Ben Kunkle
a153cbfbaf
# Objective - Fixes #59409. Closes FR-143. Zed's managed npm directory reaches 10–17GB on machines that use external agents, and is never pruned. - Two independent causes: registry agents are launched with `npm exec`, which keys its install directory on the requested version, so every agent release leaves a full ~250MB copy behind; and npm never evicts anything from its download cache. ## Solution - Install registry agents into a directory we reuse, so npm replaces the previous version in place instead of accumulating one copy per release. As a side effect, updates now download only the changed dependencies rather than the whole tree. - Empty the download cache on startup. Nothing in it needs to survive a restart, since packages are installed elsewhere. It has to go wholesale: deleting individual downloads leaves npm's index pointing at missing files, and npm then fails with `ENOENT` rather than fetching them again. - The first launch after this does one full agent install as it moves into its new home, and reclaims whatever the old directories were holding. ## Testing - Installed the real agent at 0.33.1, then upgraded to 0.42.0 in the same directory: 253MB → 256MB, against two separate copies today. The resolved executable answers an ACP `initialize`. - macOS only. Windows deserves a look — it should be better than before, since the agent is now launched as a plain `.js` file with Node instead of through npm's `.cmd` shim, but I can't verify it. ## Self-Review Checklist: - [x] I've reviewed my own diff for quality, security, and reliability - [x] Unsafe blocks (if any) have justifying comments - [x] The content adheres to Zed's UI standards ([UX/UI](https://github.com/zed-industries/zed/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md#uiux-checklist) and [icon](https://github.com/zed-industries/zed/blob/main/crates/icons/README.md) guidelines) - [ ] Tests cover the new/changed behavior - [x] Performance impact has been considered and is acceptable --- Release Notes: - Fixed the bundled npm cache growing without bound, which could consume many gigabytes of disk.
Zed
Welcome to Zed, a high-performance, multiplayer code editor from the creators of Atom and Tree-sitter.
Installation
On macOS, Linux, and Windows you can download Zed directly or install Zed via your local package manager (macOS/Linux/Windows).
Other platforms are not yet available:
- Web (tracking discussion)
Developing Zed
Contributing
See CONTRIBUTING.md for ways you can contribute to Zed.
Also... we're hiring! Check out our jobs page for open roles.
Licensing
Zed source code is licensed primarily under GPL-3.0-or-later, with Apache-2.0 components where marked.
License information for third party dependencies must be correctly provided for CI to pass.
We use cargo-about to automatically comply with open source licenses. If CI is failing, check the following:
- Is it showing a
no license specifiederror for a crate you've created? If so, addpublish = falseunder[package]in your crate's Cargo.toml. - Is the error
failed to satisfy license requirementsfor a dependency? If so, first determine what license the project has and whether this system is sufficient to comply with this license's requirements. If you're unsure, ask a lawyer. Once you've verified that this system is acceptable add the license's SPDX identifier to theacceptedarray inscript/licenses/zed-licenses.toml. - Is
cargo-aboutunable to find the license for a dependency? If so, add a clarification field at the end ofscript/licenses/zed-licenses.toml, as specified in the cargo-about book.
Sponsorship
Zed is developed by Zed Industries, Inc., a for-profit company.
If you’d like to financially support the project, you can do so via GitHub Sponsors. Sponsorships go directly to Zed Industries and are used as general company revenue. There are no perks or entitlements associated with sponsorship.