AI commit message button hidden instead of disabled when zed.dev provider has no active subscription

[ivan-magda]

Reproduction steps

1. Configure zed.dev as the default model provider:

"agent": {
  "default_model": {
    "provider": "zed.dev",
    "model": "claude-sonnet-4.5"
  }
}

2. Have no active Pro subscription (e.g., after trial period ends)

3. Open Git Panel with staged changes

4. Look for the pencil icon (generate commit message button) in the commit message area — it's not there

5. Change provider to copilot_chat (or any other with configured API keys):

"agent": {
  "default_model": {
    "provider": "copilot_chat",
    "model": "claude-sonnet-4.5"
  }
}

6. The pencil icon reappears and works correctly

Current vs. Expected behavior

Current behavior:
The "generate commit message" button (pencil icon) is completely hidden when using zed.dev provider without an active Pro subscription. No indication is given about why the feature is missing or how to enable it.

Expected behavior:
The button should remain visible but disabled, with a tooltip explaining: "Requires Pro subscription or configured API keys." Alternatively, clicking should show a message directing users to configure their own API keys or subscribe.

Zed version and system specs

Zed 0.217.3
80433cb

0.217.3+stable.105.80433cb239e868271457ac376673a5f75bc4adb1

Attach Zed log file

Zed.log

Relevant Zed settings

settings.json

Relevant Keymap

No response

(for AI issues) Model provider details

No response

If you are using WSL on Windows, what flavor of Linux are you using?

None

Additional Context

Documentation Gap

The Git documentation states:

“Note that you need to have an LLM provider configured for billing purposes, either via your own API keys or trialing/paying for Zed’s hosted AI models.”

This requirement exists in docs but isn’t surfaced in the UI when the feature becomes unavailable.

Suggested Implementation Options

1. Minimal: Disabled button with tooltip: “Requires Pro subscription or own API keys”
2. Better: Clickable button → inline message with options:

• Subscribe to Pro
• Configure own API keys (LLM providers docs)

1. Ideal: Small hint in Git Panel: “✨ AI commit messages available with Pro or your own API keys”

User Impact

• Trial users → confused when feature silently disappears
• Users with own API keys → unaware the feature exists
• Evaluating users → can’t see what Pro offers

A visible-but-disabled element would be self-documenting.

[yeskunall]

Hey @ivan-magda thanks for the report! Another user on Discord (ty @/Cyri!) was able to confirm the same problem. I’ll copy @maxdeviant’s comment verbatim:

I think it's because we need to know which model to use. So a default model (through a provider you can access) needs to be configured (I think there's also a setting for the model to use for generating commit messages?)

The comment suggests that Zed expects a default provider to be provided by the user, as opposed to Zed providing a default for it, like other settings.

I think we should just set a default here so users don’t have to set a default themselves, and are not left hanging like in this case.