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Zed – How to Use Custom Font

Zed Custom Font

A custom font can make your coding experience more comfortable and even improve readability.

In this quick guide, I’ll show you how to set up a custom font in Zed.

Default Zed font vs JetBrains Mono font

Let’s dive in! 🤿

Contents hide
1. Download and Install a Custom Font
2. Set the Custom Font in Zed
2.1. Comments

📹 Since we’re talking about visual things, I recommend watching this video as well

Download and Install a Custom Font

First, download the font you want to use. You can find many great options at Google Fonts, but for this tutorial, I’ll be using the JetBrains Mono — a font designed specifically for developers.

Installing the Font (by Operating System)

📌 Windows
– Unzip the archive.
– Select all font files, right-click, and choose Install.

📌 macOS
– Unzip the archive.
– Select all font files and double-click Install Font.

📌 Linux
– Extract the font files to ~/.local/share/fonts (or /usr/share/fonts for system-wide install).
– Run the following command to refresh the font cache:

fc-cache -f -v

💡Good to know

If Zed was open when you installed the font, restart it to ensure it recognizes the new font.

Set the Custom Font in Zed

Now, let’s configure Zed to use the new font!

1️⃣ Open the settings.json file:

  • Press CTRL + ALT + , (Windows/Linux) or CMD + OPTION + , (macOS).

2️⃣ Add or update the following lines in your settings.json file:

  "buffer_font_family": "JetBrains Mono",
  "buffer_font_features": { "liga": true },
  "ui_font_family": "JetBrains Mono",

  • buffer_font_family — Sets the font used for the editor text (code/content area).
  • buffer_font_features — Enables or disables specific font features for the editor text; "liga": true turns on ligatures.
  • ui_font_family — Sets the font used for interface elements (tabs, menus, panels, labels).

That’s it! You’ve successfully set up a custom font in Zed 🎉

Got a favorite programming font? Let me know in the comments!

Happy building! 💜

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