Zed 1.16.1

I have been running Zed 1.16.1 since it landed on August 19, and this week's drop is a genuinely nice one. The headline is Gemini 3.6 Flash support in the AI panel — but the Git Panel and Mermaid upgrades are the quiet wins.

Gemini 3.6 Flash

Google AI models now include Gemini 3.6 Flash, newly added to the model list. If you lean on inline AI assistance in Zed, this gives you a fast, capable default option worth testing in your everyday flow.

Git Panel Got a Facelift

Grouped change sections are now collapsible — a small change that makes big diffs far easier to scan. You can also add optional stash messages, so your stashes actually tell you what they hold. Directional focus navigation into the History tab got fixed too.

Mermaid & Terminal Touches

Mermaid diagrams now support zooming and horizontal scrolling — finally usable for large flowcharts. There is also a new setting to control whether the Terminal Panel opens automatically in new workspaces. Linux users should see better memory usage as well.

Worth It?

Verdict: update. It is a stable-feeling release, the language-server staleness bug on flaky connections is fixed, and there is nothing here that should make you hesitate.