Integrated Terminal

Terminal Integration in Zed

One of Zed's most useful features is its built-in terminal emulator. You can run shells, tasks, and interactive tools without switching applications—while keeping deep links back into your project files.

The integrated terminal supports:

• Full shell functionality (Bash, Zsh, Fish, PowerShell, and more)
• Multiple terminal instances, tabs, and splits
• Panel docking on the bottom, left, or right—or a center-pane terminal tab
• Path hyperlinks, search, Tasks integration, and AI Inline Assistant help
• Python virtualenv detection and custom working directories

Opening the Terminal

There are several ways to access the terminal in Zed:

1. Keyboard Shortcut

   Press Ctrl` (backtick) on every platform to toggle the terminal panel. This is the quickest way to show or hide it.

2. Command Palette

   Open the Command Palette and run terminal panel: toggle or workspace: new terminal.

3. Menu / status bar

   Use the Terminal entry from the UI, or the terminal button in the status bar (unless you hide it in settings).

Terminal Panel vs Center Terminal

• Terminal Panel: docked at the bottom by default (also left or right). Toggle with Ctrl`.
• Center Pane: opens as a regular tab alongside your files via workspace: new center terminal.

Terminal Basics

Working Directory

Control where new terminals start with the terminal.working_directory setting:

Shell Selection

By default, Zed uses your system's default shell. Configure a custom shell in settings.json:

    json
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{
  "terminal": {
    "shell": {
      "program": "/bin/zsh"
    }
  }
}

Or pass arguments:

    json
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{
  "terminal": {
    "shell": {
      "with_arguments": {
        "program": "/bin/bash",
        "args": ["--login"]
      }
    }
  }
}

• Bash, Zsh, Fish, and other Unix shells
• PowerShell or other shells on Windows

Multiple Terminal Instances

Zed lets you create and manage multiple terminal instances for different tasks:

Creating New Terminals

• Focus the terminal panel first, then press New / Split
• Each terminal appears as a tab in the panel
• You can also use the + control in the panel header

Switching Between Terminals

• Click terminal tabs in the panel
• Use tab navigation shortcuts while the panel is focused
• Keep one terminal for the dev server, one for tests, and one for git or package commands

Closing Terminals

• Click the close control on a terminal tab
• Type exit in the shell
• Close the tab with your usual close-tab binding when the terminal is focused

Terminal Features

Text Selection and Copying

Working with text in the terminal:

• Click and drag to select text; double-click a word; triple-click a line
• Enable terminal.copy_on_select to copy automatically on selection
• Use terminal.keep_selection_on_copy to control whether selection clears after copy

Scrolling and Search

Terminal search opens the same search bar used in the editor. Toggle vi-style navigation with CtrlShiftSpace.

Path Hyperlinks

Zed detects file paths in terminal output and makes them clickable:

• src/main.rs:42 opens at line 42
• src/main.rs:42:10 opens at line 42, column 10
• Python-style File "script.py", line 10 tracebacks are recognized

Command History

• Press ↑ and ↓ to navigate shell history
• Use your shell's reverse search (commonly CtrlR) when supported

Terminal Configuration

Terminal Settings

Customize the terminal in Settings or directly in settings.json:

1. Press ⌘, / Ctrl, to open Settings
2. Search for terminal to find relevant options

Common settings include fonts, shell, dock position, env vars, and venv detection:

    json
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{
  "terminal": {
    "dock": "bottom",
    "font_family": "JetBrains Mono",
    "font_size": 14,
    "line_height": "comfortable",
    "cursor_shape": "bar",
    "blinking": "on",
    "working_directory": "current_project_directory",
    "env": {
      "EDITOR": "zed --wait"
    },
    "detect_venv": {
      "on": {
        "directories": [".venv", "venv"],
        "activate_script": "default"
      }
    }
  }
}

Dock Position

Set terminal.dock to "bottom" (default), "left", or "right". You can also set default_width / default_height, hide the status-bar button with "button": false, or enable breadcrumb toolbar titles.

Python Virtual Environment Detection

By default, Zed can search for .env, env, .venv, and venv directories and activate them when a terminal opens. Customize directories and activate_script (default, csh, fish, nushell), or disable detection with "detect_venv": "off".

Working with the Terminal

Running Development Tasks

The terminal is perfect for everyday development commands:

• Start development servers: npm run dev
• Run tests: npm test or pytest
• Build applications: npm run build or cargo build
• Run database migrations: rails db:migrate

Tasks Integration

Zed's task system runs in the terminal. After a task finishes, you can rerun the last task from a terminal:

AI Inline Assistant in the Terminal

Get help explaining errors, suggesting commands, or troubleshooting directly in the terminal:

Agents in the Agent Panel can also run terminal commands as part of their workflow.

File Operations

The terminal provides full access to file system operations:

• Create files and directories: mkdir -p src/components
• Copy or move files: cp -r old_dir/ new_dir/
• Search file contents: rg "searchterm"
• Change file permissions: chmod +x ./scripts/deploy.sh

Terminal in Collaborative Sessions

When collaborating in Zed, keep these terminal realities in mind:

Local Terminals During Collaboration

• Your terminal still runs on your machine with your local environment
• Following a collaborator in the editor does not follow their terminal the same way
• For demos or debugging together, use screen sharing so others can see your shell session

Practical Tips

1. Share only what you need—remember project sharing already exposes project files
2. Avoid pasting secrets into a shared or screen-shared terminal
3. Use a dedicated terminal tab for collaborative demos so you can close it cleanly afterward

Advanced Terminal Usage

Environment Variables

Add environment variables to all terminal sessions via settings, or export them in the shell:

    json
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{
  "terminal": {
    "env": {
      "EDITOR": "zed --wait",
      "MY_VAR": "value",
      "PATH": "/custom/path:$PATH"
    }
  }
}

Running Background Processes

Run processes in the background with the & operator:

    bash
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npm run watch &

Interactive Programs

Zed's terminal fully supports interactive programs:

• Command-line editors (vim, nano)
• Interactive REPLs (Node.js, Python, Ruby)
• Database clients (mysql, psql)
• Interactive debugging tools and TUIs (htop, lazygit, and similar)

For TUI-heavy workflows, try "line_height": "standard" so box-drawing characters align better. Enable alternate_scroll when apps like vim or less should receive arrow keys from mouse scroll.

What's Next?

With a solid understanding of Zed's terminal capabilities, you're ready to learn about Git integration, which combines seamlessly with the terminal for a complete version control workflow.