Why it is worth attention

It brings a focused, zen-like editing experience to Helix through clipping and soft wrap, with a clever zoom feature that preserves split layouts, all implemented as a plugin without modifying the editor core.

Who it is for

Helix users seeking a centered, minimalist editing mode
Developers who frequently work with split layouts and want quick focus toggling
Writers or programmers who prefer a limited line width for readability

Use cases

Toggle a centered text column for distraction-free coding or writing
Widen or narrow the centered measure dynamically with keybindings
Zoom into the current split for focused editing and restore previous split arrangement
Combine matte and zoom into a single 'zen' mode for instant full-screen centered editing

Strengths

Gutter compensation centers the text column, not just the view, improving visual alignment
Remembers and rebuilds split layouts when toggling zoom, preserving as much state as possible
Configurable width, padding, soft wrap, and bufferline hiding via Scheme settings
Unit-tested core logic for clip arithmetic and snapshot ordering

Considerations

Pickers, prompts, and other plugin components are not clipped, and the info box may be misplaced or truncated
Gutter measurement relies on cursor position; can fail with off-screen cursor or tab indentation, falling back to no compensation
`:config-reload` resets the plugin state, and counts only work through keybindings, not typed commands

README quick start

matte.hx

Zen mode for the Helix editor, written in Steel Scheme: a centred text column, and zoom on the focused split.

:matte clips the editor to a measure and centres it in the terminal. It can also soft wrap at that measure and hide the bufferline; both are off unless you ask for them.

:zoom maximises the focused split and puts the others back afterwards.

Demo

Install

Requires a plugin-enabled Helix build. With forge, Steel’s package manager:

forge pkg install --git https://github.com/waddie/matte.hx

Then in ~/.config/helix/init.scm:

(require "matte.hx/matte.scm")

Or, from a checkout, ./install.sh.

Commands

Command	Action
`matte`	Toggle centring
`matte_widen`	Widen the measure by the count, entering the mode first
`matte_narrow`	Narrow the measure by the count
`zoom`	Toggle zoom on the focused split
`zen`	Toggle matte and zoom modes together, for convenience

Configuration

Settings are functions, called from init.scm before or after the require:

(require "matte.hx/matte.scm")

(matte-width! 88)                  ; columns of text, default 88
(matte-padding! 0)                 ; rows of inset top and bottom, default 0
(matte-soft-wrap! #false)          ; soft wrap at the measure, default off
(matte-bufferline! #false)         ; hide the bufferline, default off
(matte-gutter-compensation! #true) ; centre the text, not the view

Gutter compensation is the difference between centring the text column and centring the view. The gutter sits inside the view, so without it the text reads as sitting right of centre by the width of the line numbers.

A count only reaches a command through a keybinding, so bind the two that take one:

(require "helix/keymaps.scm")
(require "matte.hx/matte.scm")

(keymap (global)
  (normal
    (space (m
            (m ":matte")
            (w ":matte_widen")
            (n ":matte_narrow")
            (z ":zoom")
            (Z ":zen"))))
  (select
    (space (m
            (m ":matte")
            (w ":mat

Description

Zen mode for Helix: centre a buffer, zoom and restore splits

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