herdr-zen

A Herdr plugin that centers the current pane at a comfortable reading width while preserving its process and scrollback.

Features

• Toggle Zen mode without restarting or replacing the current pane.
• Start at 70% width and resize in 5% steps from 40% to 90%.
• Restore the pane to its original tab and zoom state when leaving Zen mode.
• Install usable default keybindings automatically.

Requirements

• Herdr 0.8.0 or later.
• Linux, macOS, or Windows PowerShell. Windows support requires a Herdr preview build.

Installation

herdr plugin install y4m3/herdr-zen

The plugin is ready to use immediately after installation. It adds these keybindings to Herdr's config.toml:

Key	Action
prefix+shift+z	Toggle Zen mode
prefix+shift+right	Widen the Zen pane
prefix+shift+left	Narrow the Zen pane

Usage

Focus a pane and press prefix+shift+z. Press it again to restore the pane to its original location. While Zen mode is active, use the left and right shortcuts to adjust its width.

The original pane process and scrollback remain attached throughout the move.

Configuration

The installer appends the following marked block once and leaves existing configuration untouched:

# herdr-zen:start
[[keys.command]]
key = "prefix+shift+z"
type = "plugin_action"
command = "y4m3.herdr-zen.toggle"
description = "toggle zen mode"

[[keys.command]]
key = "prefix+shift+right"
type = "plugin_action"
command = "y4m3.herdr-zen.wider"
description = "widen zen pane"

[[keys.command]]
key = "prefix+shift+left"
type = "plugin_action"
command = "y4m3.herdr-zen.narrower"
description = "narrow zen pane"
# herdr-zen:end

To change the shortcuts, edit the block between # herdr-zen:start and # herdr-zen:end, then apply it:

herdr server reload-config

Herdr does not run plugin cleanup hooks on uninstall. Remove this marked block manually if you uninstall the plugin and no longer want the shortcuts.

Development

For local development, run these two commands (plugin link does not run build hooks):

cargo build
mkdir -p bin
cp target/debug/herdr-zen bin/herdr-zen.exe
./bin/herdr-zen.exe install
herdr plugin link .

Run the built-in check with:

cargo test

License

MIT © 2026 y4m3