Shuriken and Zed: agents beside your editor

We make Shuriken. We tried to be fair; corrections welcome at office@shuriken.sh.

Quick answer#

To use Claude Code with Zed, install Claude Agent from Zed's ACP Registry and start a thread in the Agent Panel. Zed talks to it over the Agent Client Protocol (ACP). Shuriken sits at a different layer: it runs Claude Code, Codex and 65 more agents across all your accounts, computers and servers, and opens any chat's worktree in Zed with one click.

So this isn't really a "which one" page. Zed is where you write and read code. Shuriken is where your agents run, move to another of your accounts when one runs low, and keep going while you're away from the desk. Plenty of people will want both, and most of this page is about how they fit.

At a glance#

Read on 22 October 2026 from Zed's own site and docs (sources below).

What Zed does well#

It's a fast editor first. Zed is written in Rust and, in its own words, "rendered at 120fps". If you read a lot of agent-written diffs, the place you read them in matters, and Zed is a pleasant one.

ACP is a good idea. The Agent Client Protocol lets an editor host any agent that speaks it, instead of building a bespoke integration per agent. Zed started it, and its registry already carries Claude Agent, Codex and Gemini CLI. Custom agents go in your settings as a command, arguments and environment.

The agent works where the code is. You hand a task to an agent, follow its edits in real time and review its diffs in place. For "rename this, fix that test, explain this function" work, that loop is hard to beat.

Model choice is wide. Use Zed's hosted models, run local ones through Ollama ("Nothing leaves your machine", says the page), or plug in your own API keys.

Parallel threads exist. Zed's Parallel Agents docs describe several threads at once from the Threads Sidebar, each with its own agent and history. You can mix Zed's agent in one thread with Claude Code or Codex in another, and start a thread in a new git worktree to keep its edits apart.

The price is friendly. The Personal plan is $0, and Zed says it does not charge for external agents. Your Claude plan or API key pays for Claude, as it would anywhere.

Where Shuriken is different#

Your accounts move with the chat#

Heavy Claude Code users tend to hit the same wall: one account runs out mid-task, and the rest of the afternoon is logging out, logging in and re-explaining the task. Zed doesn't try to solve that, and it doesn't claim to: each external agent keeps its own single sign-in.

Shuriken was built for exactly this. You add every account and key you have as a source, several per provider. When the one in use reaches your switch point (99% by default, adjustable from 50% to 100%) or the provider reports a limit, your chats move to the source with the most room left. A Claude Code chat moves on its next request, with its subagents. A "Switched to …" card in the chat says who took over and why. More in how switching picks the next account and on the source switching page.

Shuriken also starts idle Claude accounts' 5-hour windows with one tiny background request each, once per window, so limits come back early. We call those session limits.

Work that keeps going when you leave#

Zed's agent runs while Zed runs. Shuriken's agents run on your computers and servers in a background service, so closing the window doesn't stop them. On a Mac, Cocaine mode keeps it working with the lid closed (yes, that's the name, and no, we're not changing it). You can also run a chat on another of your machines, such as a home server, and the same chat carries on there.

Every device, one list of chats#

Your chats follow you to any other computer you've linked and to your phone through the web app at app.shuriken.sh. Native iOS and Android apps are planned for November 2026. Zed is a desktop editor; its docs don't describe following an agent from a phone.

MCP sign-ins that travel#

In Shuriken you set up an MCP server once, choose which projects get it, and sign in once. The sign-in belongs to the server, not to your Claude account, so switching accounts or devices never asks again. See Global MCPs.

What Shuriken is not#

It's not an editor. Shuriken has a Files and Changes panel and built-in terminals, which is plenty for checking what an agent did. For real editing you'll want a real editor. Zed, for instance.

A note on Claude subscriptions over ACP#

On 14 May 2026, Zed's blog described a planned Anthropic billing change under which subscription use through ACP would draw from a separate monthly credit. Zed's update of 16 June 2026 says the change "is not taking effect yet" and that ACP keeps working with subscriptions as before. The same post says the official claude CLI in Zed's terminal uses your subscription's limits. If this matters for your setup, read Zed's post for its current state before you plan around it.

Pricing#

Zed (US dollars, from zed.dev/pricing): Personal is $0 "forever" and includes unlimited use with your API keys or external agents. Pro is $10 a month, with a free trial. Business is $30 per seat a month.

Shuriken (euros, VAT included for EU consumers): Free is €0, with no card and no trial clock: two sources, two linked devices, every agent, automatic switching, session limits and global MCPs. Pro is €49 a month or €490 a year (2 months free) and lifts the source and device limits. The full list is on pricing.

Neither one pays for your model use. Claude Code bills to your Claude plan or API key either way.

Using them together#

This is the setup we'd suggest if you like Zed:

1. Run the agents in Shuriken. One chat per task, each on its own branch in its own worktree, so three agents can fix three bugs in one repo without colliding. See parallel agents.
2. Open the work in Zed. When a chat says it's done, or you just want a look, use Open in › Zed. Shuriken opens that chat's worktree, not your main checkout. Open a file from the chat and it lands at its spot.
3. Read, tweak, ask. Review the diff in Zed, fix the odd line by hand, or ask Zed's own agent a quick question about the code.
4. Finish in Shuriken. Finish runs your checks, then merges, or opens a pull request.

Open in is part of the desktop app on macOS, Windows and Linux, and it lists Zed only when Zed is installed. It knows 44 targets in all, from VS Code and JetBrains IDEs to Ghostty; the full list is in Open any chat in 44 editors and terminals and on the Open anywhere page.

One habit worth keeping: don't let two agents edit the same worktree at once. If a Shuriken chat is mid-turn on a branch, ask Zed's agent about it, but let the chat finish before Zed's agent edits there too.

If you'd rather keep Claude in Zed's panel for small in-file edits and use Shuriken for long jobs, account juggling and your phone, that works too. If your editor is Cursor instead, we compared that as well: Shuriken vs Cursor agents. To try the Zed setup on your own projects, download Shuriken.