Zed's dead, baby. Zed's dead? No, wait – it's on Windows
(2025/09/30)
- Reference: 1759238707
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2025/09/30/zed_windows_beta_sneaks_out/
- Source link:
Zed Industries has released a public beta of its code editor for Windows, marking a significant milestone for the Rust-based VS Code alternative that has until now been limited to macOS and Linux users.
[1]
Zed running on Windows in the new beta version
The move addresses a critical gap in Zed's market reach. Mac laptops dominate developer conferences, yet Windows remains the workhorse for nearly half the profession: 49.5 percent of professional developers use Windows as their primary development environment, according to [2]Stack Overflow's latest survey , compared to 32.9 percent on macOS.
Until now there were build instructions for Zed Windows and a private beta, but no pre-built release. Now a Windows nightly beta build (though x86-64 only) has been published via the Zed [3]community Discord channel , with Zed's Joseph Lyons stating:
"We have started inviting people in from the beta list in waves of thousands, but decided to post the link as well in the Windows channel ... as a way to jump the line."
According to an email sent to testers, the plan is to release this for general access in October.
[4]
The current preview is described as a beta, though we note that even the macOS release is only at version 0.201. According to the [5]roadmap Zed 1.0 is set for Spring 2026, and will include improved support for coding in Rust, Python and web languages, as well as other features such as notebook support and multi-agent collaboration.
[6]
[7]
Zed was first released as a beta in March 2023. Co-Founder Nathan Sobo, who previously worked on the Atom editor at GitHub, [8]said at the time that "we chose Rust for its combination of low-level control and expressiveness, then wrote our own GPU-accelerate UI framework to transcend the limitations of Electron." Electron is based on the Chromium browser engine and is used by both Atom (now discontinued) and Visual Studio Code (VS Code).
[9]Everything is 'different on Windows': Zed port delays highlight dev friction
[10]Microsoft's first preview of Visual Studio 2026: Deeper AI and a design refresh
[11]Let us git rid of it, angry GitHub users say of forced Copilot features
[12]Zed code editor hears your prayers, rolls out AI-free mode
In the ensuing two and half years, Zed has been open sourced, embraced AI, and added features including a debugger and native Git support, but getting a Windows version has proved difficult thanks to [13]fundamental differences between Microsoft's operating system and those which are Unix-like.
We tried the new beta, and on our system, with the same folder and files open, VSCode grabbed 730MB RAM, whereas Zed managed with 142MB, according to the Windows Task Manager, though old stalwart Notepad++ used only 22.7MB, perhaps because Notepad++ (written in C++) is more towards the "just an editor" end of the spectrum between pure editor and full-featured IDE.
Connecting Zed to a WSL distro or remote server
Zed on Windows can connect to local WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) instances by installing a server component, configured by adding a WSL Distro in the Remote Projects menu. This makes it possible to edit in the Windows environment while running and debugging code in WSL, a common scenario for developers intending to deploy an application to Linux, or who need to use Linux tools and libraries.
Developers have noted bugs in the current build but are generally positive. "Having a snappy, responsive editor makes coding so enjoyable," said one. Nevertheless this is in a sense a preview of a pre-release and usage is at the developer's own risk. ®
Get our [14]Tech Resources
[1] https://regmedia.co.uk/2025/09/30/zed-windows.jpg
[2] https://survey.stackoverflow.co/2025/technology/#1-computer-operating-systems
[3] https://zed.dev/community-links
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aNv-lkKZSqlqcxxs6x_wMAAAAk0&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[5] https://zed.dev/roadmap
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aNv-lkKZSqlqcxxs6x_wMAAAAk0&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aNv-lkKZSqlqcxxs6x_wMAAAAk0&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[8] https://zed.dev/blog/beta
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2025/08/22/everything_is_different_on_windows/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2025/09/10/visual_studio_2026_previewed_deeper/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2025/09/05/github_copilot_complaints/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2025/07/30/zed_without_llm_bot/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2025/08/22/everything_is_different_on_windows/
[14] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
[1]
Zed running on Windows in the new beta version
The move addresses a critical gap in Zed's market reach. Mac laptops dominate developer conferences, yet Windows remains the workhorse for nearly half the profession: 49.5 percent of professional developers use Windows as their primary development environment, according to [2]Stack Overflow's latest survey , compared to 32.9 percent on macOS.
Until now there were build instructions for Zed Windows and a private beta, but no pre-built release. Now a Windows nightly beta build (though x86-64 only) has been published via the Zed [3]community Discord channel , with Zed's Joseph Lyons stating:
"We have started inviting people in from the beta list in waves of thousands, but decided to post the link as well in the Windows channel ... as a way to jump the line."
According to an email sent to testers, the plan is to release this for general access in October.
[4]
The current preview is described as a beta, though we note that even the macOS release is only at version 0.201. According to the [5]roadmap Zed 1.0 is set for Spring 2026, and will include improved support for coding in Rust, Python and web languages, as well as other features such as notebook support and multi-agent collaboration.
[6]
[7]
Zed was first released as a beta in March 2023. Co-Founder Nathan Sobo, who previously worked on the Atom editor at GitHub, [8]said at the time that "we chose Rust for its combination of low-level control and expressiveness, then wrote our own GPU-accelerate UI framework to transcend the limitations of Electron." Electron is based on the Chromium browser engine and is used by both Atom (now discontinued) and Visual Studio Code (VS Code).
[9]Everything is 'different on Windows': Zed port delays highlight dev friction
[10]Microsoft's first preview of Visual Studio 2026: Deeper AI and a design refresh
[11]Let us git rid of it, angry GitHub users say of forced Copilot features
[12]Zed code editor hears your prayers, rolls out AI-free mode
In the ensuing two and half years, Zed has been open sourced, embraced AI, and added features including a debugger and native Git support, but getting a Windows version has proved difficult thanks to [13]fundamental differences between Microsoft's operating system and those which are Unix-like.
We tried the new beta, and on our system, with the same folder and files open, VSCode grabbed 730MB RAM, whereas Zed managed with 142MB, according to the Windows Task Manager, though old stalwart Notepad++ used only 22.7MB, perhaps because Notepad++ (written in C++) is more towards the "just an editor" end of the spectrum between pure editor and full-featured IDE.
Connecting Zed to a WSL distro or remote server
Zed on Windows can connect to local WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) instances by installing a server component, configured by adding a WSL Distro in the Remote Projects menu. This makes it possible to edit in the Windows environment while running and debugging code in WSL, a common scenario for developers intending to deploy an application to Linux, or who need to use Linux tools and libraries.
Developers have noted bugs in the current build but are generally positive. "Having a snappy, responsive editor makes coding so enjoyable," said one. Nevertheless this is in a sense a preview of a pre-release and usage is at the developer's own risk. ®
Get our [14]Tech Resources
[1] https://regmedia.co.uk/2025/09/30/zed-windows.jpg
[2] https://survey.stackoverflow.co/2025/technology/#1-computer-operating-systems
[3] https://zed.dev/community-links
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aNv-lkKZSqlqcxxs6x_wMAAAAk0&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[5] https://zed.dev/roadmap
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aNv-lkKZSqlqcxxs6x_wMAAAAk0&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aNv-lkKZSqlqcxxs6x_wMAAAAk0&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[8] https://zed.dev/blog/beta
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2025/08/22/everything_is_different_on_windows/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2025/09/10/visual_studio_2026_previewed_deeper/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2025/09/05/github_copilot_complaints/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2025/07/30/zed_without_llm_bot/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2025/08/22/everything_is_different_on_windows/
[14] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: "Having a snappy, responsive editor makes coding so enjoyable,"
m4r35n357
Those memory usage figures are obscene. The files were clearly <22MB (notepad++).
Re: "Having a snappy, responsive editor makes coding so enjoyable,"
Irongut
I recall being able to type faster than Word for Windows 1.0 but that was a very long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.
"dead? No, wait – it's on Windows"
Anonymous Coward
The difference being ?
No slight on Zed intended. I am sure Zed's quality is far too good to be forced to run under Windows. Pearls and swine etc
Very nice but
Irongut
If I want a code editor I'll use a full fat IDE thanks.
What I want is a good text editor that launches in a fraction of a second and has useful features for editing text which may or may not be code. I don't want an Electron frankenweb app, Git integration, AI support, multi-agent collaboration, etc, etc. I also don't want to know what language it was written in because if you're that desparate to tell me then it was a religious choice, not a technical one.
So far Sublime is the best I've found but they too can't resist the kitchen sink approach to adding pointless features.
"Having a snappy, responsive editor makes coding so enjoyable,"
Which some of us have been enjoying, even on Windows, for decades. Or DOS (you had to be typing pretty damn fast to get ahead of BRIEF on a 4.77 MHz Intel 8088).
What on earth have people been doing to make *any* editor non-snappy, non-responsive, in these days of 16GB-plus RAM, multi-core CPUs running at ludicrous speeds? And why have people making comments like that been choosing to use whatever monstrosity rather than look for anything better - oh, wait, let me guess, none of the editors with a long history are New and Exciting.