Zed Industries has taken a significant step forward by launching a public beta of its code editor for Windows, a move that expands its reach beyond the macOS and Linux platforms. This Rust-based alternative to Visual Studio Code is now poised to cater to a broader audience of developers who predominantly operate within a Windows environment.
Addressing Market Needs
The introduction of Zed for Windows addresses a notable gap in the market. While Mac laptops are a common sight at developer conferences, data from Stack Overflow reveals that nearly half of professional developers—49.5 percent—prefer Windows as their primary development environment, compared to 32.9 percent who use macOS. This shift is particularly timely, as Zed has previously offered only build instructions and a private beta for Windows users, with no pre-built release available until now.
The new Windows nightly beta build, currently available in the Zed community Discord channel, is an exciting development. Joseph Lyons from Zed announced, “We have started inviting people in from the beta list in waves of thousands, but decided to post the link as well in the Windows channel … as a way to jump the line.” An email sent to testers indicates that a general access release is planned for October.
Current Features and Future Plans
Though still in beta, the current version of Zed is already making waves. The macOS release is only at version 0.201, while Zed 1.0 is slated for release in Spring 2026. This upcoming version promises enhanced support for coding in Rust, Python, and various web languages, alongside features such as notebook support and multi-agent collaboration.
Since its initial beta launch in March 2023, Zed has evolved significantly. Co-Founder Nathan Sobo, who previously contributed to the Atom editor at GitHub, emphasized the choice of Rust for its “low-level control and expressiveness.” The team has also developed a GPU-accelerated UI framework to overcome the limitations associated with Electron, which powers both Atom and Visual Studio Code.
Performance Insights
In our testing of the new beta, we observed notable performance differences. With the same folder and files open, Visual Studio Code consumed 730MB of RAM, while Zed operated efficiently at just 142MB, as reported by the Windows Task Manager. For comparison, Notepad++, a more traditional text editor written in C++, used only 22.7MB, highlighting the varying degrees of functionality offered by different editors.
Integration with WSL
Zed on Windows also boasts the capability to connect to local WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) instances. By installing a server component and configuring a WSL Distro in the Remote Projects menu, developers can seamlessly edit within the Windows environment while running and debugging code in WSL. This feature is particularly advantageous for those looking to deploy applications to Linux or utilize Linux-specific tools and libraries.
While some users have reported bugs in the current build, the overall sentiment remains positive. One developer remarked, “Having a snappy, responsive editor makes coding so enjoyable.” However, it’s important to note that this beta version is still a preview, and usage is undertaken at the developer’s own risk.
