A personal Windows build of Zed with real LaTeX previews, inherited editor settings, and human multiplayer features removed. SSH and WSL development remain available.
Download the latest build · Build status · Detailed guide
| Area | This fork |
|---|---|
| Markdown | Inline $...$ and display $$...$$ math in the native preview. |
| Jupyter | Math in Markdown cells and kernel text/latex output, using the same renderer. |
| TeX documents | A split preview with rebuild-on-save, page navigation, and zoom. |
| Packages | Real TeX package imports and local .sty files on all three surfaces. |
| Appearance | Correct alpha blending, high-resolution equations, and configurable TeX styling. |
| Configuration | Read-only inheritance from official Zed; custom settings and keybindings take precedence. |
| Multiplayer | Calls, channels, contacts UI, project sharing, and following are disabled; WebRTC transport is excluded. |
| Remote development | A matching Linux x86_64 server is bundled for WSL and Linux SSH hosts. |
Rendering uses Tectonic for TeX compilation and Hayro for PDF rasterization. Equations sharing a preamble compile in batches; unchanged results are cached. This requires a custom editor build because Zed's extension API cannot register these native preview views.
- Download
Zed-LaTeX-Windows-x64.zipfrom the latest release. - Extract the entire archive into
%LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\Zed-LaTeX. - Run
zed-latex.exe. Keepcli.exe,tectonic.exe, the DLLs, andremote_serversalongside it.
This is an unsigned personal build. It uses separate configuration and data directories and can run alongside official Zed. The first equation render downloads Tectonic's package/font bundle; later renders reuse that cache.
The implementation lives on latex-preview. The default main branch hosts the repository overview and scheduled automation.
For Markdown, open a .md file and press Ctrl+Shift+V, or Ctrl+K V for a preview to the side. For a saved .tex file in a trusted local project, run latex: open preview from the command palette.
Markdown and Jupyter share a preamble in the custom profile's settings. For example:
{
"latex": {
"preamble": "\\usepackage{amsmath,amssymb,mathtools}\n\\newcommand{\\RR}{\\mathbb{R}}\n\\boldmath"
}
}\boldmath gives math heavier strokes; omit it for regular TeX weight. The preamble replaces the default imports, so retain amsmath,amssymb if needed. To import your own .sty files, also set latex.package_directory to an existing absolute Windows directory and add the corresponding \usepackage to the preamble.
TeX documents use their own preambles and resolve local packages relative to the document. The examples folder in each release includes Markdown, notebook, TeX, and local-package examples.
Official Windows settings are read from %APPDATA%\Zed. Overrides are written to %APPDATA%\Zed-LaTeX; the official files are left untouched. Settings and keybindings reload when changed. User theme and snippet directories are inherited too. An explicit --user-data-dir creates an isolated profile.
Extensions retain separate installation directories. Install any theme or language extensions required by your configuration in the custom profile as well.
Close Zed LaTeX, then run:
powershell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Programs\Zed-LaTeX\Update-Zed-LaTeX.ps1"Add -CheckOnly to check without installing. The updater downloads this fork's release, verifies its checksum, and replaces the complete application/server bundle. One previous version is retained in Zed-LaTeX.previous for rollback.
A daily workflow checks official stable releases and prepares integration PRs. Conflicts stop for manual resolution. Successful builds of the custom branch publish new releases; candidate branches do not. Updates are explicitly installed with the script above, and do not use official Zed binaries.
.texcompilation currently supports local projects. SSH/WSL editing works, but remote-host TeX compilation is not implemented.- Tectonic uses XeTeX and its package bundle. Packages requiring another engine or external shell commands are not supported.
- Included-file changes require Rebuild in the
.texpreview. SyncTeX and PDF text selection are not implemented. - Real TeX has startup costs. First-use downloads and errors requiring individual equation retries take longer than warm batched renders.
See the build and validation guide for configuration details, measured performance, resource limits, and regression tests.
git clone --branch latex-preview https://github.com/maxmalkin/zed.gitZed is developed by Zed Industries and its contributors. This personal fork is not an official Zed release. The original upstream README is preserved for reference.
Source licensing remains primarily GPL-3.0-or-later, with Apache-2.0 components where marked. See individual component notices for details.