Zed
Where Zed stores agent panel threads
Zed keeps agent panel threads in a SQLite database, threads.db, as zstd-compressed JSON. Where it is on macOS, Linux and Windows, and how to archive or delete threads.
Updated October 29, 2026 // Markdown
- Made by
- Zed Industries
- History lives in
- macOS
~/Library/Application Support/Zed/threads/threads.db - Linux
~/.local/share/zed/threads/threads.db - Windows
%LOCALAPPDATA%\Zed\threads\threads.db
- macOS
- Format
- SQLite; each thread is zstd-compressed JSON
- Kept for
- Kept until you archive or delete it
- Cloud copy
- Local; a thread is sent to Zed only when you rate a response or give feedback
Zed's agent panel stores threads in a SQLite database. Older text threads were removed in March 2026.
Where the database is
| System | Path |
|---|---|
| macOS | ~/Library/Application Support/Zed/threads/threads.db |
| Linux | ~/.local/share/zed/threads/threads.db (follows $XDG_DATA_HOME) |
| Windows | %LOCALAPPDATA%\Zed\threads\threads.db |
What is inside
The threads table has one row per thread. The data column is JSON compressed with zstd (data_type is zstd), holding messages, a summary, token usage and the model.
Manage threads
Zed has no command-line interface for threads. In the agent panel's Thread History you can archive, restore or delete a thread.
Privacy notes
Threads stay local. Zed receives a thread only when you rate a response or send feedback.
The groundedby evaluator does not read Zed threads yet.
Questions
Where are Zed's AI threads saved?+
In threads.db - on a Mac at ~/Library/Application Support/Zed/threads/threads.db, on Linux under ~/.local/share/zed/threads, on Windows under %LOCALAPPDATA%\Zed\threads.
Can I read Zed threads outside Zed?+
Yes, with some work. Each row's data column is JSON compressed with zstd. Copy the database, select the data column and decompress it with zstd.
Sources
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