REVIEWS / DEVELOPER TOOLS / OWNER INSIGHTS
🦉 WE READ 585 OWNER COMMENTS
Zed Code Editor: what owners actually say
Owners love the performance and progress but keep flagging security practices and platform limitations as real concerns
What owners complain about
- curl | bash installer COMMON
Multiple users are unhappy that the installer pipes curl directly into shell, with one commenter saying 'I thought we were past this as a society.' A package manager install option is now available but the default method drew significant criticism.
- Auto-downloading unsigned binaries SOME
Users reference a GitHub issue where Zed auto-downloads proprietary, unsigned binaries without user interaction, raising serious security red flags for some commenters.
- Was Mac-only at launch COMMON
Multiple YouTube commenters say they lost interest immediately upon hearing 'Mac only,' and several state it can never be a 'VS Code killer' without Windows and Linux support. Linux support has since been added.
- Fear of abandonment FEW
At least two commenters express anxiety about the project failing or being forgotten, with one saying 'I hope it doesn't fail or I'll be stuck with vscode' and another predicting it will 'soon be forgotten.'
- Discord as community hub FEW
At least one user is frustrated that the project relies on Discord, suggesting projects should move away from it.
What owners love
- Speed and 120fps rendering
Multiple users are excited about the 120fps rendering, with one jokingly saying it's 'exactly what i was missing all these years' and others commenting on the performance gains over editors like Atom.
- Rapid development progress
Users note how much has changed in a short time — Linux support and extensions have been added, and one commenter calls a changelog 'immense' and congratulates the team.
- Built by Atom creators in Rust
Commenters highlight that it's made by the team behind Atom and written in Rust, with one noting the irony that Atom 'made Visual Studio seem fast' yet the same people built a genuinely fast editor.
- Well-thought-out design principles
A long-term user praises the design principles as 'very well thought out' and says it could have been 'a worthy successor of emacs.'
Surprising patterns
- Users confuse the name with other editors — multiple commenters clarify it's not Xed (2016) or Yed, suggesting the name creates genuine discoverability problems.
- The high-frame-rate selling point draws sarcastic but affectionate reactions, with users joking about coding at '3wpm at 120fps' and 'saving 39ms' — suggesting performance marketing resonates even when mocked.
- Several commenters who originally watched launch videos are returning months later to note how much has changed, treating the editor's evolution as a story worth tracking over time.
WHO SHOULD SKIP IT
Security-conscious developers who are uncomfortable with curl|bash installers or unsigned auto-downloaded binaries should wait or use the package manager route carefully.
Synthesised from 585 real owner comments across 4 platforms. Every point is grounded in the comments — no marketing, no AI guessing. How we do it →