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Show HN: Zen Mode – a global focus mode for macOS

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Re: Show HN: Zen Mode – a global focus mode for macOS

#2

Post by cafebeen »

Author here, I made this macOS tool "Zen Mode" to provide a global focus mode that works across apps. There are plenty of things approaching this (HazeOver, Stage Manager, built-in full-screen mode, etc.) but nothing quite like I imagined. The basic idea is to have a shortcut to bring the current window front and center and fade everything else to black like a spotlight, and when you're done, the window returns home, and the lights come back up. A simple solution with about 250 lines of Hammerspoon Lua, built with Fable, though with many iterations to get the UX right. Happy to answer any questions or hear any feedback.

Re: Show HN: Zen Mode – a global focus mode for macOS

#4

Post by cafebeen »

daft_pink wrote: post #3

I wish I could have a tool like this that would focus multiple windows from different apps this way. My workflow just requires different apps at the same time.

Would be great, and it's technically possible to spotlight multiple windows in this setup. But I wonder about the mechanics of picking the right apps. One way is to use named sets, e.g. dev=(iTerm2, Safari), each with their own shortcut. Another is to to focus one window and then use Cmd+Tab as an picker to choose which app to add next. I guess it depends on whether the arrangement is changing or relatively stable.

Re: Show HN: Zen Mode – a global focus mode for macOS

#5

Post by [deleted] »

cafebeen wrote: post #4
daft_pink wrote: post #3

I wish I could have a tool like this that would focus multiple windows from different apps this way. My workflow just requires different apps at the same time.

Would be great, and it's technically possible to spotlight multiple windows in this setup. But I wonder about the mechanics of picking the right apps. One way is to use named sets, e.g. dev=(iTerm2, Safari), each with their own shortcut. Another is to to focus one window and then use Cmd+Tab as an picker to choose which app to add next. I guess it depends on whether the arrangement is changing or relatively stable.

[deleted]

Re: Show HN: Zen Mode – a global focus mode for macOS

#7

Post by cafebeen »

loughnane wrote: post #6

As someone who has been on i3/xfce/debian for years and hasn’t opened Mac since 2013… can someone explain this to me? I hear “bring current window to front and fade everything else” and it feels like how it ought to be by default. Is it not?

I agree this should be built-in. Many apps have their own "focus mode", but I wanted something that works uniformly across all apps. There is a full-screen mode in macOS, but it stretches the widow and context to full width, which doesn't pan out too well in some apps (lots of empty space or lines that are too long to read comfortably). So this preserves the window width but extends the height when focused, which works well for my daily drivers. The "fade" is somewhat unusual too, which means everything else is darkened close to black, which I find visually suppressing things and reduces distraction.

By the way, repo has an animated demo in case you want to see how it works.

Re: Show HN: Zen Mode – a global focus mode for macOS

#8

Post by loughnane »

cafebeen wrote: post #7
loughnane wrote: post #6

As someone who has been on i3/xfce/debian for years and hasn’t opened Mac since 2013… can someone explain this to me? I hear “bring current window to front and fade everything else” and it feels like how it ought to be by default. Is it not?

I agree this should be built-in. Many apps have their own "focus mode", but I wanted something that works uniformly across all apps. There is a full-screen mode in macOS, but it stretches the widow and context to full width, which doesn't pan out too well in some apps (lots of empty space or lines that are too long to read comfortably). So this preserves the window width but extends the height when focused, which wor…

I get it now. Nice thought. Hope people find it useful.

Re: Show HN: Zen Mode – a global focus mode for macOS

#9

Post by alberth »

cafebeen wrote: post #2

Author here, I made this macOS tool "Zen Mode" to provide a global focus mode that works across apps. There are plenty of things approaching this (HazeOver, Stage Manager, built-in full-screen mode, etc.) but nothing quite like I imagined. The basic idea is to have a shortcut to bring the current window front and center and fade everything else to black like a spotlight, and when you're done, the window returns home,…

Looks nice, congrats.

Ironically, my “Zen Mode” hack was just to use a smaller display … that way I only had room for 1-window open at a time.

Re: Show HN: Zen Mode – a global focus mode for macOS

#10

Post by cafebeen »

alberth wrote: post #9
cafebeen wrote: post #2

Author here, I made this macOS tool "Zen Mode" to provide a global focus mode that works across apps. There are plenty of things approaching this (HazeOver, Stage Manager, built-in full-screen mode, etc.) but nothing quite like I imagined. The basic idea is to have a shortcut to bring the current window front and center and fade everything else to black like a spotlight, and when you're done, the window returns home,…

Looks nice, congrats. Ironically, my “Zen Mode” hack was just to use a smaller display … that way I only had room for 1-window open at a time.

Indeed, if only Apple still made an 11-inch macbook air...
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