Configuration Guide

Glass provides flexible configuration through the Settings Editor, JSON files, and project-specific overrides. This guide covers all configuration options and best practices.

Settings System Overview

Glass uses a layered settings system:

Default settings - Built-in defaults from Glass
User settings - Your global preferences
Project settings - Project-specific overrides

Settings merge from top to bottom, with later layers overriding earlier ones.

Settings Editor

The Settings Editor provides a searchable interface for configuration.

Open Settings Editor

Cmd+,

Or from the Command Palette:

Run zed: open settings

Using the Settings Editor

Search for Settings

Type in the search box to filter settings. Results update as you type.

Modify Values

Click controls to change values. Changes save automatically to settings.json.

Reset to Default

Click the reset icon next to any setting to restore its default value.

Not all settings appear in the Settings Editor yet. Advanced options like language-specific formatters require editing the JSON file directly.

Settings Files

User Settings Location

Your global settings file is located at:

macOS
Linux
Windows

~/.config/glass/settings.json

~/.config/glass/settings.json

Or if XDG_CONFIG_HOME is set:

$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/glass/settings.json

%APPDATA%\Glass\settings.json

Open Settings File

Edit the JSON directly:

Cmd+Alt+,

Or run zed: open settings file from the Command Palette.

Settings File Format

Settings use JSON with // comments:

settings.json

{
  // Editor appearance
  "theme": {
    "mode": "system",
    "light": "One Light",
    "dark": "One Dark"
  },
  
  // Font configuration
  "buffer_font_family": "JetBrains Mono",
  "buffer_font_size": 14,
  "buffer_line_height": "comfortable",
  
  // Editor behavior
  "tab_size": 2,
  "format_on_save": "on",
  "autosave": "on_focus_change",
  
  // UI preferences
  "ui_font_size": 16,
  "base_keymap": "VSCode"
}

View Default Settings

See all available settings with their default values:

Open Command Palette (Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+P)
Run zed: open default settings

This opens a read-only reference file showing every configurable option.

Project Settings

Override user settings for specific projects.

Create Project Settings

Open Your Project

Open the project folder in Glass.

Create Settings File

Run zed: open project settings from the Command Palette.This creates .zed/settings.json in your project root.

Add Overrides

Add project-specific settings. These only apply to this project.

Example Project Settings

.zed/settings.json

{
  // Project-specific tab width
  "tab_size": 4,
  
  // Use specific formatter
  "formatter": "prettier",
  "format_on_save": "on",
  
  // Language-specific settings
  "languages": {
    "Python": {
      "tab_size": 4,
      "formatter": "language_server"
    },
    "JavaScript": {
      "tab_size": 2
    }
  }
}

Subdirectory Settings

Create .zed/settings.json in any subdirectory for even more granular control:

my-project/
  .zed/settings.json          # Project-wide settings
  frontend/
    .zed/settings.json        # Frontend-specific settings
  backend/
    .zed/settings.json        # Backend-specific settings

Project Settings Limitations

Some settings only work at the user level:

theme and visual appearance
base_keymap
Window and UI behavior

Project settings are limited to editor behavior and language tooling.

Common Configuration

Appearance

settings.json

{
  "theme": {
    "mode": "system",  // or "light", "dark"
    "light": "One Light",
    "dark": "One Dark"
  },
  "icon_theme": "Zed (Default)",
  "ui_font_size": 16,
  "buffer_font_family": "JetBrains Mono",
  "buffer_font_size": 14,
  "buffer_line_height": "comfortable"  // or "standard", {"custom": 1.5}
}

Editor Behavior

settings.json

{
  "tab_size": 2,
  "hard_tabs": false,
  "format_on_save": "on",  // or "off", "language_server"
  "autosave": "on_focus_change",  // or "on_window_change", "after_delay", "off"
  "show_whitespace": "selection",  // or "all", "none"
  "show_wrap_guides": true,
  "wrap_guides": [80, 120]
}

Terminal

settings.json

{
  "terminal": {
    "shell": {
      "program": "/bin/zsh",  // or "bash", "fish", "pwsh"
      "args": ["--login"]
    },
    "font_family": "JetBrains Mono",
    "font_size": 14,
    "blinking": "terminal_controlled",
    "env": {
      "EDITOR": "glass --wait"
    }
  }
}

Language-Specific Settings

settings.json

{
  "languages": {
    "Python": {
      "tab_size": 4,
      "formatter": "language_server",
      "format_on_save": "on"
    },
    "JavaScript": {
      "tab_size": 2,
      "formatter": "prettier"
    },
    "Rust": {
      "format_on_save": "on",
      "preferred_line_length": 100
    }
  }
}

Git Integration

settings.json

{
  "git": {
    "git_gutter": "tracked_files",  // or "all_files", "none"
    "inline_blame": {
      "enabled": true,
      "delay_ms": 1000
    }
  }
}

Per-Channel Settings

Use different settings for Stable, Preview, or Nightly builds:

settings.json

{
  "theme": "One Dark",
  "buffer_font_size": 14,
  
  "nightly": {
    "theme": "Rosé Pine",
    "buffer_font_size": 15
  },
  
  "preview": {
    "theme": "Ayu Dark"
  }
}

With this configuration:

Stable uses One Dark at size 14
Preview uses Ayu Dark at size 14
Nightly uses Rosé Pine at size 15

Changes in the Settings Editor apply across all channels. Channel-specific settings only work in the JSON file.

Settings Deep Links

Open specific settings directly using deep links:

glass://settings/theme
glass://settings/buffer_font_size
glass://settings/format_on_save

Use these in documentation, scripts, or shared with team members.

Advanced Configuration

Multi-Cursor Modifier

settings.json

{
  "multi_cursor_modifier": "alt"  // or "cmd", "ctrl", "cmd_or_ctrl"
}

Active Pane Styling

settings.json

{
  "active_pane_modifiers": {
    "border_size": 2.0,
    "inactive_opacity": 0.9
  }
}

Confirm Before Quit

settings.json

{
  "confirm_quit": true
}

Restore Session

settings.json

{
  "restore_on_startup": "last_session"  // or "last_workspace", "none"
}

settings.json

{
  "hover_popover_enabled": true,
  "hover_popover_delay": 500  // milliseconds
}

Environment Variables

Glass respects these environment variables:

General

GLASS_CONFIG_DIR - Override config directory location
XDG_CONFIG_HOME - Standard Linux config location (Linux only)
EDITOR - Set Glass as default editor: export EDITOR="glass --wait"

Development

RUST_LOG - Control logging: export RUST_LOG=debug
GLASS_LOG - Glass-specific logging
GLASS_COPY_REMOTE_SERVER - Path to remote server binary for development

Terminal

Set in your terminal settings:

settings.json

{
  "terminal": {
    "env": {
      "PATH": "/usr/local/bin:$PATH",
      "NODE_ENV": "development"
    }
  }
}

Configuration Schema

Glass settings files include a JSON schema for validation and autocomplete:

settings.json

{
  "$schema": "glass://schemas/settings"
}

This enables:

Autocomplete in editors that support JSON Schema
Validation to catch typos and invalid values
Inline documentation with hover tooltips

Example Configurations

Minimal Configuration

settings.json

{
  "theme": "One Dark",
  "buffer_font_family": "SF Mono",
  "tab_size": 2,
  "format_on_save": "on"
}

Full-Featured Configuration

settings.json

{
  "theme": {
    "mode": "system",
    "light": "One Light",
    "dark": "Ayu Dark"
  },
  "buffer_font_family": "JetBrains Mono",
  "buffer_font_size": 14,
  "buffer_line_height": "comfortable",
  "ui_font_size": 16,
  "base_keymap": "VSCode",
  
  "tab_size": 2,
  "hard_tabs": false,
  "format_on_save": "on",
  "autosave": "on_focus_change",
  "show_whitespace": "selection",
  "wrap_guides": [80, 120],
  
  "terminal": {
    "shell": {
      "program": "/bin/zsh"
    },
    "font_family": "JetBrains Mono",
    "font_size": 13
  },
  
  "git": {
    "git_gutter": "tracked_files",
    "inline_blame": {
      "enabled": true
    }
  },
  
  "languages": {
    "Python": {
      "tab_size": 4
    },
    "Rust": {
      "format_on_save": "on"
    }
  }
}

Next Steps

Keybindings

Customize keyboard shortcuts and create custom bindings

Themes

Choose and customize color themes

Languages

Configure language-specific settings and tools

AI Configuration

Set up AI providers and agent settings

Settings Reference

For a complete list of all available settings, see:

All Settings Reference
Default settings: Run zed: open default settings in Glass
GitHub: default.json

Use the Settings Editor (Cmd/Ctrl+,) to discover settings with built-in documentation and type checking.

Get Started

Core Features

AI Capabilities

Development

Customization

Language Support

​Configuration Guide

​Settings System Overview

​Settings Editor

​Open Settings Editor

​Using the Settings Editor

​Settings Files

​User Settings Location

​Open Settings File

​Settings File Format

​View Default Settings

​Project Settings

​Create Project Settings

​Example Project Settings

​Subdirectory Settings

​Project Settings Limitations

​Common Configuration

​Appearance

​Editor Behavior

​Terminal

​Language-Specific Settings

​Git Integration

​Per-Channel Settings

​Settings Deep Links

​Advanced Configuration

​Multi-Cursor Modifier

​Active Pane Styling

​Confirm Before Quit

​Restore Session

​Hover Popover Delay

​Environment Variables

​General

​Development

​Terminal

​Configuration Schema

​Example Configurations

​Minimal Configuration

​Full-Featured Configuration

​Next Steps

Keybindings

Themes

Languages

AI Configuration

​Settings Reference

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Configuration Guide

Settings System Overview

Settings Editor

Open Settings Editor

Using the Settings Editor

Settings Files

User Settings Location

Open Settings File

Settings File Format

View Default Settings

Project Settings

Create Project Settings

Example Project Settings

Subdirectory Settings

Project Settings Limitations

Common Configuration

Appearance

Editor Behavior

Terminal

Language-Specific Settings

Git Integration

Per-Channel Settings

Settings Deep Links

Advanced Configuration

Multi-Cursor Modifier

Active Pane Styling

Confirm Before Quit

Restore Session

Hover Popover Delay

Environment Variables

General

Development

Terminal

Configuration Schema

Example Configurations

Minimal Configuration

Full-Featured Configuration

Next Steps

Settings Reference