Zed adds Dev Container support, enabling the creation of reproducible dev environments

Zed v0.218 has been released, introducing support for working inside Dev Containers using Docker, allowing developers to create consistent and reproducible environments for their projects. Building on the Development Containers Specification, this update establishes an open standard that enables teams to use Dockerized setups and ensures a consistent development experience across machines.

With infrastructure-as-code now central to Zed’s workflow, teams can define their coding environments using JSON files. These definitions can build on shared templates or include custom configurations via Dockerfile or docker-compose.yaml, streamlining setup and resolving environment differences.

When opening projects in Zed that contain a /.devcontainer/devcontainer.json file, users receive a prompt to launch the workspace inside a Dev Container. Once connected, the title bar displays a clear indication that the project is running from within a container, and all of Zed’s core features remain accessible. If a user closes and reopens the application, Zed will automatically reconnect to the last Dev Container used, making transitions seamless.

Looking ahead, the team plans to expand Dev Containers functionality, with upcoming support for defining specifications and Zed extensions, and allowing port forwarding to better address varied project requirements.