Editing Basics

The Zed Editing Philosophy

Zed's editing capabilities combine the best features from modern editors with unique optimizations:

• Performance: Native, GPU-backed editing stays responsive in large files
• Precision: Powerful selection and multi-cursor tools
• Intelligence: Language servers, Tree-sitter structure, and AI edit prediction
• Flexibility: Customizable to match your workflow (including Vim or Helix modes)

Text Selection

Basic Selection

Zed offers several ways to select text:

• Mouse Selection: Click and drag to select text
• Keyboard Selection: Hold Shift while using arrow keys
• Word Selection: Double-click a word, or move/select by word with Alt/Option + arrows
• Line Selection: Triple-click a line, or use the line-select shortcut below

Smart Selection

Because Zed understands code structure via Tree-sitter, you can grow selections by syntax node:

• Expand / shrink selection: Use the Command Palette and search for editor: select larger syntax node / editor: select smaller syntax node (bindings can vary by keymap)
• Select to bracket: Search the Command Palette for bracket / surrounding pair selection if you use it often
• Select all occurrences: Place a cursor on every match of the current selection with the shortcuts above

Multiple Cursors

One of Zed's most powerful features is editing in multiple places simultaneously:

Creating Multiple Cursors

Common Use Cases

1. Rename Multiple Variables (local)

   Select a symbol, select all occurrences, then type to replace them in the current file. For project-wide renames, prefer a language-server rename (see Diagnostics & Quick Fixes below) or a Multibuffer workflow.

2. Add Text to Multiple Lines

   Add cursors above/below, then type once to edit every line.

3. Convert Data Formats

   Use column selection to transform columns of data between formats.

Text Manipulation

Basic Editing

Moving Text

Transformations

• Open the Command Palette and search for transform commands such as uppercase / lowercase
• Many transformations also appear when you have an active selection

Find and Replace

Basic Find

Open the find bar, then step through matches:

Find and Replace

• Enter search term and replacement text
• Replace the current match, or replace all matches in the buffer

Search Options

• Case Sensitivity: Toggle case-sensitive search
• Whole Word: Match only complete words
• Regular Expressions: Use regex patterns for advanced searching

Edit Prediction

Edit Prediction shows AI-powered ghost-text completions as you type — similar in spirit to Copilot-style suggestions. Providers can include Zed's Zeta model and other configured backends.

• Keep typing to refine the prediction, or accept when it looks right
• Acceptance / partial-accept bindings depend on your settings and provider
• Disable or reconfigure edit prediction in Settings if you prefer classic completions only

Multibuffers

A Multibuffer is a single editor view that aggregates excerpts from many files. It is one of Zed's distinctive editing surfaces for cross-file work.

Common ways you enter a Multibuffer:

• Project search results: Edit every hit without hopping file-to-file
• Diagnostics: Review and fix errors across the project in one list of excerpts
• Rename / find references style workflows: Apply structured multi-file edits when the language server supports them

Inline Assistant

Use the Inline Assistant for quick, prompt-driven edits at the cursor or on a selection — generate a function, rewrite a block, add tests, or explain and transform code in place.

1. Select context (optional)

   Highlight the code you want transformed, or place the cursor where new code should appear.

2. Open the Inline Assistant

   Trigger the shortcut, write a short instruction, and accept or iterate on the result.

Language Server Diagnostics & Quick Fixes

When a language server is active, Zed surfaces errors and warnings in the editor gutter, the status bar, and diagnostic views.

• Inline diagnostics: Squiggles and hover details explain the problem
• Quick fixes / code actions: Apply server-provided fixes from the Code Actions menu
• Project diagnostics: Open a Multibuffer of issues across the workspace

Code Folding

Code folding collapses sections of code so you can focus on the parts that matter:

Fold Operations

Auto-Completion and Snippets

Auto-Completion

Zed provides intelligent code completion as you type (language-server and word-based sources), alongside optional Edit Prediction:

• Completion menus appear automatically while typing
• Use Tab or Enter to accept (depending on settings)
• Use arrow keys to navigate between suggestions
• Press Esc to dismiss suggestions

Code Snippets

Snippets are pre-defined code templates you can insert quickly:

• Type the snippet prefix and select it from the suggestions
• Use Tab to move between snippet placeholders
• Edit placeholder values to customize the inserted template

Formatting and Indentation

Auto-Indentation

Zed automatically indents your code based on language rules and Tree-sitter structure:

• Press Enter to create a new line with proper indentation
• Opening braces or brackets typically indent the next line
• Closing braces or brackets align with their opening pair

Manual Formatting

Whitespace and Indentation Settings

Customize indentation in the Settings Editor or settings.json:

• Tab Size: Width of tab / indent units
• Soft Tabs: Insert spaces instead of tab characters
• Detect Indentation: Match a file's existing style when opening it

What's Next?

With core editing covered — including AI prediction, Multibuffers, and the Inline Assistant — continue to Navigation to move through files, symbols, and large codebases efficiently.