diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index ef070c29e..244fedeb4 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -41,11 +41,21 @@ version = "0.1.1"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "e1ba68f4276a778591e36a0c348a269888f3a177c8d2054969389e3b59611ff5"
 
+[[package]]
+name = "async-barrier"
+version = "1.0.1"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "c06293698675eb72e1155867e5982f199d6b6c230dca35bc5ffd9852f470c22a"
+dependencies = [
+ "async-mutex",
+ "event-listener",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "async-channel"
-version = "1.4.0"
+version = "1.4.1"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "43de69555a39d52918e2bc33a408d3c0a86c829b212d898f4ca25d21a6387478"
+checksum = "59386c3aa61f4e14c4ddda1a6744c119b4bf278ec9f866d3c20bc5728ee0eb97"
 dependencies = [
  "concurrent-queue",
  "event-listener",
@@ -54,37 +64,116 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "async-executor"
-version = "0.1.2"
+version = "0.2.1"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "90f47c78ea98277cb1f5e6f60ba4fc762f5eafe9f6511bc2f7dfd8b75c225650"
+checksum = "29a9fcb167455a47928782aac31ee2752481385d305d613458db7bd4cc7ba0b4"
 dependencies = [
- "async-io",
+ "async-task",
+ "concurrent-queue",
+ "fastrand",
+ "futures-lite",
+ "once_cell",
+]
+
+[[package]]
+name = "async-fs"
+version = "1.1.2"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "4dffe45cf37df0df9439827c77ee4a39b95f26a0121fb615f989471c283ea6f7"
+dependencies = [
+ "blocking",
  "futures-lite",
- "multitask",
- "parking 1.0.6",
- "scoped-tls",
- "waker-fn",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
 name = "async-io"
-version = "0.1.11"
+version = "0.2.7"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "3ae22a338d28c75b53702b66f77979062cb29675db376d99e451af4fa79dedb3"
+checksum = "c9424bb88867b003ca32a1d99cf64595c5a310c7322891795f38aa061860d0af"
 dependencies = [
  "cfg-if",
  "concurrent-queue",
+ "fastrand",
  "futures-lite",
  "libc",
+ "log",
  "once_cell",
- "parking 2.0.0",
+ "parking",
  "polling",
  "socket2",
  "vec-arena",
+ "waker-fn",
  "wepoll-sys-stjepang",
  "winapi",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "async-lock"
+version = "2.1.1"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "cd7ffacc3ef2d598b07148706964f7a9b256926d5f9531c35126e8b8bb417ac5"
+dependencies = [
+ "async-barrier",
+ "async-mutex",
+ "async-rwlock",
+ "async-semaphore",
+]
+
+[[package]]
+name = "async-mutex"
+version = "1.2.0"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "065de1ccf10280d0d75c2f3a71a970ee1007c85c51aa3e7deee1df100f1dfadb"
+dependencies = [
+ "event-listener",
+]
+
+[[package]]
+name = "async-net"
+version = "1.0.0"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "79db11f7831e0de63763ed8e3f23c2095aad16c6ca2fffa727b922a955f026b2"
+dependencies = [
+ "async-io",
+ "blocking",
+ "futures-lite",
+]
+
+[[package]]
+name = "async-process"
+version = "0.1.3"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "23d510baf319291a41e6c3363df4408a3b196ad18fcb1305ae4e500f2eabe260"
+dependencies = [
+ "async-io",
+ "blocking",
+ "cfg-if",
+ "event-listener",
+ "futures-lite",
+ "once_cell",
+ "signal-hook",
+ "winapi",
+]
+
+[[package]]
+name = "async-rwlock"
+version = "1.1.0"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "6f8978b5ae008b5177da07a1bf1bfbe428f9bdb970c3fca0e92ed1c1930d7f34"
+dependencies = [
+ "async-mutex",
+ "event-listener",
+]
+
+[[package]]
+name = "async-semaphore"
+version = "1.0.0"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "64fa45fce1280cc450781869a9edec7986cdefb971d3e1607798b5e52bad068a"
+dependencies = [
+ "event-listener",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "async-task"
 version = "3.0.0"
@@ -105,12 +194,13 @@ checksum = "cf1de2fe8c75bc145a2f577add951f8134889b4795d47466a54a5c846d691693"
 
 [[package]]
 name = "blocking"
-version = "0.5.2"
+version = "0.6.1"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "ea5800d29218fea137b0880387e5948694a23c93fcdde157006966693a865c7c"
+checksum = "3f30e08a950487f80d2de5cbb72772c8bbaed6002dc8d979722dabd034ede18d"
 dependencies = [
  "async-channel",
  "atomic-waker",
+ "fastrand",
  "futures-lite",
  "once_cell",
  "waker-fn",
@@ -178,23 +268,17 @@ dependencies = [
  "winapi",
 ]
 
-[[package]]
-name = "easy-parallel"
-version = "3.1.0"
-source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "1dd4afd79212583ff429b913ad6605242ed7eec277e950b1438f300748f948f4"
-
 [[package]]
 name = "event-listener"
-version = "2.3.3"
+version = "2.4.0"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "7f14646a9e0430150a87951622ba9675472b68e384b7701b8423b30560805c7a"
+checksum = "e1cd41440ae7e4734bbd42302f63eaba892afc93a3912dad84006247f0dedb0e"
 
 [[package]]
 name = "fastrand"
-version = "1.3.4"
+version = "1.3.5"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "4bd3bdaaf0a72155260a1c098989b60db1cbb22d6a628e64f16237aa4da93cc7"
+checksum = "5c85295147490b8fcf2ea3d104080a105a8b2c63f9c319e82c02d8e952388919"
 
 [[package]]
 name = "futf"
@@ -244,15 +328,15 @@ checksum = "de27142b013a8e869c14957e6d2edeef89e97c289e69d042ee3a49acd8b51789"
 
 [[package]]
 name = "futures-lite"
-version = "0.1.11"
+version = "1.0.0"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "97999970129b808f0ccba93211201d431fcc12d7e1ffae03a61b5cedd1a7ced2"
+checksum = "5dfd8ccee4974dccf68838bb2b9c90439238090061c82454af83866ac059eb9f"
 dependencies = [
  "fastrand",
  "futures-core",
  "futures-io",
  "memchr",
- "parking 2.0.0",
+ "parking",
  "pin-project-lite",
  "waker-fn",
 ]
@@ -334,6 +418,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "crossterm",
  "futures",
  "helix-core",
+ "num_cpus",
  "smol",
 ]
 
@@ -412,17 +497,6 @@ dependencies = [
  "winapi",
 ]
 
-[[package]]
-name = "multitask"
-version = "0.2.0"
-source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "c09c35271e7dcdb5f709779111f2c8e8ab8e06c1b587c1c6a9e179d865aaa5b4"
-dependencies = [
- "async-task",
- "concurrent-queue",
- "fastrand",
-]
-
 [[package]]
 name = "new_debug_unreachable"
 version = "1.0.4"
@@ -454,12 +528,6 @@ version = "1.4.1"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "260e51e7efe62b592207e9e13a68e43692a7a279171d6ba57abd208bf23645ad"
 
-[[package]]
-name = "parking"
-version = "1.0.6"
-source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "6cb300f271742d4a2a66c01b6b2fa0c83dfebd2e0bf11addb879a3547b4ed87c"
-
 [[package]]
 name = "parking"
 version = "2.0.0"
@@ -524,12 +592,13 @@ checksum = "8b870d8c151b6f2fb93e84a13146138f05d02ed11c7e7c54f8826aaaf7c9f184"
 
 [[package]]
 name = "polling"
-version = "0.1.5"
+version = "0.1.8"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "9e09dffb745feffca5be3dea51c02b7b368c4597ab0219a82acaf9799ab3e0d1"
+checksum = "b1e9fa0ab21ed700cf0c4ebec57ae5496bec942a0aef9545562979a9f75b97aa"
 dependencies = [
  "cfg-if",
  "libc",
+ "log",
  "wepoll-sys-stjepang",
  "winapi",
 ]
@@ -548,9 +617,9 @@ checksum = "eba180dafb9038b050a4c280019bbedf9f2467b61e5d892dcad585bb57aadc5a"
 
 [[package]]
 name = "proc-macro2"
-version = "1.0.19"
+version = "1.0.20"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "04f5f085b5d71e2188cb8271e5da0161ad52c3f227a661a3c135fdf28e258b12"
+checksum = "175c513d55719db99da20232b06cda8bab6b83ec2d04e3283edf0213c37c1a29"
 dependencies = [
  "unicode-xid",
 ]
@@ -579,12 +648,6 @@ dependencies = [
  "smallvec",
 ]
 
-[[package]]
-name = "scoped-tls"
-version = "1.0.0"
-source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "ea6a9290e3c9cf0f18145ef7ffa62d68ee0bf5fcd651017e586dc7fd5da448c2"
-
 [[package]]
 name = "scopeguard"
 version = "1.1.0"
@@ -626,18 +689,20 @@ checksum = "fbee7696b84bbf3d89a1c2eccff0850e3047ed46bfcd2e92c29a2d074d57e252"
 
 [[package]]
 name = "smol"
-version = "0.3.3"
+version = "0.4.3"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "67583f4ccc13bbb105a0752058d8ad66c47753d85445952809bcaca891954f83"
+checksum = "0714120d45176fe0b7763527a28c32af32389eb5c07e28142766080839c491ed"
 dependencies = [
  "async-channel",
  "async-executor",
+ "async-fs",
  "async-io",
+ "async-lock",
+ "async-net",
+ "async-process",
  "blocking",
- "cfg-if",
- "easy-parallel",
  "futures-lite",
- "num_cpus",
+ "once_cell",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -654,9 +719,9 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "syn"
-version = "1.0.38"
+version = "1.0.39"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "e69abc24912995b3038597a7a593be5053eb0fb44f3cc5beec0deb421790c1f4"
+checksum = "891d8d6567fe7c7f8835a3a98af4208f3846fba258c1bc3c31d6e506239f11f9"
 dependencies = [
  "proc-macro2",
  "quote",
@@ -666,7 +731,7 @@ dependencies = [
 [[package]]
 name = "tendril"
 version = "0.4.1"
-source = "git+https://github.com/servo/tendril#e379f8547241d84865aa45f44802feeff1126726"
+source = "git+https://github.com/servo/tendril#9532724c32a0bf5e65acb56209373d97223bc530"
 dependencies = [
  "futf",
  "mac",
@@ -699,15 +764,15 @@ checksum = "05e42f7c18b8f902290b009cde6d651262f956c98bc51bca4cd1d511c9cd85c7"
 
 [[package]]
 name = "vec-arena"
-version = "0.5.0"
+version = "0.5.2"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "17dfb54bf57c9043f4616cb03dab30eff012cc26631b797d8354b916708db919"
+checksum = "8cb18268690309760d59ee1a9b21132c126ba384f374c59a94db4bc03adeb561"
 
 [[package]]
 name = "waker-fn"
-version = "1.0.0"
+version = "1.1.0"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "9571542c2ce85ce642e6b58b3364da2fb53526360dfb7c211add4f5c23105ff7"
+checksum = "9d5b2c62b4012a3e1eca5a7e077d13b3bf498c4073e33ccd58626607748ceeca"
 
 [[package]]
 name = "wepoll-sys-stjepang"
diff --git a/editor.rs b/editor.rs
deleted file mode 100644
index e69de29bb..000000000
diff --git a/helix-term/Cargo.toml b/helix-term/Cargo.toml
index 1cb2c3bca..32e72825d 100644
--- a/helix-term/Cargo.toml
+++ b/helix-term/Cargo.toml
@@ -19,9 +19,9 @@ argh = "0.1.3"
 helix-core = { path = "../helix-core" }
 crossterm = { version = "0.17.7", features = ["event-stream"] }
 
-smol = "0.3"
+smol = "0.4"
 futures = { version = "0.3.5", default-features = false, features = ["std", "async-await"] }
+num_cpus = "1.13.0"
 # futures-timer = "3.0.2"
-# async-channel = "1.4.0"
 
 # tui = { version = "0.9.5", default-features = false }
diff --git a/helix-term/src/editor.rs b/helix-term/src/editor.rs
index a83db6fa9..bddc28590 100644
--- a/helix-term/src/editor.rs
+++ b/helix-term/src/editor.rs
@@ -39,6 +39,8 @@ impl BufferComponent<'_> {
     }
 }
 
+static EX: smol::Executor = smol::Executor::new();
+
 pub struct Editor {
     state: Option<State>,
     first_line: u16,
@@ -134,14 +136,14 @@ impl Editor {
         }
     }
 
-    pub fn run(&mut self) -> Result<(), Error> {
+    pub async fn run(&mut self) -> Result<(), Error> {
         enable_raw_mode()?;
 
         let mut stdout = stdout();
 
         execute!(stdout, terminal::EnterAlternateScreen)?;
 
-        smol::run(self.print_events());
+        self.print_events().await;
 
         execute!(stdout, terminal::LeaveAlternateScreen)?;
 
diff --git a/helix-term/src/main.rs b/helix-term/src/main.rs
index 6e5ec5ffe..7a9289eea 100644
--- a/helix-term/src/main.rs
+++ b/helix-term/src/main.rs
@@ -18,12 +18,19 @@ pub struct Args {
     files: Vec<PathBuf>,
 }
 
+static EX: smol::Executor = smol::Executor::new();
+
 fn main() -> Result<(), Error> {
     let args: Args = argh::from_env();
     println!("{:?}", args.files);
 
-    let mut editor = editor::Editor::new(args)?;
-    editor.run();
+    for _ in 0..num_cpus::get() {
+        std::thread::spawn(move || smol::block_on(EX.run(smol::future::pending::<()>())));
+    }
+
+    smol::block_on(EX.run(async {
+        editor::Editor::new(args).unwrap().run().await;
+    }));
 
     Ok(())
 }