Zed v1.6.3 Changelog

This update is all about making your coding workflow smoother, especially if you use AI to help write code or rely on Git to track changes. It matters most to developers who want to save time, reduce annoying distractions, and have more control over what their AI assistant does.

What's new

• AI "Fast mode": You can now flip a switch to get faster responses from AI models (like Anthropic and OpenAI), though it costs a bit more per word.
• Shareable AI skills: You can now share your AI "skills" (custom instructions for the AI) via web links.
• AI commit messages: You can now give the AI custom instructions on exactly how you want it to write your Git commit messages.
• Better AI file permissions: When the AI needs to edit a file, it will ask for permission to change specific folders instead of asking for access to your entire computer. You can grant access just once or for the whole chat.
• AI terminal controls: The AI can now run commands and look at the results without hiding what's currently happening in your terminal.
• Git split diff view: When looking at your commit history, you can now toggle a "split diff" view, which puts the old and new versions of your code side-by-side.
• Git branch comparison: Added a new action to directly compare your current branch with any other branch to see exactly what's different.
• Keep file finder open: When searching for files, you can now open a file without closing the search box (by pressing the right arrow key or clicking "Keep Open"). This makes opening several files at once much easier.
• Call volume equalization: In group voice calls, the app now automatically balances everyone's volume so no one is too loud or too quiet.
• Quieter large calls: If a call has 10 or more people, it will no longer play a sound every time someone joins (though it still plays a sound when a brand-new guest joins).

Improvements

• Faster AI edits: The AI's tool for editing files is now faster.
• Lower Git CPU usage: The app uses less of your computer's processing power when looking at huge Git repositories.
• Faster AI commit messages: Generating Git commit messages with AI is now quicker.
• Git line counts: The Git panel now shows the total number of lines you've added and removed, giving you a quick view of how much you've changed.
• Better Python colors: Python code is easier to read because built-in functions and types now have better color highlighting.
• Smoother Markdown previews: Diagrams (called Mermaid diagrams) and hidden metadata blocks in your Markdown notes now render much better.
• Smarter Git Blame: If you're looking at a file that isn't tracked by Git, the app will quietly ignore it instead of throwing an error.

Fixes

• Git panel file diffs: Fixed an issue where opening a file diff (a view showing what changed) from the Git panel wasn't working properly.
• Git Blame errors: Fixed a bug where Git Blame (the feature that shows who last edited a line of code) would get confused or break on files not in a Git repository.

Breaking changes

No breaking changes in this release.