Zen Mode

Zen Mode gives you a quieter writing view inside Spleen.

When Zen Mode is active, the surrounding workspace is reduced so the editor can take centre stage. The project structure, panels, menus, and other interface elements move out of the way, leaving more room for the current document and the words you are working on.

Zen Mode does not change the content of your document. It only changes the way the workspace is displayed. Your writing, formatting, autosave behaviour, and document state remain the same. You can think of it as a temporary focus view: the same editor, with less around it.

Zen Mode is separate from the Zen appearance theme. The theme controls Spleen’s colours and surfaces and remains selected between visits. Zen Mode temporarily hides parts of the writing workspace and can be used with any of the four themes.

You can enter Zen Mode from the editor header by selecting the Zen Mode icon. You can also use the keyboard shortcut ⌘/Ctrl + \.

To leave Zen Mode, press Escape. You can also use the Zen Mode pill at the top of the screen, which remains available as a small visible control while the rest of the interface is hidden.

If Atmosphere is playing, Zen Mode lowers it to a quieter level. Its button remains in the control at the top of the screen, where you can open the stream and volume controls or stop playback. The normal editor volume returns when you leave Zen Mode.

Zen Mode is useful when you want to concentrate on a single document without constantly seeing the full project around it. It can be helpful during first drafts, longer writing sessions, focused revision, or any moment when the surrounding structure starts to feel like noise rather than support.

The normal workspace is useful when you are organising, moving between documents, checking structure, or reviewing a larger project. Zen Mode is for the opposite moment: when you already know where you are, and you simply want to stay with the text.

In short, Zen Mode helps you write with fewer distractions. It gives the current document more space, keeps the interface quiet, and lets you return to the full workspace whenever you need it.

Zen Mode is available only on desktop. On mobile, the workspace is already compact, so the Zen Mode control is hidden and Spleen leaves Zen Mode automatically if the window becomes too narrow.