Zed on macOS

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

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.

Homebrew

You can also install Zed using Homebrew:

brew install --cask zed

For the preview version:

brew install --cask zed@preview

Building from Source

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

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.

Installing the CLI

Zed includes a command-line tool for opening files and projects from Terminal. To install it:

Open Zed
Open the command palette with Cmd+Shift+P
Run cli: install cli binary

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.

Uninstall

Quit Zed if it's running
Drag Zed from Applications to the Trash
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

Troubleshooting

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:

Right-click (or Control-click) on Zed in Applications
Select "Open" from the context menu
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

CLI command not found

If the zed command isn't available after installation:

Check that /usr/local/bin is in your PATH
Try reinstalling the CLI via cli: install cli binary in the command palette
Open a new terminal window to reload your PATH

cli: install cli binary writes a zed symlink to /usr/local/bin, which requires administrator privileges. If your macOS account isn't in the admin group, Zed can't create that symlink and will report that it can't install the CLI automatically.

Instead, you can add an alias pointing to the cli binary bundled inside the app. The path depends on where Zed is installed:

# Default install (Zed in /Applications)
alias zed="/Applications/Zed.app/Contents/MacOS/cli"

# User install (Zed in ~/Applications)
alias zed="$HOME/Applications/Zed.app/Contents/MacOS/cli"

# Preview build (Zed Preview in ~/Applications)
alias zed="$HOME/Applications/Zed Preview.app/Contents/MacOS/cli"

Add the line that matches your install to your shell configuration file. Use ~/.zshrc for Zsh (the default on modern macOS) or ~/.bashrc for Bash.

After you restart your shell, you will be able to use zed from your terminal:

zed .              # Open current folder
zed file.txt       # Open a file

GPU or rendering issues

Zed uses Metal for rendering. If you experience graphical glitches:

Ensure macOS is up to date
Restart your Mac to reset the GPU state
Check Activity Monitor for GPU pressure from other apps

High memory or CPU usage

If Zed uses more resources than expected:

Check for runaway language servers in the terminal output (zed: open log)
Try disabling extensions one by one to identify conflicts
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.