Journal

Why

The goal is practical: build a code editor that respects your workflow. Shed is built on VS Code, keeping the ecosystem while streamlining the experience.

Architecture

Shed inherits the VS Code architecture: a main process, renderer, and extension host. The rebranding touches naming, icons, and defaults while preserving compatibility with the VS Code extension ecosystem.

Design shift

The UI moved toward quieter documentation: fewer walls of text, clearer sections, and operational details kept in the support runbook.

Lessons

• Renaming requires touching 50+ files across the codebase
• Extension compatibility is critical for adoption
• Web and desktop builds share most code but have different entry points
• Icons and visual identity matter more than expected

Next

Continue tightening reliability: better extension support and calmer defaults.

See Support for the troubleshooting runbook.