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Zed on macOS

Zed is developed primarily on macOS, making it a first-class platform with full feature support.

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Installing Zed

Download Zed from the download page. The download is a .dmg file—open it and drag Zed to your Applications folder. For the preview build, which receives updates about a week ahead of stable, visit the preview releases page. After installation, Zed checks for updates automatically and prompts you when a new version is available.

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Homebrew

You can also install Zed using Homebrew: 
brew install --cask zed
For the preview version: 
brew install --cask zed@preview

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Building from Source

To build Zed from source, see the macOS development documentation.

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System Requirements

  • macOS 10.15.7 (Catalina) or later
  • Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3/M4) or Intel processor
Zed uses Metal for GPU-accelerated rendering, which is available on all supported macOS versions.

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Installing the CLI

Zed includes a command-line tool for opening files and projects from Terminal. To install it:
  1. Open Zed
  2. Open the command palette with Cmd+Shift+P
  3. Run cli: install
This creates a zed command in /usr/local/bin. You can then open files and folders: 
zed .                    # Open current folder
zed file.txt             # Open a file
zed project/ file.txt    # Open a folder and a file
See the CLI Reference for all available options.

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Uninstall

  1. Quit Zed if it’s running
  2. Drag Zed from Applications to the Trash
  3. Optionally, remove your settings and extensions:
rm -rf ~/.config/zed
rm -rf ~/Library/Application\ Support/Zed
rm -rf ~/Library/Caches/Zed
rm -rf ~/Library/Logs/Zed
rm -rf ~/Library/Saved\ Application\ State/dev.zed.Zed.savedState
If you installed the CLI, remove it with: 
rm /usr/local/bin/zed

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Troubleshooting

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Zed won’t open or shows “damaged” warning

If macOS reports that Zed is damaged or can’t be opened, it’s likely a Gatekeeper issue. Try:
  1. Right-click (or Control-click) on Zed in Applications
  2. Select “Open” from the context menu
  3. Click “Open” in the dialog that appears
This tells macOS to trust the application. If that doesn’t work, remove the quarantine attribute: 
xattr -cr /Applications/Zed.app

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CLI command not found

If the zed command isn’t available after installation:
  1. Check that /usr/local/bin is in your PATH
  2. Try reinstalling the CLI via cli: install in the command palette
  3. Open a new terminal window to reload your PATH

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GPU or rendering issues

Zed uses Metal for rendering. If you experience graphical glitches:
  1. Ensure macOS is up to date
  2. Restart your Mac to reset the GPU state
  3. Check Activity Monitor for GPU pressure from other apps

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High memory or CPU usage

If Zed uses more resources than expected:
  1. Check for runaway language servers in the terminal output (zed: open log)
  2. Try disabling extensions one by one to identify conflicts
  3. For large projects, consider using project settings to exclude unnecessary folders from indexing
For additional help, see the Troubleshooting guide or visit the Zed Discord.