Little Zen

A Little Arc-inspired search and browsing window for Zen Browser on macOS.

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Open Little Zen with a shortcut, search or enter a URL, and browse in a compact window. Use Open in Space to move the page to your main Zen window.

_{Search suggestions and profile details were edited for privacy.}

Installation

Important

A first-time installer is not available yet. The current files support updates to an existing setup only. See setup and maintenance.

Little Zen currently requires macOS, Zen Browser, a compatible userChromeJS loader, and Hammerspoon for the global shortcut. The current setup was tested with Zen 1.24b.

Usage

Action	Default shortcut	Availability
Open Little Zen	⌘⌥N	When Zen is active
Open Little Zen globally	⌘⌥⇧N	Any app, with Hammerspoon running
Close the search panel	Esc	Search panel

The global shortcut can be changed in Hammerspoon; see shortcut configuration. The Zen-local shortcut is currently fixed in the browser script.

Features

• Search and open URLs using Zen's address bar.
• Open supported external links in Little Zen.
• Use the current Zen Space and its container when available.
• Move a page to the main Zen window with Open in Space.
• Switch to an existing tab, including across Spaces when the target can be identified.
• Open the search panel and browsing window on the display containing the pointer.
• Use native macOS window controls and a Back button when a previous page is available.

Zen supplies search suggestions; depending on its settings, they may include browsing history and open tabs. Spaces organize tabs, while containers keep website identities and data separate.

Troubleshooting

• The global shortcut does nothing: check that Hammerspoon is running, its bridge is loaded, Accessibility permission is enabled, and the shortcut is not in use elsewhere.
• The shortcut stops working after a Zen update: check that the userChromeJS loader and Little Zen files are still present. Zen updates can change internal APIs or replace the loader.
• A page uses the wrong account: check the container configured for that Space in Zen.

For setup, updates and restoring browser files, see setup and maintenance. For implementation and diagnostics, see architecture. Diagnostic logging can include URLs; inspect and redact logs before sharing them.

Development

With Node.js and LuaJIT installed, run:

node --check candidate/littleZen.uc.js
node --test tests/*.test.cjs
luajit tests/bridge.test.lua
luajit tests/focus-return.test.lua

These checks do not replace testing in Zen with real Spaces, external links and displays.

Credits

Built on wahyuabrory/little-zen, which credits 12th-devs/little-zen. Inspired by Little Arc.