Setup Guide: Claude Code, Cursor, Zed & More — AI Developer Tools

Zed 1.0 Launches—The AI-Native Code Editor Wars Just Began

Complete setup guide for Claude Code, Cursor, Zed, the Claude API, AWS Bedrock, and Google Vertex AI

Zed 1.0 just shipped, and it's reshaping the AI code editor landscape. Built in Rust by the creators of Atom, Zed is purpose-built for AI collaboration, multi-cursor editing, and speed. With 637 upvotes on Hacker News and 221 comments, developers are paying attention. This isn't just another VSCode alternative—it's a statement that the post-VSCode era is here, and AI-native workflows are table stakes.

Whether you're exploring Zed, integrating Claude into your editor, or evaluating multiple AI coding platforms, this guide covers configuration for six major developer tools and services. Each section includes exact setup snippets to get you productive in minutes.

Claude Code (Web & Desktop)

Claude Code is the integrated AI assistant for Claude.ai, enabling real-time code generation, debugging, and file management directly in your browser or desktop client.

Setup Steps:

  1. Visit claude.ai and log in with your Anthropic account
  2. Create a new conversation and enable the Code Interpreter
  3. Grant file system access when prompted
  4. Start coding by pasting files or describing your requirements
# Example Claude Code session for Node.js project # In Claude.ai, paste this prompt: "Create a Node.js Express server with: - /api/health endpoint returning 200 + timestamp - .env support using dotenv - CORS enabled for localhost:3000 - Proper error handling middleware" # Claude will generate complete, runnable code
Claude Code is ideal for rapid prototyping and learning. For production workflows, pair it with version control and local development environments.

Cursor

Cursor is a VSCode fork optimized for AI pair programming. It includes built-in Claude integration, Copilot alternatives, and chat-based code generation.

Setup:

  1. Download from cursor.com
  2. Install and open settings (Cmd/Ctrl + ,)
  3. Add your Claude API key or authenticate via Anthropic
  4. Enable AI features in the Command Palette (Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + P)
// .cursor/settings.json { "aiProvider": "claude", "anthropic": { "apiKey": "sk-ant-...", "model": "claude-3-5-sonnet-20241022" }, "aiChat": { "enableInlineCompletion": true, "enableCodeActions": true, "contextLines": 50 }, "editor.formatOnSave": true, "editor.defaultFormatter": "esbenp.prettier-vscode" }
Cursor respects your existing VSCode extensions. Most work out of the box. The AI model defaults to Claude; you can configure fallbacks.

Zed 1.0

Zed is the newcomer reshaping expectations for AI-native code editors. Built in Rust for speed, it features native multi-cursor editing, collaborative live-share, and AI pair programming baked in. The 1.0 release signals production-readiness and marks a significant challenge to VSCode's dominance in the developer tools space.

Setup:

  1. Download Zed from zed.dev
  2. Create a Zed account (free tier available)
  3. Configure AI settings via ~/.config/zed/settings.json
  4. Connect your Claude or Anthropic API key
  5. Enable collaborative features for pair programming
// ~/.config/zed/settings.json { "ai": { "provider": "claude", "model": "claude-3-5-sonnet-20241022" }, "anthropic": { "api_key": "sk-ant-..." }, "features": { "inline_completions": true, "chat": true, "multi_cursor": true, "collaborative_editing": true }, "editor": { "font_family": "Zed Mono", "font_size": 13, "tab_size": 2, "hard_tabs": false } }
Zed's performance advantage comes from Rust. Startup time is sub-100ms on modern hardware. Collaborative editing works peer-to-peer; no central server required for live-share sessions.

Claude API (Direct Integration)

For custom applications and production workflows, integrate Claude directly via the Anthropic API. This gives you full control over model selection, prompt engineering, and cost optimization.

Setup:

  1. Get an API key from console.anthropic.com
  2. Install the official SDK: npm install @anthropic-ai/sdk
  3. Set environment variable: export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY="sk-ant-..."
  4. Initialize and call the API
// Node.js example: code generation via Claude API import Anthropic from "@anthropic-ai/sdk"; const client = new Anthropic({ apiKey: process.env.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY, }); async function generateCode(prompt) { const message = await client.messages.create({ model: "claude-3-5-sonnet-20241022", max_tokens: 2048, messages: [ { role: "user", content: `Generate production-ready code:\n${prompt}`, }, ], }); console.log(message.content[0].text); } generateCode("Create a TypeScript function to validate email addresses");
API costs scale with token usage. For high-volume applications, consider batch processing for non-urgent requests to reduce costs by 50%.

AWS Bedrock

AWS Bedrock provides managed access to Claude models alongside other AI providers. Use it for enterprise deployments with built-in VPC support and IAM authentication.

Setup:

  1. Enable Claude in AWS Bedrock console
  2. Request model access (Claude 3.5 Sonnet)
  3. Configure IAM permissions for your AWS role
  4. Install AWS SDK: npm install @aws-sdk/client-bedrock-runtime
// AWS Bedrock example (Node.js) import { BedrockRuntimeClient, InvokeModelCommand } from "@aws-sdk/client-bedrock-runtime"; const client = new BedrockRuntimeClient({ region: "us-east-1" }); async function invokeClaudeViaBedrockAsync(prompt) { const command = new InvokeModelCommand({ modelId: "anthropic.claude-3-5-sonnet-20241022-v2:0", body: JSON.stringify({ anthropic_version: "bedrock-2023-06-01", max_tokens: 2048, messages: [{ role: "user", content: prompt }], }), });

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