Want to use powerful GPT and Claude models directly inside your code editor? In this quick guide, I’ll show you how to set up Zed IDE, activate the available trial, and use its AI Agent for coding.
We’ll also test Claude by generating a complete portfolio website with a simple prompt.
Note: Zed’s plans, trial duration, model availability, and usage limits can change over time.
🎥 Watch the Video
What You’ll Learn
- Create a Zed account
- Sign in with GitHub
- Activate the available trial
- Install Zed IDE
- Open the AI Agent Panel
- Select GPT or Claude models
- Use Claude for coding
- Generate a website using AI
How to Set Up Zed AI
1. Create a Zed Account
Visit zed.dev and sign up using GitHub.
2. Activate the Trial
Go to My Account → Personal Organization and activate the available trial if you’re eligible.
3. Install Zed
Download and install Zed for your operating system, then launch the IDE.
4. Open the Agent Panel
Go to:
View → Agent Panel
Sign in if required and complete the authentication process.
5. Select an AI Model
Open the model selector in the Agent Panel and choose an available GPT or Claude model.
In my video, I tested Claude Sonnet 5.
🚀 Test AI Coding
Give the Agent a simple prompt such as:
Create a modern responsive portfolio website for a fictional software engineer using HTML, CSS, and vanilla JavaScript. Create the required HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files.
The AI can then create and modify files directly inside your project.
In my test, it generated:
index.htmlstyle.cssscript.js
You can then preview the website and continue asking the AI to improve the design, fix bugs, add features, or modify the existing code.
Why Use AI Inside Zed?
Using GPT and Claude directly inside Zed means you can:
- Avoid constant copy-pasting
- Work directly with your codebase
- Generate and modify files using natural language
- Debug and refactor code
- Build prototypes faster
- Experiment with different AI models
Is It Completely Free?
The setup shown in this tutorial uses Zed’s available trial, so it shouldn’t be considered unlimited permanent free access to premium AI models.
Zed’s pricing, trials, models, and usage limits can change. Check the latest details on the Zed pricing page.
Final Thoughts
Zed makes AI-powered coding much more convenient by bringing AI agents directly into your development environment.
If you’re interested in GPT, Claude, AI coding, and vibe coding, give Zed a try.