Changelog Master Feed Building Zed's agentic editing (Changelog Interviews #640)
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May 7, 2025 
Nathan Sobo, co-founder of Zed and an advocate for improving developer tools, discusses the revolutionary concept of agentic editing. This AI-native editor enhances collaborative coding at lightning speed. He dives into the challenges of integrating AI in software development, balancing control with unpredictability. The conversation also touches on emerging methodologies like vibe coding and the latest features in Zed, such as dark mode and Edit Prediction. Sobo reflects on the importance of user experience while seamlessly advancing innovation in coding tools.
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Owning the AI Native Editor Stack
- Building an AI native editor requires owning and deeply understanding the entire code editor stack from scratch.
- This approach enables differentiated, deeply integrated AI features beyond just layering AI on existing editors.
Balancing AI and Determinism
- Integrating inherently stochastic AI with deterministic editor architecture creates new product development challenges.
- Rigorous testing with thresholds for flaky AI behavior is essential for reliability.
AI's Role in Software Quality
- AI enables more high-quality, maintainable software instead of just more code.
- Controlling complexity remains the central constraint in software development despite AI advances.