Zed + Roc + Zig — My Stack Reference

A practical reference for using and learning Zed, Roc, and Zig together.

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The big picture

Tool	Role	What it’s for
Zed	Code editor + AI agent	Where I write and edit code
Roc	High-level functional language	Friendly, fast application code
Zig	Systems language	Explicit control, tiny binaries, and the language Roc’s compiler is written in

Mental model:

text

Zed (editor)
 ├── I write Roc code  →  Roc compiler (written in Zig)  →  native binary
 └── I write Zig code  →  Zig compiler                   →  native binary

• Zed = workspace
• Roc = high-level language
• Zig = low-level language and the implementation language of Roc’s compiler

No virtual environments required for Roc or Zig. Both compilers live on PATH and work from any directory.

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Setup (Debian / Linux)

Zed — installed from zed.dev; launch with zed or aliases below.

Roc

Bash

curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://roc-lang.org/install_roc.sh | sh
source ~/.bashrc
roc version

Zig — official Linux binary on PATH (e.g. under /opt/zig):

Bash

zig version   # e.g. 0.14.0

Anthropic in Zed (Free plan) Settings → AI → LLM Providers → Anthropic (or ANTHROPIC_API_KEY in the environment). Agent panel: message the agent, @ for context, / for commands.

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Aliases (quick reference)

Add to ~/.bashrc, then source ~/.bashrc.

Roc

Alias	Expands to	Use
rv	roc version	Version
rr	roc run	Run a file
rb	roc build	Build
rbo	roc build –optimize	Optimized build
rrepl	roc repl	REPL
rfmt	roc format	Format
rcheck	roc check	Type-check only

Zig

Alias	Expands to	Use
zv	zig version	Version
zr	zig run	Run a file
zb	zig build-exe	Build (debug)
zbs	zig build-exe -O ReleaseSmall	Small binary
zbf	zig build-exe -O ReleaseFast	Fast binary
zfmt	zig fmt	Format
ztest	zig test	Tests
zbuild	zig build	Project build (zig init)
zbr	zig build run	Build + run project

Zed

Alias	Expands to	Use
z	zed	Open editor
z.	zed .	Open current folder
zed.	zed .	Same as z.

Examples

Bash

rv
zr hello.zig
zbs hello.zig    # → often ~7K for hello world
z.
rrepl

Where commands work

• zig / roc / zed — any directory (on PATH)
• Running a program — need the file in the current dir or a path: zig run hello.zig or zig run ~/hello.zig

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Hello World (both languages)

Zig

zig

const std = @import("std");

pub fn main() !void {
    const stdout = std.io.getStdOut().writer();
    try stdout.print("Hello, Zig!\n", .{});
}

Bash

zig run hello.zig
zig build-exe hello.zig -O ReleaseSmall   # tiny binary

Roc (new Zig-based compiler)

roc

main! = |_args| {
    echo!("Hello, World!")
    Ok({})
}

Bash

roc hello.roc

Roc REPL

Bash

roc repl
# |n| n * 2
# List.map([1, 2, 3], |n| n * 2)   →  [2.0, 4.0, 6.0]

Note: new compiler uses |args| body, not \n -> ….

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Learning plan

Day 1

• Confirm: rv, zv, z, z.
• Zed: Ctrl+P, Ctrl+Shift+P, terminal, agent panel
• Zig: zig run hello.zig + zbs hello.zig
• Roc: roc hello.roc + 10 minutes in rrepl
• Optional: install Roc extension in Zed

Week 1

Day	Focus
1	Zed shortcuts + agent on a real folder
2	Roc REPL + hello / greet
3	Roc lists + FizzBuzz
4	Zig structs + try / errors
5	Zig small CLI (args)
6	Same tiny idea in Roc and Zig
7	Notes + pick one mini project

Month 1

Weeks 1–2 — Roc

• REPL daily
• Lists, records, when, Result
• Small CLIs and file-oriented scripts
• New-compiler mini tutorial

Weeks 2–3 — Zig

• Allocators, error unions, structs
• zig init projects
• ReleaseSmall vs debug
• One small file-processing CLI

Week 4 — Combine

• Same tool in Roc and Zig
• Heavy use of Zed agent for explain / refactor
• Short write-up of what felt fast vs what felt explicit

Ongoing

• One focused session most days (30–60 min)
• Prefer trying before asking the agent
• Alternate “friendly” (Roc) and “explicit” (Zig) days
• Optional later: Roc platforms, Zig↔Roc boundaries

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Suggested mini projects

Project	Language	Skills
Todo CLI	Roc	I/O, lists, Results
File line counter	Zig	Args, files, errors
Same tool in both	Roc + Zig	Compare styles
FizzBuzz / list drills	Roc REPL	Map, filter, when
zig init app	Zig	Project layout, zig build

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Resources

• Zed: zed.dev/docs, in-app Settings → AI
• Roc: New-compiler mini tutorial, roc-lang.org (some examples still use old syntax)
• Zig: ziglang.org/learn, language reference

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One-line summary

Zed is where I work; Roc is how I write friendly, fast programs; Zig is how I write explicit systems code — and it’s also what compiles Roc. Aliases keep the loop short; a simple day → week → month plan turns the stack into a real skill.