C++

C++ support is available natively in Zed.

• Tree Sitter: tree-sitter/tree-sitter-cpp
• Language Server: clangd/clangd

Binary

You can configure which clangd binary Zed should use.

To use a binary in a custom location, add the following to your settings.json:

{
  "lsp": {
    "clangd": {
      "binary": {
        "path": "/path/to/clangd",
        "arguments": []
      }
    }
  }
}

If you want to disable Zed looking for a clangd binary, you can set ignore_system_version to true:

{
  "lsp": {
    "clangd": {
      "binary": {
        "ignore_system_version": true
      }
    }
  }
}

Arguments

You can pass any number of arguments to clangd. To see a full set of available options, run clangd --help from the command line. For example with --function-arg-placeholders=0 completions contain only parentheses for function calls, while the default (--function-arg-placeholders=1) completions also contain placeholders for method parameters.

{
  "lsp": {
    "clangd": {
      "binary": {
        "path": "/path/to/clangd",
        "arguments": ["--function-arg-placeholders=0"]
      }
    }
  }
}

Formatting

By default Zed will use the clangd language server for formatting C++ code. The Clangd is the same as the clang-format CLI tool. To configure this you can add a .clang-format file. For example:

---
BasedOnStyle: LLVM
IndentWidth: 4
---
Language: Cpp
# Force pointers to the type for C++.
DerivePointerAlignment: false
PointerAlignment: Left
---

See Clang-Format Style Options for a complete list of options.

You can trigger formatting via cmd-shift-i|ctrl-shift-i or the editor: format action from the command palette or by adding format_on_save to your Zed settings:

  "languages": {
    "C++": {
      "format_on_save": "on",
      "tab_size": 2
    }
  }

More server configuration

In the root of your project, it is generally common to create a .clangd file to set extra configuration.

CompileFlags:
  Add:
    - "--include-directory=/path/to/include"
Diagnostics:
  MissingIncludes: Strict
  UnusedIncludes: Strict

For more advanced usage of clangd configuration file, take a look into their official page.