>[!WARNING] Avoid > AI [[Generative AI|Slop]] nonsense deeply integrated into the UX. Zed is a [[GPLv3]] licensed [[Editor]] written in [[Rust]]. - [Source](https://github.com/zed-industries/zed) > Zed is a next-generation code editor designed for high-performance collaboration with humans and AI. \- official website # Philosophy Supposedly developed by the people behind [[Atom Editor]], which was *also* a bloated mess. As well as [[Treesitter]] - the absolute worst part of [[NeoVim]]. ## Slop > Integrate LLMs into your workflow to generate, transform, and analyze code. \- official website Zed is [[Generative AI|Slop]]-centric. They mention it constantly on their website. The code repo has configuration files for half a dozen different [[Generative AI|Slop]] sources. They have training seminars. They sell services. It's their whole business model. Zed did not launch with [[Generative AI|Slop]], it was bolted on, on April 20th 2023.[^6] And then they started asking an LLM what users thought about Zed - something the LLM could not possibly know, even after feeding in messages from users - and basing their business decisions off of its made-up responses.[^7] Complete insanity. It was around this time that [[Conrad Irwin]], CTO of [[Generative AI|Slop]]-email-startup "Superhuman" joined the team. It's so upsetting to think about how many thousands of hours have been wasted building [[Generative AI|Slop]] integrations instead of making a better editor. At least 6 of the listed team members seem primarily focused on this [[Generative AI#The Future of Slop|dead-end]] tech. On the hilarious side, the contributing guidelines for Zed specifically say: > Things we will (probably) not merge > ... > - Anything that seems completely AI generated. \- Zed's `CONTRIBUTING.md`[^1] It's like they know it's poison, but are happy to promote it anyway because they think it's an income stream - despite it primarily being a money pit. > I'm excited about the clarity I achieved this week for Zed's future, and I've been running up a tab at OpenAI. \- Nathan Sobo, via a quote in official blog post "*This Week at Zed Industries: #3*"[^8] In mid-2025, they started offering a one-click option to disable all [[Generative AI|Slop]] features.[^4] Which is honestly *industry-leading* - better than [[Firefox]] or [[VS Code]]. Although potentially some UI elements might remain.[^5] > Some developers have fundamental objections to AI in their coding process—whether it's concerns about training data, environmental impact, or philosophical reasons about machine-generated code. You may prefer the predictability and control that comes with traditional development tools, without any AI suggestions interfering with your workflow. > ... > We've heard these concerns from our users, and we agree these are valid engineering decisions. Zed is built to respect your intent. If you don’t want AI in your workflow, it won’t be there. \- Franciska Dethlefsen, official blog post "*You Can Now Disable All AI Features in Zed*"[^4] (2025) In that same blog post they basically beg people to reconsider, using the same bullshit arguments we've heard from NFT shills and other con artists for years - that it's here to stay and the future and anyone who doesn't jump on board will get left behind: > You don't have to love it. But understanding it (so you can use it effectively, or choose not to) is becoming part of the craft. > ... > Even if you're skeptical, these tools are quickly becoming part of how software gets built. Understanding them helps you make informed decisions about when and how to use them—or not use them. \- Franciska Dethlefsen, official blog post "*You Can Now Disable All AI Features in Zed*"[^4] (2025) Nauseating. ## Business Model > Is Zed a for-profit company? > >Yes. We sold equity in our company to investors to enable ourselves to give Zed the focus it deserves. \- official FAQ[^9] Zed is subscription-based and currently ([[2025-11-23]]) only has two paid[^3] tiers: - "Pro" - [[Generative AI|Slop]] integration - "Enterprise" - analytics, SSO, etc The "Personal" tier offers some free [[Generative AI|Slop]] or BYOS (bring your own [[Generative AI|Slop]]). ## Privacy Using the collaboration features seems to send filenames and file contents through Zed's servers[^10] and you must log in using [[GitHub]] - which Zed provides no way to log out of. There is no information in the documentation about if this critical data is end-to-end encrypted - so I am forced to conclude that it is not. That seems like an enormous security hole for any business. ## License Closed source until January 2024[^2] when the editor became [[GPLv3]], the server components [[AGPLv3]], and the Rust UI framework [[Apache v2]]. # References [^1]: https://github.com/zed-industries/zed/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md [^2]: https://zed.dev/blog/zed-is-now-open-source [^3]: https://zed.dev/pricing [^4]: https://zed.dev/blog/disable-ai-features [^5]: https://leonidboykov.com/how-to-disable-all-ai-stuff-in-zed/ [^6]: https://zed.dev/blog/copilot [^7]: https://zed.dev/blog/this-week-at-zed-2 [^8]: https://zed.dev/blog/this-week-at-zed-3 [^9]: https://zed.dev/faq#is-zed-a-for-profit-company [^10]: https://zed.dev/faq#data-and-privacy