# 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.

Source: https://groundedby.com/agents/zed (updated 2026-10-29)

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](/evaluate) 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

- [Zed source, agent thread database](https://github.com/zed-industries/zed/blob/v1.26.2/crates/agent/src/db.rs)
- [Zed docs, agent panel](https://github.com/zed-industries/zed/blob/v1.26.2/docs/src/ai/agent-panel.md)