{
    "formatter": "language_server"
}

1. Or to use an external command, use "external". Specify the name of the formatting program to run, and an array of arguments to pass to the program. The buffer's text will be passed to the program on stdin, and the formatted output should be written to stdout. For example, the following command would strip trailing spaces using sed(1):

{
    "formatter": {
        "external": {
            "command": "sed",
            "arguments": ["-e", "s/ *$//"]
        }
    }
}

1. Or to use code actions provided by the connected language servers, use "code_actions" (requires Zed 0.130.x):

{
    "formatter": {
        "code_actions": {
            // Use ESLint's --fix:
            "source.fixAll.eslint": true,
            // Organize imports on save:
            "source.organizeImports": true
        }
    }
}

Code Actions On Format

• Description: The code actions to perform with the primary language server when formatting the buffer.
• Setting: code_actions_on_format
• Default: {}, except for Go it's { "source.organizeImports": true }

Examples

1. Organize imports on format in TypeScript and TSX buffers:

{
    "languages": {
        "TypeScript": {
            "code_actions_on_format": {
                "source.organizeImports": true
            }
        },
        "TSX": {
            "code_actions_on_format": {
                "source.organizeImports": true
            }
        }
    }
}

1. Run ESLint fixAll code action when formatting (requires Zed 0.125.0):

{
    "languages": {
        "JavaScript": {
            "code_actions_on_format": {
                "source.fixAll.eslint": true
            }
        }
    }
}

1. Run only a single ESLint rule when using fixAll (requires Zed 0.125.0):

{
    "languages": {
        "JavaScript": {
            "code_actions_on_format": {
                "source.fixAll.eslint": true
            }
        }
    },
    "lsp": {
        "eslint": {
            "settings": {
                "codeActionOnSave": {
                    "rules": ["import/order"]
                }
            }
        }
    }
}

Git

• Description: Configuration for git-related features.
• Setting: git
• Default:

"git": {
  "git_gutter": "tracked_files"
},

Git Gutter

• Description: Whether or not to show the git gutter.
• Setting: git_gutter
• Default: tracked_files

Options

1. Show git gutter in tracked files

{
    "git_gutter": "tracked_files"
}

1. Hide git gutter

{
    "git_gutter": "hide"
}

Hard Tabs

• Description: Whether to indent lines using tab characters or multiple spaces.
• Setting: hard_tabs
• Default: false

Options

boolean values

Hover Popover Enabled

• Description: Whether or not to show the informational hover box when moving the mouse over symbols in the editor.
• Setting: hover_popover_enabled
• Default: true

Options

boolean values

Inlay hints

• Description: Configuration for displaying extra text with hints in the editor.
• Setting: inlay_hints
• Default:

"inlay_hints": {
  "enabled": false,
  "show_type_hints": true,
  "show_parameter_hints": true,
  "show_other_hints": true
}

Options

Inlay hints querying consists of two parts: editor (client) and LSP server. With the inlay settings above are changed to enable the hints, editor will start to query certain types of hints and react on LSP hint refresh request from the server. At this point, the server may or may not return hints depending on its implementation, further configuration might be needed, refer to the corresponding LSP server documentation.

Use lsp section for the server configuration, below are some examples for well known servers:

Rust

"lsp": {
  "rust-analyzer": {
    "initialization_options": {
      "inlayHints": {
        "maxLength": null,
        "lifetimeElisionHints": {
          "useParameterNames": true,
          "enable": "skip_trivial"
        },
        "closureReturnTypeHints": {
          "enable": "always"
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Typescript

"lsp": {
  "typescript-language-server": {
    "initialization_options": {
      "preferences": {
        "includeInlayParameterNameHints": "all",
        "includeInlayParameterNameHintsWhenArgumentMatchesName": true,
        "includeInlayFunctionParameterTypeHints": true,
        "includeInlayVariableTypeHints": true,
        "includeInlayVariableTypeHintsWhenTypeMatchesName": false,
        "includeInlayPropertyDeclarationTypeHints": true,
        "includeInlayFunctionLikeReturnTypeHints": true,
        "includeInlayEnumMemberValueHints": true
      }
    }
  }
}

Go

"lsp": {
  "gopls": {
    "initialization_options": {
      "hints": {
        "assignVariableTypes": true,
        "compositeLiteralFields": true,
        "compositeLiteralTypes": true,
        "constantValues": true,
        "functionTypeParameters": true,
        "parameterNames": true,
        "rangeVariableTypes": true
      }
    }
  }
}

Svelte

{
    "lsp": {
        "typescript-language-server": {
            "initialization_options": {
                "preferences": {
                    "includeInlayParameterNameHints": "all",
                    "includeInlayParameterNameHintsWhenArgumentMatchesName": true,
                    "includeInlayFunctionParameterTypeHints": true,
                    "includeInlayVariableTypeHints": true,
                    "includeInlayVariableTypeHintsWhenTypeMatchesName": false,
                    "includeInlayPropertyDeclarationTypeHints": true,
                    "includeInlayFunctionLikeReturnTypeHints": true,
                    "includeInlayEnumMemberValueHints": true,
                    "includeInlayEnumMemberDeclarationTypes": true
                }
            }
        }
    }
}

Journal

• Description: Configuration for the journal.
• Setting: journal
• Default:

"journal": {
  "path": "~",
  "hour_format": "hour12"
}

Path

• Description: The path of the directory where journal entries are stored.
• Setting: path
• Default: ~

Options

string values

Hour Format

• Description: The format to use for displaying hours in the journal.
• Setting: hour_format
• Default: hour12

Options

1. 12-hour format:

{
    "hour_format": "hour12"
}

1. 24-hour format:

{
    "hour_format": "hour24"
}

Language Overrides

• Description: Configuration overrides for specific languages.
• Setting: language_overrides
• Default: null

Options

To override settings for a language, add an entry for that languages name to the language_overrides value. Example:

"language_overrides": {
  "C": {
    "format_on_save": "off",
    "preferred_line_length": 64,
    "soft_wrap": "preferred_line_length"
  },
  "JSON": {
    "tab_size": 4
  }
}

The following settings can be overridden for each specific language:

• enable_language_server
• ensure_final_newline_on_save
• format_on_save
• formatter
• hard_tabs
• preferred_line_length
• remove_trailing_whitespace_on_save
• show_copilot_suggestions
• show_whitespaces
• soft_wrap
• tab_size

These values take in the same options as the root-level settings with the same name.

Preferred Line Length

• Description: The column at which to soft-wrap lines, for buffers where soft-wrap is enabled.
• Setting: preferred_line_length
• Default: 80

Options

integer values

Projects Online By Default

• Description: Whether or not to show the online projects view by default.
• Setting: projects_online_by_default
• Default: true

Options

boolean values

Remove Trailing Whitespace On Save

• Description: Whether or not to remove any trailing whitespace from lines of a buffer before saving it.
• Setting: remove_trailing_whitespace_on_save
• Default: true

Options

boolean values

Semantic Index

• Description: Settings related to semantic index.
• Setting: semantic_index
• Default:

"semantic_index": {
  "enabled": false
},

Enabled

• Description: Whether or not to display the Semantic mode in project search.
• Setting: enabled
• Default: true

Options

boolean values

Show Call Status Icon

• Description: Whether or not to show the call status icon in the status bar.
• Setting: show_call_status_icon
• Default: true

Options

boolean values

Show Completions On Input

• Description: Whether or not to show completions as you type.
• Setting: show_completions_on_input
• Default: true

Options

boolean values

Show Completion Documentation

• Description: Whether to display inline and alongside documentation for items in the completions menu.
• Setting: show_completion_documentation
• Default: true

Options

boolean values

Completion Documentation Debounce Delay

• Description: The debounce delay before re-querying the language server for completion documentation when not included in original completion list.
• Setting: completion_documentation_secondary_query_debounce
• Default: 300 ms

Options

integer values

Show Copilot Suggestions

• Description: Whether or not to show Copilot suggestions as you type or wait for a copilot::Toggle.
• Setting: show_copilot_suggestions
• Default: true

Options

boolean values

Show Whitespaces

• Description: Whether or not to show render whitespace characters in the editor.
• Setting: show_whitespaces
• Default: selection

Options

1. all
2. selection
3. none

Soft Wrap

• Description: Whether or not to automatically wrap lines of text to fit editor / preferred width.
• Setting: soft_wrap
• Default: none

Options

1. editor_width
2. preferred_line_length
3. none

Tab Size

• Description: The number of spaces to use for each tab character.
• Setting: tab_size
• Default: 4

Options

integer values

Telemetry

• Description: Control what info is collected by Zed.
• Setting: telemetry
• Default:

"telemetry": {
  "diagnostics": true,
  "metrics": true
},

Options

Diagnostics

• Description: Setting for sending debug-related data, such as crash reports.
• Setting: diagnostics
• Default: true

Options

boolean values

Metrics

• Description: Setting for sending anonymized usage data, such what languages you're using Zed with.
• Setting: metrics
• Default: true

Options

boolean values

Terminal

• Description: Configuration for the terminal.
• Setting: terminal
• Default:

"terminal": {
  "alternate_scroll": "off",
  "blinking": "terminal_controlled",
  "copy_on_select": false,
  "env": {},
  "font_family": null,
  "font_features": null,
  "font_size": null,
  "option_as_meta": false,
  "shell": {},
  "working_directory": "current_project_directory"
}

Alternate Scroll

• Description: Set whether Alternate Scroll mode (DECSET code: ?1007) is active by default. Alternate Scroll mode converts mouse scroll events into up / down key presses when in the alternate screen (e.g. when running applications like vim or less). The terminal can still set and unset this mode with ANSI escape codes.
• Setting: alternate_scroll
• Default: off

Options

1. Default alternate scroll mode to on

{
    "alternate_scroll": "on"
}

1. Default alternate scroll mode to off

{
    "alternate_scroll": "off"
}

Blinking

• Description: Set the cursor blinking behavior in the terminal
• Setting: blinking
• Default: terminal_controlled

Options

1. Never blink the cursor, ignore the terminal mode

{
    "blinking": "off"
}

1. Default the cursor blink to off, but allow the terminal to turn blinking on

{
    "blinking": "terminal_controlled"
}

1. Always blink the cursor, ignore the terminal mode

"blinking": "on",

Copy On Select

• Description: Whether or not selecting text in the terminal will automatically copy to the system clipboard.
• Setting: copy_on_select
• Default: false

Options

boolean values

Env

• Description: Any key-value pairs added to this object will be added to the terminal's environment. Keys must be unique, use : to separate multiple values in a single variable
• Setting: env
• Default: {}

Example

"env": {
  "ZED": "1",
  "KEY": "value1:value2"
}

Font Size

• Description: What font size to use for the terminal. When not set defaults to matching the editor's font size
• Setting: font_size
• Default: null

Options

integer values

Font Family

• Description: What font to use for the terminal. When not set, defaults to matching the editor's font.
• Setting: font_family
• Default: null

Options

The name of any font family installed on the user's system

Font Features

• Description: What font features to use for the terminal. When not set, defaults to matching the editor's font features.
• Setting: font_features
• Default: null

Options

See Buffer Font Features

Option As Meta

• Description: Re-interprets the option keys to act like a 'meta' key, like in Emacs.
• Setting: option_as_meta
• Default: true

Options

boolean values

Shell

• Description: What shell to use when launching the terminal.
• Setting: shell
• Default: system

Options

1. Use the system's default terminal configuration (usually the /etc/passwd file).

{
    "shell": "system"
}

1. A program to launch:

"shell": {
    "program": "sh"
}

1. A program with arguments:

"shell": {
  "with_arguments": {
    "program": "/bin/bash",
    "args": ["--login"]
  }
}

Working Directory

• Description: What working directory to use when launching the terminal.
• Setting: working_directory
• Default: "current_project_directory"

Options

1. Use the current file's project directory. Will Fallback to the first project directory strategy if unsuccessful

{
    "working_directory": "current_project_directory"
}

1. Use the first project in this workspace's directory. Will fallback to using this platform's home directory.

{
    "working_directory": "first_project_directory"
}

1. Always use this platform's home directory (if we can find it)

{
    "working_directory": "always_home"
}

1. Always use a specific directory. This value will be shell expanded. If this path is not a valid directory the terminal will default to this platform's home directory.

"working_directory": {
  "always": {
    "directory": "~/zed/projects/"
  }
}

Theme

• Description: The name of the Zed theme to use for the UI.
• Setting: theme
• Default: One Dark

Options

Run the theme selector: toggle action in the command palette to see a current list of valid themes names.

mode

Allows setting a dark/light mode theme depending on the system-wide settings.

{
  "theme": {
    "mode": "system",
    "light": "One Light",
    "dark": "One Dark"
  }
}

The mode field is optional and indicates which theme should be used:

• system - Use the theme that corresponds to the system's appearance.
• light - Use the theme indicated by the light field.
• dark - Use the theme indicated by the dark field.

Vim

• Description: Whether or not to enable vim mode (work in progress).
• Setting: vim_mode
• Default: false

Project Panel

• Description: Customise project panel
• Setting: project_panel
• Default:

"project_panel": {
  "dock": "left",
  "git_status": true,
  "default_width": "N/A - width in pixels"
},

Dock

• Description: Control the position of the dock
• Setting: dock
• Default: left

Options

1. Default dock position to left

{
    "dock": "left"
}

1. Default dock position to right

{
    "dock": "right"
}

Git Status

• Description: Indicates newly created and updated files
• Setting: git_status
• Default: true

1. Default enable git status

{
    "git_status": true
}

1. Default disable git status

{
    "git_status": false
}

Default Width

• Description: Customise default width taken by project panel
• Setting: default_width
• Default: N/A width in pixels (eg: 420)

Options

boolean values

Calls

• Description: Customise behaviour when participating in a call
• Setting: calls
• Default:

"calls": {
  // Join calls with the microphone live by default
  "mute_on_join": false,
  // Share your project when you are the first to join a channel
  "share_on_join": true
},

An example configuration:

// ~/.config/zed/settings.json
{
    "theme": "cave-light",
    "tab_size": 2,
    "preferred_line_length": 80,
    "soft_wrap": "none",
 
    "buffer_font_size": 18,
    "buffer_font_family": "Zed Mono",
 
    "autosave": "on_focus_change",
    "format_on_save": "off",
    "vim_mode": false,
    "projects_online_by_default": true,
    "terminal": {
        "font_family": "FiraCode Nerd Font Mono",
        "blinking": "off"
    },
    "language_overrides": {
        "C": {
            "format_on_save": "language_server",
            "preferred_line_length": 64,
            "soft_wrap": "preferred_line_length"
        }
    }
}