Gram

A fork of the Zed editor with batteries included — debugger support, built-in docs, and a highly configurable experience out of the box.

gui editor

⎔ Repository 🌐 Website

Gram is a fork of the Zed code editor, taking Zed's excellent performance foundation and adding a more batteries-included experience: built-in debugger support via the Debug Adapter Protocol (DAP), built-in documentation, and a philosophy of being highly configurable without requiring you to hunt for extensions. It is available for macOS and Linux.

Features

DAP debugger — first-class debugger integration via the Debug Adapter Protocol, supporting breakpoints, step execution, and variable inspection without any plugin setup
Built-in documentation — language documentation is available directly inside the editor, reducing context switching
GPU-accelerated rendering — inherits Zed's GPUI rendering layer, giving it the same near-zero-latency typing and scrolling feel
Zed extension compatibility — supports Zed extensions for additional language support and tooling
LSP support — full Language Server Protocol integration for completions, diagnostics, go-to-definition, and refactoring across all supported languages
Git integration — built-in source control using Git, with diff gutter indicators and inline blame
Vim mode — high-fidelity modal editing built in, no extension required
Built-in terminal — integrated terminal panel so you rarely need to leave the editor
Multi-buffer editing — open search results or diagnostics as a single editable document spanning multiple files

Installation

Download a pre-built binary from the official website:

# macOS (Homebrew)
brew install --cask gram

# Arch Linux (AUR — binary package)
paru -S gram-bin

# Arch Linux (AUR — build from source)
paru -S gram

# Debian / Fedora
# No official package; pre-built Linux binaries are available on the
# [Codeberg releases page](https://codeberg.org/GramEditor/gram/releases).

Or build from source:

git clone https://codeberg.org/GramEditor/gram
cd gram
cargo build --release

Configuration

Gram is configured via a JSON settings file, using the same format as Zed:

{
  "theme": "One Dark",
  "buffer_font_family": "JetBrains Mono",
  "buffer_font_size": 14,
  "vim_mode": true,
  "format_on_save": "on",
  "tab_size": 4,
  "inlay_hints": {
    "enabled": true
  }
}

The built-in documentation can be accessed directly from within the editor via the command palette.

Gram vs Zed

Gram is a downstream fork of Zed rather than a replacement. The key differences are:

Feature	Zed	Gram
DAP debugger	Not yet built-in	✅ Built-in
Built-in docs	No	✅ Yes
Extension system	WASM extensions	WASM (Zed-compatible)
Multiplayer editing	✅ Yes	Not available
AI assistant	✅ Built-in	Not built-in
Platforms	Linux, macOS	Linux, macOS

If you want collaborative editing or a tightly integrated AI assistant, Zed is the better choice. If you want a debugger and a more self-contained, configurable editor without cloud features, Gram is worth a look.

Community

Gram has a community chat forum using XMPP at gram@rooms.slidge.im. Any XMPP client can connect, and a basic web UI is available for those without one.