Zed Integration

Zed is a high-performance, modern code editor built for speed and collaboration. It includes built-in AI features through its Agent Panel, supporting multiple LLM providers including OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and any OpenAI-compatible endpoint.

Zed's settings file lets you add custom OpenAI-compatible providers, making it easy to connect LLM API for AI-assisted coding.

Prerequisites

An LLM API account with an API key
Zed installed or accessible

Setup

Get Your LLM API Key

Log in to your LLM API dashboard
Click Create Key to Start
Copy your new API key immediately — it will only be shown once
Store the key securely (e.g., in a password manager or .env file)

LLM API is an OpenAI-compatible gateway that gives you access to dozens of AI models through a single API key and endpoint.

Configure LLM API in Zed

Open Zed and access the Agent Panel settings (run the command: agent: open settings).
Add the following configuration to your Zed settings file:

{
	"language_models": {
		"openai_compatible": {
			"LLM API": {
				"api_url": "https://api.llmapi.ai/v1",
				"available_models": [
					{
						"name": "openai/gpt-4o",
						"display_name": "GPT-4o via LLM API",
						"max_tokens": 128000
					}
				]
			}
		}
	}
}

Set the API key as an environment variable:

export LLM_API_API_KEY="your-llm-api-key-here"

Restart Zed --- your LLM API models will appear in the Agent Panel model dropdown.

Test the Integration

Verify that Zed can successfully communicate with LLM API by sending a test request. All requests will now be routed through LLM API.

The environment variable name is derived from the provider name: spaces become underscores, converted to uppercase, with _API_KEY appended.

Benefits of Using LLM API with Zed

Multi-Provider Access: Use models from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and more through a single API
Cost Control: Track and limit your AI spending with detailed usage analytics
Unified Billing: One account for all providers instead of managing multiple API keys
Caching: Reduce costs with response caching for repeated requests

View all available models on the models page.