Claude Code vs Zed | agentconfig.ing

Claude Code vs ZedComparisonUpdated 2026-03-16

SUMMARY

Claude Code (CLI) uses markdown configuration while Zed (Editor) uses markdown. They differ on 4 of 11 compared features. Both tools provide AI-assisted development but take different approaches to project configuration.

FEATURE COMPARISON

Feature	Claude Code	Zed	Notes
Config format	markdown	markdown
Hierarchy support	✓	✓	Whether config files can be placed at multiple directory levels
Global config	✓	✓	User-wide configuration outside any project
Project config	✓	✓
Subdirectory scoping	✓	✗	Config files in subdirectories that apply only to that subtree
File inclusion / imports	✓	✗	Ability to include or reference other files from config
Ignore file	.claudeignore	✗
IDE integration	CLI	Editor
Schema / structure	Free-form (Markdown)	Free-form (Markdown)	Whether config uses structured schema or free-form content
Git committed	✓	✓	Whether primary config files are intended to be version-controlled
Encoding	UTF-8	UTF-8

FILE MAPPING

Purpose	Claude Code	Zed
Project instructions	CLAUDE.md	Rules Library
Settings / configuration	.claude/settings.json	.zed/settings.json
Project rules	.claude/rules/*.md	.rules

SIDE-BY-SIDE CODE SAMPLES

Claude Code

CLAUDE.md

markdown

# Project Name

> TypeScript + React monorepo. Deployed on Vercel.

## Code Style

- TypeScript strict mode — no `any`, no `ts-ignore`
- Named exports only (no default exports)
- Prefer functional patterns: map/filter/reduce over for-loops
- Error handling: use Result<T, E> from `src/lib/result.ts`

## Architecture

- `src/routes/`   — Route handlers (thin layer, delegates to services)
- `src/services/`  — Business logic, one file per domain entity
- `src/db/`        — Drizzle ORM schema and query helpers
- `src/lib/`       — Shared utilities (logger, result type, validation)

## Commands

```bash
pnpm install          # Install dependencies
pnpm dev              # Start dev server (port 3000)
pnpm test             # Run Vitest suite
pnpm test:e2e         # Run Playwright tests
pnpm lint             # ESLint + Prettier check
pnpm db:migrate       # Run pending Drizzle migrations
```

## Git Conventions

- Conventional Commits: `feat:`, `fix:`, `chore:`, `docs:`
- Branch naming: `feat/short-description`, `fix/issue-number`
- Squash merge to main; delete branches after merge

## Notes

- The `src/legacy/` directory is being migrated. Do not add new code there.
- All dates are stored as UTC. Never use local time.

@docs/api-patterns.md
@docs/database-conventions.md

Zed

.rules

markdown

# Project Rules

## Stack
- TypeScript 5.x with strict mode
- React 19 with Server Components
- Tailwind CSS v4
- Drizzle ORM with PostgreSQL

## Code Style
- Prefer named exports over default exports
- Use "use client" directive only when interactivity is required
- Colocate tests in __tests__ directories next to source files
- Use Zod for all runtime validation

## Architecture
- App Router with nested layouts in app/
- Server actions in app/actions/
- Database schema in db/schema.ts
- Shared utilities in lib/

## Commands
- Dev server: pnpm dev
- Type check: pnpm typecheck
- Test: pnpm test
- Lint: pnpm lint

KEY DIFFERENCES

1. Subdirectory scoping

Claude Code: Supported. Zed: Not supported.

2. File inclusion / imports

Claude Code: Supported. Zed: Not supported.

3. Ignore file

Claude Code: .claudeignore. Zed: Not supported.

4. IDE integration

Claude Code: CLI. Zed: Editor.

WHICH SHOULD I USE?

Recommendation

Choose based on your IDE/CLI preference. If you use Claude Code, configure CLAUDE.md. If you use Zed, configure .rules. Many projects include config files for multiple tools so each team member can use their preferred editor.

PORTABILITY TIP

sync-instructions.sh

bash

# Maintain a single source of truth:
cp AI-INSTRUCTIONS.md CLAUDE.md
cp AI-INSTRUCTIONS.md .cursorrules
cp AI-INSTRUCTIONS.md AGENTS.md