title: Agent Profiles - Zed description: Configure Zed Agent profiles for model selection, built-in tool availability, and MCP tool availability.
Agent Profiles
Agent profiles control how the Zed Agent behaves in a thread. A profile can set a default model and choose which built-in tools and MCP tools are available.
Profiles do not decide whether a tool call is allowed automatically. Use Tool Permissions to control allow, deny, and confirm behavior.
Built-in Profiles {#built-in-profiles}
Zed includes three built-in profiles:
Write: enables tools for reading, editing, and running commands.Ask: focuses on read-only codebase questions.Minimal: uses no project tools.
Configure Profiles {#configure-profiles}
Open the profile selector in the Agent Panel, then click Configure.
You can also run {#action agent::ManageProfiles} from the command palette.
From the profile modal, you can:
- create a custom profile
- fork an existing profile
- configure a profile default model
- configure built-in tools
- configure MCP tools
- delete custom profiles
Profiles and Settings {#settings}
Profiles are stored under agent.profiles in your settings.
{
"agent": {
"profiles": {
"ask": {
"name": "Ask",
"tools": {
"read_file": true,
"grep": true,
"terminal": false,
"edit_file": false
},
"enable_all_context_servers": false,
"context_servers": {},
"default_model": {
"provider": "zed.dev",
"model": "claude-sonnet-4-5"
}
}
}
}
}
The exact model IDs and provider IDs depend on your configured LLM Providers.
Profiles vs. Tool Permissions {#profiles-vs-tool-permissions}
| Setting | Controls | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Agent profile | Whether a tool is available in a profile | Disable terminal in a read-only profile |
| Tool permissions | Whether a permission-gated tool call is allowed, denied, or confirmed | Always confirm terminal commands |
If a tool is not available in the active profile, the Zed Agent cannot use it. If the tool is available and permission-gated, Tool Permissions still controls whether the tool call requires approval.
Agent Path Boundaries {#agent-path-boundaries}
Agent profiles apply to the Zed Agent. External Agents and Terminal Threads do not use Zed Agent profiles unless their integration explicitly supports similar behavior.