zenta

README

🧘 zenta

Mindfulness that fits your coding flow

When your mind wanders while coding, simply return to breath. No tracking, no metrics, no disruption—just pure awareness in your terminal.

The noticing itself is the practice. ✨

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⚡ Quick Start

# Install (one-liner)
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/e6a5/zenta/main/install.sh | bash

# Set up zen aliases
echo "alias breath='zenta now --quick'" >> ~/.zshrc
echo "alias breathe='zenta now'" >> ~/.zshrc
echo "alias anchor='zenta anchor'" >> ~/.zshrc
echo "alias reflect='zenta reflect'" >> ~/.zshrc
source ~/.zshrc

# Use instantly
breath    # When mind wanders → return to breath (1 breath cycle)
breathe   # Need deeper centering → longer session (3 breath cycles)
anchor    # Find your rhythm → interactive breathing anchor
reflect   # Evening → gentle day review

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🌸 Why zenta?

Fits Your Real Workflow

1. Notice: "I'm stuck in planning thoughts"
2. Return: breath
3. Continue: Back to coding, more present

True Zen Approach

• ✅ No tracking → Awareness isn't data to optimize
• ✅ No analytics → The practice is the goal
• ✅ No disruption → Stays in your terminal
• ✅ Just breathing → Pure mindfulness

Built for Developers

• Terminal-native (fits your workflow)
• Single binary (no dependencies)
• Private (no data collection)
• Instant (breath is one keystroke away)

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🌊 Beautiful Breathing

$ breath

       Let's breathe 🌸

    🌬️ Breathe in gently, let your body expand...

                      ○
                    ○ · ○
                     ···
              ○ · · ·   · · · ○
                     ···
                    ○ · ○
                      ·

       Carry this calm with you throughout your day 🙏

Pure visual breathing guidance with gentle animations

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💡 Commands

Essential Commands (with aliases)

Command	Cycles	What It Does	Perfect For
breath	1 cycle	Quick breathing + wisdom quote	Mind wandering moments
breathe	3 cycles	Standard breathing + wisdom quote	Before difficult tasks
anchor	User-led	Interactive anchor to find your rhythm	When you need to set your own pace
reflect	-	Gentle evening review	End of day contemplation

Full Commands

Command	Cycles	What It Does
zenta now	3 cycles	Standard breathing + wisdom quote
zenta now --quick	1 cycle	Quick breathing + wisdom quote
zenta now --extended	5 cycles	Extended breathing + wisdom quote
zenta anchor	User-led	Interactive anchor to find your own rhythm
zenta now --silent	3 cycles	Breathing only, no quote
zenta now --simple	3 cycles	Simple line animation (terminal compatibility)

Mix options: zenta now --quick --silent (1 cycle, no quote)

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🔧 Terminal Compatibility

Beautiful circles vs simple lines:

• Most terminals: Gorgeous expanding/contracting breathing circles
• macOS Terminal.app: Auto-detects and uses simple line animation
• tmux/screen: Works great with complex animations

Force simple mode: Add --simple to any command

breath --simple     # Force simple animation
zenta now --simple  # Works with any options

Why? Only macOS Terminal.app has ANSI escape sequence quirks. zenta auto-detects and adapts for the best experience.

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🎯 Real vs Fake Mindfulness

✅ Real mindfulness (zenta's way):

• Notice when mind wanders
• Return to breath instantly
• Continue work with awareness
• No measurement needed

❌ Fake mindfulness:

• Tracking meditation streaks
• Optimizing awareness metrics
• Quantifying inner peace
• Making mindfulness productive

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🌿 Philosophy

"The quieter you become, the more you are able to hear."

zenta believes:

• Mindfulness tools should disappear into practice
• The noticing itself is enlightenment
• Developers need presence, not productivity hacks
• True zen has no metrics

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🚀 Installation

Option 1: Pre-built Binaries (Recommended)

macOS/Linux:

# Download and install the latest binary for your platform
curl -s https://api.github.com/repos/e6a5/zenta/releases/latest \
| grep "browser_download_url.*$(uname -s | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]')-$(uname -m | sed 's/x86_64/amd64/')" \
| cut -d '"' -f 4 \
| xargs curl -L -o zenta.tar.gz \
&& tar -xzf zenta.tar.gz \
&& sudo mv zenta-* /usr/local/bin/zenta \
&& rm zenta.tar.gz

# Or download manually from GitHub Releases

Windows: Download the latest .zip file from GitHub Releases, extract it, and add the executable to your PATH.

Manual Download: GitHub Releases - Choose your platform

Option 2: Build from Source

Requires Go 1.23+ installed

git clone https://github.com/e6a5/zenta.git && cd zenta && make install-system

Install Go first: https://golang.org/dl/

Supports: Linux, macOS, Windows, FreeBSD (all architectures)

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🧘 Join the Practice

• 🐛 Bug reports → Issues
• 💭 Mindful discussions → Discussions
• 🔧 Contributions → CONTRIBUTING.md

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📄 License

MIT License - LICENSE

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"The best way to take care of the future is to take care of the present moment." — Thich Nhat Hanh

Start your mindful coding practice today:

breath  # Just try it 🙏

Documentation

Overview

Zenta - mindfulness for terminal users A zen-focused breathing and reflection tool for developers