Zed's Delta Now Runs AI Coding Agents in the Cloud Without Your Laptop
Delta can now offload agent threads to Zed-hosted Linux sandboxes, so coding agents keep running when your laptop closes and you can check in from a phone.
- Delta launches Cloud Runners, moving agent threads to Zed-hosted Linux sandboxes so work continues without your computer.
- Three sizes available, from 2 CPU / 4 GB up to 8 CPU / 16 GB, running Debian Bookworm on E2B.
- Repos auto-install via a committed
.agents/setupscript, with snapshots cached for a day. - GitHub auth, env vars, MCP servers, and model providers all carry over from your Delta account settings.
- Up to six concurrent runners, free on all paid plans while Delta-specific pricing is still being developed.
- Terminals cap at one hour and runners pause after 10 minutes idle, with auto-resume on the next turn.
Zed has added Cloud Runners to Delta, its agentic coding product. Selecting Cloud on a thread moves the agent to a Zed-hosted environment, where it can continue running tests, builds, refactors, and tool calls after the local Zed client closes. The same thread and its changes remain available from another computer, a browser, or Delta’s mobile layout.
Cloud Runners move Delta into the growing category of background coding agents. Developers can hand off long-running work without keeping a laptop awake, while teams that use macOS can also run Linux builds and tests without maintaining a local virtual machine or separate development server.
Inside each runner
Every Cloud Runner receives a dedicated Linux x86-64 sandbox running Debian Bookworm. Zed uses E2B for the underlying sandbox infrastructure and offers three resource tiers:
| Size | CPUs | Memory | Free disk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small | 2 | 4 GB | 15 GB |
| Medium, default | 4 | 8 GB | 30 GB |
| Large | 8 | 16 GB | 50 GB |
An account can run up to six Cloud Runners concurrently. Each environment can execute Linux-specific builds, tests, command-line tools, and development servers.
Rebuilding the repository
Delta checks out the repository on the runner and executes .agents/setup from the repository root before the agent’s first turn. Projects can use that script to install dependencies, configure toolchains, and perform other bootstrap work. Zed caches the resulting environment for one day, allowing subsequent runners for the repository to skip setup when the cache remains valid.
A minimal setup script for a pnpm project could contain:
#!/bin/sh
set -eu
corepack enable
pnpm install --frozen-lockfileFiles that exist only on the developer’s machine do not transfer to the runner. That includes uncommitted local-only resources, gitignored files, and services bound to the local environment, so required configuration must come from the repository, the setup script, or Delta’s secret storage.
Secrets and service access
Developers can save environment variables in Delta’s account settings or import them from a .env file. Delta encrypts stored values, hides them after saving, and redacts matching values from transcripts and terminal output. Cloud Runners load those variables when they start.
Model credentials also carry over from the account. A runner can use Delta-hosted models, connected ChatGPT or Grok subscriptions, or configured API keys. Remote Model Context Protocol servers connect automatically during startup.
GitHub access requires a one-time authorization under Settings > Integrations. The runner’s git and gh commands then use that identity, and commits receive the developer’s configured name and email. Setting a GITHUB_TOKEN environment variable switches authentication to a personal access token.
Private previews from the runner
For web projects, the agent can start a development server in a background terminal and return an HTTPS preview URL. The server continues running while the agent proceeds with the current turn. Access remains restricted to people who can open the associated Delta thread.
Operational limits
- Each terminal closes one hour after it starts, including terminals hosting background development servers.
- A Cloud Runner pauses after 10 minutes of inactivity and resumes when the thread receives another turn.
- The environment cannot reach files or services available only on the developer’s local machine.
- Deleting a thread also deletes its associated runner.
Free access, with caps
Cloud Runners are currently included with every Zed plan except the Student plan while Zed develops Delta-specific subscriptions. Fair-use limits apply. Once an account reaches its allowance, Delta withholds additional runner time until the next usage window. Model charges remain separate and depend on the connected provider or subscription.
Delta enters a field that includes Devin, Cursor background agents, Codex cloud tasks, and GitHub Copilot agents. Its implementation centers on persistent hosted threads, synchronized changes, and a web and mobile interface, allowing developers to start work on a laptop and continue managing the same task from another device.
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