Zed has added Terminal Threads to its Agent Panel, giving terminal-based workflows such as claude, amp, and codex a place in the sidebar as managed threads. The company states that the feature is available in the latest release and is intended to sit alongside existing agent work in Zed.
The update builds on Parallel Agents, which Zed launched last month. That earlier feature worked with Zed’s built-in agent and with external agents connected through ACP, but not with terminal-based workflows. Zed notes that some users were already running agents in the terminal pane, even though that pane was not designed for parallel agent sessions.
Terminal Threads are opened from the + icon in the Agent Panel toolbar by selecting Terminal from the “New Thread” menu. A terminal then appears in the panel body and is listed in the Threads Sidebar like other threads. Each terminal is scoped to the current project and worktree, and the title updates automatically to reflect what is running.
Zed also states that users get the same keyboard navigation as agent threads, along with notifications when a process needs attention. The company links to documentation for configuring notifications for Claude Code. Terminal sessions can be closed when they are no longer needed.
The feature appears designed to keep different kinds of work together in one place. Zed says terminal threads can be mixed with Zed Agent threads, ACP threads, or both, and can also be used for non-agent work such as long compiles and eval runs.
Zed positions the feature as a way to support tools that do not speak ACP. The company points to Amp and its rebuilt CLI experience as one example, noting that there is no ACP equivalent for that CLI. Zed also mentions that if the AMP_FORCE_BEL=1 environment variable is set, Terminal Threads can notify users when an Amp thread finishes.
The timing also appears relevant for Claude Code users. Zed cites Anthropic’s announcement that Agent SDK usage on subscription plans is moving to a separate, limited credit system starting June 15, and claims that running Claude Code through ACP would become significantly more expensive. In that context, Zed states that Terminal Threads are now the only way to keep using Claude Code in Zed with an existing Claude subscription.
Zed adds that the new feature does not change its investment in ACP. The company states that it will continue building on ACP and evolving the protocol with partners, and links to its roadmap. It also says Terminal Threads are meant to add flexibility rather than replace ACP.
The feature is available now in the latest Zed release, according to the company. Feedback can be shared through GitHub Discussions.
Source: Zed
