zj-dim

Visually indicates state through color.

A zellij plugin that automatically reduces the brightness of your theme:

• ...when Zellij is in any mode other than Locked (e.g. normal, pane, tab, etc...)
• ...for panes not in focus

Contents

• Why Would I Want This?
• Installation
  • Configuration
• Technicalities / Limitations

Why Would I Want This?

If you:

• ...want visual information to indicate active pane and mode
• ...need extra eyecandy to look at your terminal
• ...can't be bothered to set the frame_unselected property yourself

...then maybe you'd want this plugin.

Note

Zellij by default supports the frame_unselected property, so you can manually change it within your theme. The dim_unfocused_panes option in this plugin just configures the frame_unselected property for you, using your existing theme colors, as the property is not used in any built-in themes.

Installation

Either define it as an alias:

plugins {
    zj-dim location="https://github.com/MetaGG2/zj-dim/releases/latest/download/zj_dim.wasm" {
        // config options here...
    }
}

load_plugins {
    zj-dim
}

...or without one:

load_plugins {
    plugin location="https://github.com/MetaGG2/zj-dim/releases/latest/download/zj_dim.wasm" {
        // config options here...
    }
}

Configuration

The following configuration was used for the demo.

zj-dim {
    // positive decimal that serves as a multiplier for the current theme colors
    // multiplier active when not in "LOCKED" mode
    // set to "1.0" to disable
    dim_when_unlocked "0.5"

    // positive decimal that serves as a multiplier for the current theme colors
    // multiplier applies for "frame_unselected" style definition (basically panes not in focus)
    // set to "1.0" to disable
    dim_unfocused_panes "0.6"

    // space-separated list of style definitions to ignore
    // NOTE: only applies to the `dim_when_unlocked` setting
    // list of style definitions:
    //   text_unselected text_selected ribbon_unselected ribbon_selected
    //   table_title table_cell_unselected table_cell_selected list_unselected
    //   list_selected frame_unselected frame_selected frame_highlight
    //   exit_code_success exit_code_error multiplayer_user_colors
    styles_ignored "frame_highlight ribbon_selected"
}

Technicalities / Limitations

The plugin works through dynamically calculating individual themes for each combination of settings. This means:

• ℹ️ All colors calculated are based off of your current theme colors
• ℹ️ Each "dimmed" theme is defined as a new theme (e.g. dim_user, dim_unlocked, dim_unfocused, dim_combined) and active theme is swapped at runtime on mode changes
• ⚠️ Reloading your Zellij config will update existing sessions with the default shipped theme