File picker thing with kitty splits, helix, and yazi

file-picker.md

You'll need to install yazi (terminal file browser), and jq (for json queries)

create a directory at ~/.config/yazi/filetree_config. This is where we'll store the configs for this file picker so it doens't mess with the main config.

in filetree_config/config.toml:

[manager]
ratio = [ 0, 8, 0 ]

this forces yazi to only use one line per entry.

Next, we'll add a custom keybind to yazi for our file picker:

[[manager.prepend_keymap]]
on   = [ "<Enter>" ]
run  = "plugin --sync smart-enter"
desc = "Enter the child directory, or open the file"

This will launch a plugin called smart-enter, but that doesn't exist yet. So lets create it.

In filetree_config/plugins/smart-enter.yazi/init.lua:

return {
	entry = function()
		local h = cx.active.current.hovered
		if h.cha.is_dir then
			ya.manager_emit("enter", { hovered = true })
		else
			local hx_command = '\'\\e helix ' .. tostring(h.url) .. ' \\r\''
			local command = 'kitten @ send-text --match neighbor:right ' .. hx_command
			os.execute(command)

			ya.manager_emit("quit", {})
		end
	end,
}

Now the yazi part is done. Next, we'll create a bash script to launch it. make sure the script is in your $PATH:

#!/bin/bash
desired_width=25

YAZI_CONFIG_HOME="${HOME}/.config/yazi-filepicker" yazi

# Use jq to filter the JSON output based on the specific window ID
current_width=$(kitty @ ls | jq --arg window_id "$KITTY_WINDOW_ID" '.[].tabs[].windows[] | select(.id == ($window_id | tonumber)) | .columns')

increment=$((desired_width - current_width))

# Open window on the left
kitten @ resize-window --increment $increment --axis horizontal

The wierd jq stuff is just so it will be the correct width relative to the window width.

Lastly, we'll add a kitty keybind to launch the bash script:

allow_remote_control yes
enabled_layouts splits:split_axis=horizontal
map ctr+` launch --location before --cwd current --title tree open_file_tree.bash

now it works!