diff --git a/gpui/src/executor.rs b/gpui/src/executor.rs
index c848cff9c5..b135f5034d 100644
--- a/gpui/src/executor.rs
+++ b/gpui/src/executor.rs
@@ -455,18 +455,18 @@ impl Background {
         T: 'static,
         F: 'static + Unpin + Future<Output = T>,
     {
-        let output = match self {
-            Self::Production { .. } => {
-                smol::block_on(util::timeout(timeout, Pin::new(&mut future))).ok()
+        if !timeout.is_zero() {
+            let output = match self {
+                Self::Production { .. } => {
+                    smol::block_on(util::timeout(timeout, Pin::new(&mut future))).ok()
+                }
+                Self::Deterministic(executor) => executor.block_on(Pin::new(&mut future)),
+            };
+            if let Some(output) = output {
+                return Ok(output);
             }
-            Self::Deterministic(executor) => executor.block_on(Pin::new(&mut future)),
-        };
-
-        if let Some(output) = output {
-            Ok(output)
-        } else {
-            Err(future)
         }
+        Err(future)
     }
 
     pub async fn scoped<'scope, F>(&self, scheduler: F)
diff --git a/zed/src/editor/buffer.rs b/zed/src/editor/buffer.rs
index c2ba280be6..123b3f2db1 100644
--- a/zed/src/editor/buffer.rs
+++ b/zed/src/editor/buffer.rs
@@ -119,6 +119,7 @@ pub struct Buffer {
     history: History,
     file: Option<File>,
     language: Option<Arc<Language>>,
+    sync_parse_timeout: Duration,
     syntax_tree: Mutex<Option<SyntaxTree>>,
     parsing_in_background: bool,
     parse_count: usize,
@@ -583,6 +584,7 @@ impl Buffer {
             syntax_tree: Mutex::new(None),
             parsing_in_background: false,
             parse_count: 0,
+            sync_parse_timeout: Duration::from_millis(1),
             language,
             saved_mtime,
             selections: HashMap::default(),
@@ -828,6 +830,11 @@ impl Buffer {
         self.parsing_in_background
     }
 
+    #[cfg(test)]
+    pub fn set_sync_parse_timeout(&mut self, timeout: Duration) {
+        self.sync_parse_timeout = timeout;
+    }
+
     fn reparse(&mut self, cx: &mut ModelContext<Self>) -> bool {
         if self.parsing_in_background {
             return false;
@@ -846,7 +853,7 @@ impl Buffer {
 
             match cx
                 .background()
-                .block_with_timeout(Duration::from_millis(1), parse_task)
+                .block_with_timeout(self.sync_parse_timeout, parse_task)
             {
                 Ok(new_tree) => {
                     *self.syntax_tree.lock() = Some(SyntaxTree {
@@ -1931,6 +1938,7 @@ impl Clone for Buffer {
             language: self.language.clone(),
             syntax_tree: Mutex::new(self.syntax_tree.lock().clone()),
             parsing_in_background: false,
+            sync_parse_timeout: self.sync_parse_timeout,
             parse_count: self.parse_count,
             deferred_replicas: self.deferred_replicas.clone(),
             replica_id: self.replica_id,
@@ -3853,10 +3861,7 @@ mod tests {
 
         let buffer = cx.add_model(|cx| {
             let text = "fn a() {}".into();
-            let buffer = Buffer::from_history(0, History::new(text), None, rust_lang.cloned(), cx);
-            assert!(buffer.is_parsing());
-            assert!(buffer.syntax_tree().is_none());
-            buffer
+            Buffer::from_history(0, History::new(text), None, rust_lang.cloned(), cx)
         });
 
         // Wait for the initial text to parse
@@ -3872,6 +3877,10 @@ mod tests {
             )
         );
 
+        buffer.update(&mut cx, |buffer, _| {
+            buffer.set_sync_parse_timeout(Duration::ZERO)
+        });
+
         // Perform some edits (add parameter and variable reference)
         // Parsing doesn't begin until the transaction is complete
         buffer.update(&mut cx, |buf, cx| {