Linux - Zed

# Zed on Linux

For most people we recommend using the script on the download page to install Zed:

    curl -f https://zed.dev/install.sh | sh

We also offer a preview build of Zed which receives updates about a week ahead of stable. You can install it with:

    curl -f https://zed.dev/install.sh | ZED_CHANNEL=preview sh

The Zed installed by the script works best on systems that:

- have a Vulkan compatible GPU available (for example Linux on an M-series macBook)
- have a system-wide glibc (NixOS and Alpine do not by default)
  - x86_64 (Intel/AMD): glibc version >= 2.31 (Ubuntu 20 and newer)
  - aarch64 (ARM): glibc version >= 2.35 (Ubuntu 22 and newer)

Both Nix and Alpine have third-party Zed packages available (though they are currently a few weeks out of date). If you'd like to use our builds they do work if you install a glibc compatibility layer. On NixOS you can try nix-ld, and on Alpine gcompat.

You will need to build from source for:

- architectures other than 64-bit Intel or 64-bit ARM (for example a 32-bit or RISC-V machine)
- Redhat Enterprise Linux 8.x, Rocky Linux 8, AlmaLinux 8, Amazon Linux 2 on all architectures
- Redhat Enterprise Linux 9.x, Rocky Linux 9.3, AlmaLinux 8, Amazon Linux 2023 on aarch64 (x86_x64 OK)

## Other ways to install Zed on Linux

Zed is open source, and you can install from source.

### Installing via a package manager

There are several third-party Zed packages for various Linux distributions and package managers, sometimes under `zed-editor`. You may be able to install Zed using these packages:

- Flathub: `dev.zed.Zed`
- Arch: `zed`
- Arch (AUR): `zed-git`, `zed-preview`, `zed-preview-bin`
- Alpine: `zed` (aarch64) (x86_64)
- Nix: `zed-editor` (unstable)
- Fedora/Ultramarine (Terra): `zed`, `zed-preview`, `zed-nightly`
- Solus: `zed`
- Parabola: `zed`
- Manjaro: `zed`
- ALT Linux (Sisyphus): `zed`
- AOSC OS: `zed`
- openSUSE Tumbleweed: `zed`
- Please add others to this list!

When installing a third-party package please be aware that it may not be completely up to date and may be slightly different from the Zed we package (a common change is to rename the binary to `zedit` or `zeditor` to avoid conflicting with other packages).

We'd love your help making Zed available for everyone. If Zed is not yet available for your package manager, and you would like to fix that, we have some notes on how to do it.

### Downloading manually

If you'd prefer, you can install Zed by downloading our pre-built .tar.gz. This is the same artifact that our install script uses, but you can customize the location of your installation by modifying the instructions below:

Download the `.tar.gz` file:

- zed-linux-x86_64.tar.gz (preview)
- zed-linux-aarch64.tar.gz (preview)

Then ensure that the `zed` binary in the tarball is on your path. The easiest way is to unpack the tarball and create a symlink:

    mkdir -p ~/.local
    # extract zed to ~/.local/zed.app/
    tar -xvf <path/to/download>.tar.gz -C ~/.local
    # link the zed binary to ~/.local/bin (or another directory in your $PATH)
    ln -sf ~/.local/zed.app/bin/zed ~/.local/bin/zed

If you'd like integration with an XDG-compatible desktop environment, you will also need to install the `.desktop` file:

    cp ~/.local/zed.app/share/applications/zed.desktop ~/.local/share/applications/dev.zed.Zed.desktop
    sed -i "s|Icon=zed|Icon=$HOME/.local/zed.app/share/icons/hicolor/512x512/apps/zed.png|g" ~/.local/share/applications/dev.zed.Zed.desktop
    sed -i "s|Exec=zed|Exec=$HOME/.local/zed.app/libexec/zed-editor|g" ~/.local/share/applications/dev.zed.Zed.desktop

## Troubleshooting

Linux works on a large variety of systems configured in many different ways. We primarily test Zed on a vanilla Ubuntu setup, as it is the most common distribution our users use, that said we do expect it to work on a wide variety of machines.

### Zed fails to start

If you see an error like "/lib64/libc.so.6: version 'GLIBC_2.29' not found" it means that your distribution's version of glibc is too old. You can either upgrade your system, or install Zed from source.

### Graphics issues

### Zed fails to open windows

Zed requires a GPU to run effectively. Under the hood, we use Vulkan to communicate with your GPU. If you are seeing problems with performance, or Zed fails to load, it is possible that Vulkan is the culprit.

If you see a notification saying `Zed failed to open a window: NoSupportedDeviceFound` this means that Vulkan cannot find a compatible GPU. You can begin troubleshooting Vulkan by installing the `vulkan-tools` package and running:

    vkcube

This should output a line describing your current graphics setup and show a rotating cube. If this does not work, you should be able to fix it by installing Vulkan compatible GPU drivers, however in some cases (for example running Linux on an Arm-based MacBook) there is no Vulkan support yet.

You can find out which graphics card Zed is using by looking in the Zed log (`~/.local/share/zed/logs/Zed.log`) for `Using GPU: ...`.

If you see errors like `ERROR_INITIALIZATION_FAILED` or `GPU Crashed` or `ERROR_SURFACE_LOST_KHR` then you may be able to work around this by installing different drivers for your GPU, or by selecting a different GPU to run on. (See #14225)

On some systems the file `/etc/prime-discrete` can be used to enforce the use of a discrete GPU using PRIME. Depending on the details of your setup, you may need to change the contents of this file to "on" (to force discrete graphics) or "off" (to force integrated graphics).

On others, you may be able to the environment variable `DRI_PRIME=1` when running Zed to force the use of the discrete GPU.

If you're using an AMD GPU and Zed crashes when selecting long lines, try setting the `ZED_PATH_SAMPLE_COUNT=0` environment variable. (See #26143) If you're using an AMD GPU, you might get a 'Broken Pipe' error. Try using the RADV or Mesa drivers. (See #13880)

If you are using Mesa, and want more control over which GPU is selected you can run `MESA_VK_DEVICE_SELECT=list zed --foreground` to get a list of available GPUs and then export `MESA_VK_DEVICE_SELECT=xxxx:yyyy` to choose a specific device.

If you are using `amdvlk` you may find that zed only opens when run with `sudo $(which zed)`. To fix this, remove the `amdvlk` and `lib32-amdvlk` packages and install mesa/vulkan instead. (#14141).

For more information, the Arch guide to Vulkan has some good steps that translate well to most distributions.

If Vulkan is configured correctly, and Zed is still not working for you, please file an issue with as much information as possible.

### I can't open any files

### Clicking links isn't working

These features are provided by XDG desktop portals, specifically:

- `org.freedesktop.portal.FileChooser`
- `org.freedesktop.portal.OpenURI`

Some window managers, such as `Hyprland`, don't provide a file picker by default. See this list as a starting point for alternatives.

### Zed isn't remembering my API keys

### Zed isn't remembering my login

These feature also requires XDG desktop portals, specifically:

- `org.freedesktop.portal.Secret` or
- `org.freedesktop.Secrets`

Zed needs a place to securely store secrets such as your Zed login cookie or your OpenAI API Keys and we use a system provided keychain to do this. Examples of packages that provide this are `gnome-keyring`, `KWallet` and `keepassxc` among others.

### Could not start inotify

Zed relies on inotify to watch your filesystem for changes. If you cannot start inotify then Zed will not work reliably.

If you are seeing "too many open files" then first try `sysctl fs.inotify`.

- You should see that max_user_instances is 128 or higher (you can change the limit with `sudo sysctl fs.inotify.max_user_instances=1024`). Zed needs only 1 inotify instance.
- You should see that `max_user_watches` is 8000 or higher (you can change the limit with `sudo sysctl fs.inotify.max_user_watches=64000`). Zed needs one watch per directory in all your open projects + one per git repository + a handful more for settings, themes, keymaps, extensions.

It is also possible that you are running out of file descriptors. You can check the limits with `ulimit` and update them by editing `/etc/security/limits.conf`.