Terminal

Zed includes a built-in terminal emulator that supports multiple terminal instances, custom shells, and deep integration with the editor.

Opening Terminals

You can also open a terminal from the command palette with terminal panel: toggle or workspace: new terminal.

Terminal Panel vs Center Terminal

Terminals can open in two locations:

• Terminal Panel — Docked at the bottom (default), left, or right of the workspace. Toggle with Ctrl+`.
• Center Pane — Opens as a regular tab alongside your files. Use workspace: new center terminal from the command palette.

Working with Multiple Terminals

Create additional terminals with Cmd+N (macOS) or Ctrl+N (Linux/Windows) while focused in the terminal panel. Each terminal appears as a tab in the panel.

Split terminals horizontally with Cmd+D (macOS) or Ctrl+Shift+5 (Linux/Windows).

Configuring the Shell

By default, Zed uses your system's default shell (from /etc/passwd on Unix systems). To use a different shell:

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

To pass arguments to your shell:

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

Working Directory

Control where new terminals start:

{
  "terminal": {
    "working_directory": "first_project_directory"
  }
}

Environment Variables

Add environment variables to all terminal sessions:

{
  "terminal": {
    "env": {
      "EDITOR": "zed --wait",
      "MY_VAR": "value"
    }
  }
}

Tip: Use : to separate multiple values in a single variable: "PATH": "/custom/path:$PATH"

Python Virtual Environment Detection

Zed can automatically activate Python virtual environments when opening a terminal. By default, it searches for .env, env, .venv, and venv directories:

{
  "terminal": {
    "detect_venv": {
      "on": {
        "directories": [".venv", "venv"],
        "activate_script": "default"
      }
    }
  }
}

The activate_script option supports "default", "csh", "fish", and "nushell".

To disable virtual environment detection:

{
  "terminal": {
    "detect_venv": "off"
  }
}

Fonts and Appearance

The terminal can use different fonts from the editor:

{
  "terminal": {
    "font_family": "JetBrains Mono",
    "font_size": 14,
    "font_features": {
      "calt": false
    },
    "line_height": "comfortable"
  }
}

Line height options:

• "comfortable" — 1.618 ratio, good for reading (default)
• "standard" — 1.3 ratio, better for TUI applications with box-drawing characters
• { "custom": 1.5 } — Custom ratio

Cursor

Configure cursor appearance:

{
  "terminal": {
    "cursor_shape": "bar",
    "blinking": "on"
  }
}

Cursor shapes: "block", "bar", "underline", "hollow"

Blinking options: "off", "terminal_controlled" (default), "on"

Minimum Contrast

Zed adjusts terminal colors to maintain readability. The default value of 45 ensures text remains visible. Set to 0 to disable contrast adjustment and use exact theme colors:

{
  "terminal": {
    "minimum_contrast": 0
  }
}

Scrolling

Navigate terminal history with these keybindings:

Adjust scroll speed with:

{
  "terminal": {
    "scroll_multiplier": 3.0
  }
}

Copy and Paste

Copy on Select

Automatically copy selected text to the clipboard:

{
  "terminal": {
    "copy_on_select": true
  }
}

Keep Selection After Copy

By default, text stays selected after copying. To clear the selection:

{
  "terminal": {
    "keep_selection_on_copy": false
  }
}

Search

Search terminal content with Cmd+F (macOS) or Ctrl+Shift+F (Linux/Windows). This opens the same search bar used in the editor.

Vi Mode

Toggle vi-style navigation in the terminal with Ctrl+Shift+Space. This allows you to navigate and select text using vi keybindings.

Clear Terminal

Clear the terminal screen:

• macOS: Cmd+K
• Linux/Windows: Ctrl+Shift+L

Option as Meta (macOS)

For Emacs users or applications that use Meta key combinations, enable Option as Meta:

{
  "terminal": {
    "option_as_meta": true
  }
}

This reinterprets the Option key as Meta, allowing sequences like Alt+X to work correctly.

Alternate Scroll Mode

When enabled, mouse scroll events are converted to arrow key presses in applications like vim or less:

{
  "terminal": {
    "alternate_scroll": "on"
  }
}

Path Hyperlinks

Zed detects file paths in terminal output and makes them clickable. Cmd+Click (macOS) or Ctrl+Click (Linux/Windows) opens the file in Zed, jumping to the line number if one is detected.

Common formats recognized:

• src/main.rs:42 — Opens at line 42
• src/main.rs:42:10 — Opens at line 42, column 10
• File "script.py", line 10 — Python tracebacks

Panel Configuration

Dock Position

{
  "terminal": {
    "dock": "bottom"
  }
}

Options: "bottom" (default), "left", "right"

Default Size

{
  "terminal": {
    "default_width": 640,
    "default_height": 320
  }
}

Terminal Button

Hide the terminal button in the status bar:

{
  "terminal": {
    "button": false
  }
}

Toolbar

Show the terminal title in a breadcrumb toolbar:

{
  "terminal": {
    "toolbar": {
      "breadcrumbs": true
    }
  }
}

The title can be set by your shell using the escape sequence \e]2;Title\007.

Integration with Tasks

The terminal integrates with Zed's task system. When you run a task, it executes in the terminal. Rerun the last task from a terminal with:

• macOS: Cmd+Alt+R
• Linux/Windows: Ctrl+Shift+R or Alt+T

AI Assistance

Get help with terminal commands using inline assist:

• macOS: Ctrl+Enter
• Linux/Windows: Ctrl+Enter or Ctrl+I

This opens the AI assistant to help explain errors, suggest commands, or troubleshoot issues.

Sending Text and Keystrokes

For advanced keybinding customization, you can send raw text or keystrokes to the terminal:

{
  "context": "Terminal",
  "bindings": {
    "alt-left": ["terminal::SendText", "\u001bb"],
    "ctrl-c": ["terminal::SendKeystroke", "ctrl-c"]
  }
}

All Terminal Settings

For the complete list of terminal settings, see the Terminal section in All Settings.

What's Next

• Tasks — Run commands and scripts from Zed
• REPL — Interactive code execution
• CLI Reference — Command-line interface for opening files in Zed