A while ago I wrote about my setup in Awesome Visual Studio Code. I was happy, productive, and comfortable. But you know how it is—we're always looking for that extra 1% of performance.

The Vim Experiment

Three months after that post, I decided to go all in on Vim. I wanted to see what the hype was about.

I spent weeks configuring NeoVim. I got my plugins sorted, my LSP working, and my themes looking crisp. I became decent at it. I could fly through code.

But it felt... good, but not great. I missed the polish of a GUI. I missed the "it just works" feeling of VSCode. I found myself tweaking config files more than writing code.

Enter Zed

Then I discovered Zed.

It promised speed, and it delivered. But what really hooked me was its first-class Vim support. It wasn't just an emulation layer slapped on top; it felt native.

It combines the best of both worlds:

1. The Speed of Vim: All my muscle memory works perfectly. ciw, dt", %—it's all there.
2. The Polish of a Modern Editor: It’s fast, beautiful, and requires almost no configuration to get started.

My Current Setup

I've finally settled on a setup that feels like home.

• Editor: Zed with Vim mode enabled.
• Version Control: LazyGit. This is a game changer for terminal git operations.

If you're on the fence about leaving VSCode but find NeoVim too daunting (or too high-maintenance), give Zed a shot. It might be the middle ground you're looking for.