Zed CLI For Windows (Unofficial)

This project is an unofficial Windows CLI for Zed (built from source). It provides all basic features:

• Launching Zed (zed)
• Launching & Managing mulitple instance of zed
• Opening directories or projects with zed <path>
• Adding an 'Open with Zed' context menu integration.

Table of Content

• Usage
• Features & Behavior
  • Auto-Directory Creation
  • Single Instance Limitation (Zed versions below v0.177.0)
• Installation
  • Native Installation Scripts
  • Scoop
  • Chocolatey (Coming Soon)
  • Manual (GitHub Release)
• Disclaimer & Affiliation
• License

Usage

Command	Description	Example
zed	Open Zed with last project	zed
zed .	Open current directory	zed .
zed <path>	Open specific file or directory	zed C:\projects\my-app
zed config get	Get current Zed executable path	zed config get
zed config set <path>	Set Zed executable path	zed config set "C:\Zed\zed.exe"
zed context install	Install "Open with Zed" context menu	zed context install
zed context uninstall	Remove "Open with Zed" context menu	zed context uninstall

Note

Use zed context install to add "Open with Zed" to your Windows context menu for easy right-click access. By default, it's not installed.

Features & Behavior

Auto-Directory Creation

When opening a non-existent path, the CLI automatically creates the required directories before launching Zed:

zed D:\projects\monkeypress

In this example, if monkeypress doesn't exist but D:\projects\ does, the CLI will:

1. Create the monkeypress directory under D:\projects\
2. Open the newly created directory in Zed

Single Instance Limitation (Zed versions below v0.177.0)

Important: This CLI cannot open multiple Zed windows if Zed is already running — but only when using Zed versions below v0.177.0. This limitation exists because:

• The CLI is unofficial and not integrated with Zed’s internal systems
• It does not have access to Zed’s IPC (Inter-Process Communication), which handles multi-instance support in official workflows

If you're using an older version and attempt to open a new project while Zed is running, the CLI will notify you about this limitation.

Note

This limitation does not apply to Zed versions v0.177.0 and above.

Installation

Recommended installation methods in order of preference:

1. Native Installation Scripts
2. Scoop
3. Chocolatey (Coming Soon)
4. Manual (GitHub Release)

Native Installation Scripts

Running the native PowerShell scripts will handle everything related to setting up environment variables on your system.

Install CLI

Download and run the installation script for the Unofficial Zed CLI:

irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/SameerJS6/zed-cli-win-unofficial/refs/heads/main/scripts/release/install-wrapper.ps1 | iex

Install Zed + CLI (All-in-One)

Install both Zed (Unofficial Build) and the Unofficial CLI with zero setup. This script handles everything automatically:

irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/SameerJS6/zed-cli-win-unofficial/refs/heads/main/scripts/release/install-with-zed-wrapper.ps1 | iex

Note

Installing via this method will place Zed and the Unofficial Zed CLI in their default directories.

Zed

%LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\Zed

Unofficial Zed CLI

%LOCALAPPDATA%\zed-cli-win-unofficial

Scoop

Install using Scoop for easy updates and management:

1. Add the bucket

scoop bucket add zed-cli-unofficial https://github.com/SameerJS6/zed-cli-win-unofficial

2. Install the CLI

scoop install zed-cli-unofficial/zed-cli-win-unofficial

✅ That’s it! You can now launch and use zed from any terminal window.

Tip

If you don't have Scoop installed, run the following commands in PowerShell to install it:

Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope CurrentUser
Invoke-RestMethod -Uri https://get.scoop.sh | Invoke-Expression

Chocolatey (Coming Soon)

A Chocolatey package for zed-cli-win-unofficial is coming soon.

Manual (GitHub Release)

Download and install manually from the GitHub releases page:

1. Visit the Releases page.
2. Download the windows-x86_64.zip asset.
3. Extract to a folder of your choosing (default: %LOCALAPPDATA%\zed-cli-win-unofficial).
4. Update your user PATH to include that folder (choose one method below):

PowerShell (CLI)

$path = "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\zed-cli-win-unofficial"
[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable('PATH', $env:PATH + ';' + $path, 'User')

GUI

• Press Win, type "Environment Variables", and open "Edit user environment variables".
• Go Advanced tab and click on Environment Variables, now a pop up will appear.
• Under "User variables", select "Path" → click "Edit" → click "New".
• Paste %LOCALAPPDATA%\zed-cli-win-unofficial and click "OK" on all dialogs.

If you have PowerToys installed, you can use the PowerToys Environment Variables tool to manage your variables more easily.

Common Pitfalls

• Unblock the downloaded ZIP if prompted (Right-click → Properties → Unblock).
• Verify both zed-cli-win-unofficial.exe and zed.bat are present.
• Restart your terminal after updating the PATH.

Disclaimer & Affiliation

This project is an unofficial Windows CLI launcher for Zed. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Zed team.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for details.