title_bar: Add configurable window controls position #38834

sousaakira · 2025-09-24T23:47:10Z

Release Notes:

Added the ability to customize in which side (left or right) the windows controls are rendered on Linux.

🎯 Description

Adds configurable window control buttons (minimize, maximize, close) positioning for Linux, allowing users to choose between macOS-style (left side) or Windows-style (right side) placement.

✨ Features

New title_bar.window_controls_position setting with "left" and "right" options
Left positioning: macOS style (Close → Minimize → Maximize)
Right positioning: Windows style (Minimize → Maximize → Close)
Fixed transparent background issues for window controls
Maintains consistent styling with Zed's theme

🔧 Technical Changes

Settings System

Added WindowControlsPosition enum in settings_content.rs
Extended TitleBarSettingsContent with window_controls_position field
Updated TitleBarSettings to include the new configuration

Title Bar Layout

Modified platform_title_bar.rs to use setting for layout positioning
Added conditional logic for justify_start() vs justify_between() based on position
Fixed transparent container background by adding bg(titlebar_color)

Window Controls

Updated platform_linux.rs to reorder buttons based on position setting
Changed button background from ghost_element_background to title_bar_background
Implemented proper button sequencing for both positions

🧪 How to Test

Add to your Zed settings:

{
  "title_bar": {
    "window_controls_position": "left"
  }
}

or

{
  "title_bar": {
    "window_controls_position": "right"
  }
}

Restart Zed
Verify buttons are positioned correctly
Check that background is not transparent
Test button functionality (minimize, maximize, close)

�� Expected Behavior

Left position: Buttons appear on the left side of the title bar in Close → Minimize → Maximize order
Right position: Buttons appear on the right side of the title bar in Minimize → Maximize → Close order
Background: Solid background matching Zed's theme (no transparency)

🔍 Files Changed

crates/settings/src/settings_content.rs - Added enum and setting
crates/title_bar/src/title_bar_settings.rs - Updated settings struct
crates/title_bar/src/platform_title_bar.rs - Modified layout logic
crates/title_bar/src/platforms/platform_linux.rs - Updated button ordering and styling

🎨 Design Rationale

This feature provides Linux users with the flexibility to choose their preferred window control button layout, improving the user experience by allowing them to match their desktop environment's conventions or personal preferences.

✅ Checklist

Code compiles without errors
Settings are properly serialized/deserialized
Background transparency issues resolved
Button ordering works correctly for both positions
Layout adapts properly based on configuration
No breaking changes to existing functionality

🔗 Related

This addresses the need for customizable window control positioning on Linux, providing consistency with user expectations from different desktop environments.

…controle de janela Modificações realizadas: - Ajustada a justificação do layout no `PlatformTitleBar` para que utilize `justify_start` no estilo Linux, em vez de `justify_between`. - Alterado o controle de janela no `LinuxWindowControls` para usar `WindowControl::new_close` para o botão de fechar e `WindowControl::new` para o botão de minimizar. Release Notes: - N/A

- Add WindowControlsPosition enum with Left/Right options - Add window_controls_position setting to TitleBarSettingsContent - Update TitleBarSettings to include new configuration - Modify platform_title_bar.rs to use setting for layout positioning - Update platform_linux.rs to reorder buttons based on position: * Left: Close -> Minimize -> Maximize (macOS style) * Right: Minimize -> Maximize -> Close (Windows style) - Fix transparent background issues by using title_bar_background - Ensure proper background for left-positioned controls container Closes #[ISSUE_NUMBER]

cla-bot · 2025-09-24T23:47:13Z

We require contributors to sign our Contributor License Agreement, and we don't have @sousaakira on file. You can sign our CLA at https://zed.dev/cla. Once you've signed, post a comment here that says '@cla-bot check'.

sousaakira · 2025-09-24T23:50:36Z

@cla-bot check

cla-bot · 2025-09-24T23:50:41Z

The cla-bot has been summoned, and re-checked this pull request!

danilo-leal · 2025-09-25T10:53:55Z

Hey, thanks for the PR! Can we get some screenshots of how this affects the UI? I don't have a Linux machine easy with me so I can experiment with it.

- Change default position from 'left' to 'right' for better Windows compatibility - Add comprehensive docstring explaining valid values ('left' and 'right') - Implement Default trait for WindowControlsPosition enum - Refactor LinuxWindowControls to reduce code duplication with build_controls helper - Remove unnecessary unit tests to keep codebase clean These improvements make the code more maintainable and user-friendly.

sousaakira · 2025-09-25T12:56:38Z

Hey, thanks for the PR! Can we get some screenshots of how this affects the UI? I don't have a Linux machine easy with me so I can experiment with it.

sousaakira · 2025-09-25T13:00:17Z

Hey, thanks for the PR! Can we get some screenshots of how this affects the UI? I don't have a Linux machine easy with me so I can experiment with it.

Hi! 👋

Thanks for the review. I’ve added a GIF to show how the change affects the UI: the window controls can now be positioned on the left or right as configured in the settings.

This PR addresses the issue #14120
, allowing users to customize the title bar buttons placement.

Let me know if you need additional screenshots or testing instructions — happy to provide them!

danilo-leal

Thanks for the screenshots! Looks good to me.

danilo-leal · 2025-09-26T15:01:22Z

@sousaakira There's a CI error there with the tests import; can you verify?

crates/title_bar/src/platform_title_bar.rs

Be-ing · 2025-10-01T20:45:04Z

crates/settings/src/settings_content.rs

+/// Position of window control buttons on Linux.
+///
+/// Valid values: "left" or "right"
+/// - "left": Window controls on the left side (macOS style)
+/// - "right": Window controls on the right side (Windows style)
+#[derive(Copy, Clone, Debug, Serialize, Deserialize, JsonSchema, MergeFrom, PartialEq, Eq, Default)]
+#[serde(rename_all = "snake_case")]
+pub enum WindowControlsPosition {
+    /// Window controls on the left side (macOS style)
+    Left,
+    /// Window controls on the right side (Windows style)
+    #[default]
+    Right,
+}
+


Instead of making the user manually configure this in Zed's settings.json, this could be handled automatically by querying dconf.

I can make a pull request implementing this.

I have implemented this in #39395.

danilo-leal · 2025-10-20T23:27:51Z

Ended up resolving the merge conflicts so we can get this out the door; could you @sousaakira or @Be-ing test it out to see if it is properly working on Linux? I'd appreciate that before we merge.

danilo-leal · 2025-10-21T00:04:47Z

Shoot, this merged automatically given I had enabled auto-merge for it three weeks ago 🤦 Still appreciate a quick test here, and in case anything breaks, we just revert.

Be-ing · 2025-10-21T02:51:10Z

I recommend reverting this ASAP before users start using it. Adding settings to Zed for this is not a good way to do it. Zed should read the system's settings, not add its own that would have to be manually configured to match the system. I started implementing that in #39395, though my focus is currently on #28754.

…ustries#38834)" This reverts commit b479d1e. This PR was accidentally merged prematurely. zed-industries#38834 (comment)

@danilo-leal

#40839) This reverts commit b479d1e. This PR was accidentally merged prematurely. #38834 (comment) cc @danilo-leal Release Notes: - N/A

sousaakira added 3 commits September 24, 2025 16:40

Merge branch 'main' of github.com:sousaakira/zed

e6f0ca6

maxdeviant changed the title ~~Feature/configurable window controls position~~ title_bar: Add configurable window controls position Sep 24, 2025

cla-bot bot added the cla-signed The user has signed the Contributor License Agreement label Sep 24, 2025

SomeoneToIgnore assigned mattermill and danilo-leal Sep 25, 2025

sousaakira mentioned this pull request Sep 25, 2025

Add option for configuring left-side or right-side window control buttons on Linux #14120

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danilo-leal approved these changes Sep 26, 2025

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danilo-leal enabled auto-merge (squash) September 26, 2025 14:59

Be-ing suggested changes Oct 1, 2025

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Be-ing mentioned this pull request Oct 2, 2025

title_bar: Query dconf for CSD position (left/right) on Linux #39395

Closed

danilo-leal added 2 commits October 20, 2025 20:07

Merge remote-tracking branch 'origin/main' into pr/38834

6453aa1

Add code back after merge with main

d24fd71

Fix clippy

93bfa05

danilo-leal merged commit b479d1e into zed-industries:main Oct 21, 2025
21 checks passed

Be-ing added a commit to Be-ing/zed that referenced this pull request Oct 22, 2025

Revert "title_bar: Add configurable window controls position (zed-ind…

1dc268b

…ustries#38834)" This reverts commit b479d1e. This PR was accidentally merged prematurely. zed-industries#38834 (comment)

Be-ing mentioned this pull request Oct 22, 2025

Revert "title_bar: Add configurable window controls position (#38834)" #40839

Merged

title_bar: Add configurable window controls position #38834

title_bar: Add configurable window controls position #38834

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🎯 Description

✨ Features

🔧 Technical Changes

Settings System

Title Bar Layout

Window Controls

🧪 How to Test

�� Expected Behavior

🔍 Files Changed

🎨 Design Rationale

✅ Checklist

🔗 Related

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sousaakira commented Sep 24, 2025 •

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