WrithDeck is a distraction-free text editor designed for writers using a dedicated writerdeck, whether it's a DIY prototype or a computer configured specifically for that purpose. It's fast and easy to customize. WrithDeck can run as a clean graphical application or directly in a terminal or TTY, all from a single file with no installation required.
It includes customizable inline syntax highlighting, a file browser, split view, chapter navigation through a table of contents, and a fully themeable interface, all around 4,300 lines (185 Kb) of Tcl/Tk.
Whether you're writing on a Raspberry Pi Zero with an E-ink screen, on a an android tablet, over SSH, or on your desktop, WrithDeck stays lightweight and lets you focus on your text.
It has GUI and TUI dual mode with similar behaviors, and is fully configurable.
You will need to have Tcl/Tk on your system.
On Debian-based OS, just:
apt install tk
On other Linux / BSD, refer to your documentation if necessary, it should be trivial to install.
On Windows you can get binaries for the Tcl runtime there: https://www.tcl-lang.org/software/tcltk/bindist.html
On Mac OS, you can use brew install tcl-tk if you have homebrew.
On Haiku OS, Tcl/Tk is available via HaikuPorts (pkgman install tcl tk). GUI and TUI modes both work.
Then:
wish writhdeck.tcl # GUI, file browser
wish writhdeck.tcl file.txt # GUI, open file directly
tclsh writhdeck.tcl --no-gui # TUI, file browser
tclsh writhdeck.tcl --no-gui file.txt # TUI, open file directly
you can also run it from the terminal with ./writhdeck.tcl or, better, copy it into your path (into /usr/local/bin/ for example) for a direct access.
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
--help, -h |
Show help and exit |
--gui |
Force GUI (Tk) mode — skip display socket detection |
--no-gui |
Force TUI (terminal) mode |
--tui, --ng |
Aliases for --no-gui |
When both --gui and --no-gui are given, --no-gui takes precedence.
- Plain
.txtfile editor focused on distraction-free writing - Documents stored in
~/Documents/writhdeck/(auto-created) - File browser: files sorted by modification date, open / create / rename / delete / scratchpad
- Word-wrapped display with configurable margins
- Inline syntax highlighting (GUI and TUI):
- Headings: configurable marker (
= title =) and Markdown (# title) - Comments: lines starting with
%(configurablecomment_marker) - Bold
**text**, italic//text//, underline__text__, strikethrough--text--— all markers configurable - Marker characters greyed out; styled text in a configurable
color_markup
- Headings: configurable marker (
- Table of contents overlay: jump to any heading (last selection remembered per session)
- Status bar: fully configurable zones (left / center / right) with tokens:
filename dirty sel ln col words chars clock help_bar space - Go to line
- UTF-8 input support
- Cursor position restored across sessions (
.cursors.json) - Configuration reloaded on each new document open (no restart needed)
- Dark/light theme toggle (
Ctrl+Dby default, configurable) - Interface language:
lang = enorfr - Unified browser behavior: after closing a file, both GUI and TUI return to the file browser (configurable via
browser) - Scratchpad: temporary in-memory buffer, no disk file until explicitly saved
- Help dialog: shows selection word/char count when text is selected (GUI and TUI)
~/Documents/writhdeck/writhdeck.ini — sections: [editor], [behaviour], [keys], [profiles], [schemes]
All keyboard shortcuts are configurable via the [keys] section.
[editor]
| Key | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
profile |
default |
Active profile — must match a [name] block in [profiles] |
scheme |
default |
Active color scheme — must match a [name] block in [schemes] |
console_margin_cols |
6 |
Horizontal margin in columns (TUI only) |
console_margin_rows |
4 |
Vertical margin in lines (TUI only) |
heading_marker |
= |
Heading delimiter (= title =) |
comment_marker |
% |
Line comment prefix; set to 0 or leave empty to disable |
bold_marker |
** |
Bold inline marker; set to 0 or leave empty to disable |
italic_marker |
// |
Italic inline marker; set to 0 or leave empty to disable |
underline_marker |
__ |
Underline inline marker; set to 0 or leave empty to disable |
strikethrough_marker |
-- |
Strikethrough inline marker; set to 0 or leave empty to disable |
[behaviour]
| Key | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
browser |
1 |
Return to file browser after closing a file |
watch_file |
1 |
Detect external file modifications and prompt to reload; 0 to disable |
split_shrink_margin |
1 |
Halve margin_width in split view (GUI); 0 to keep the full margin |
hemingway_mode |
0 |
When typewriter mode is active: block arrows, backspace and undo; hide status bar; double margins |
console_center_alert |
1 |
Center confirm dialogs (TUI); 0 = bottom bar |
block_cursor_gui |
1 |
Block cursor in GUI mode |
block_cursor_console |
1 |
Block cursor in TUI mode |
blink_cursor |
0 |
Blinking cursor |
line_numbers |
0 |
Show line numbers |
cursor_restore |
1 |
Restore cursor position on reopen |
lang |
en |
Interface language (en or fr) |
dark_mode |
1 |
Dark theme; 0 = light (Solarized-style) |
[keys] — all actions are rebindable: key_save, key_close, key_find, key_replace, key_goto, key_open, key_undo, key_redo, key_help, key_toc, key_line_numbers, key_fullscreen, key_split, key_split_focus, key_typewriter, key_dark_toggle. Use Tk key names (Control-s, Alt-Return, F11, etc.).
[profiles] — named presets for GUI display settings. Each [name] block defines margins, fonts, and line spacing. Select the active profile with profile = name in [editor]. The [default] profile is always written by WrithDeck.
| Key | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
margin_width |
60 |
Horizontal padding in pixels (GUI) |
margin_height |
40 |
Vertical padding in pixels (GUI) |
font_size |
13 |
Font size (GUI) |
font_family |
Mono |
Font family (GUI); Tk resolves Mono to the best available monospace per OS |
bar_font_family |
Mono |
Font family for the status bar (GUI) |
line_spacing |
100 |
Line spacing in % (GUI) |
bar_height |
18 |
Status bar height in pixels (GUI) |
Example:
[editor]
profile = novel
[profiles]
[novel]
margin_width = 180
margin_height = 80
font_size = 18
font_family = Noto Serif
line_spacing = 110
bar_height = 20[schemes] — color scheme definitions. Each [name] block inside [schemes] defines a scheme with dark and light mode colors. Select the active scheme with scheme = name in [editor]. The [default] scheme is always written by WrithDeck and holds the current colors.
Color keys per scheme:
| Key | Description |
|---|---|
color_bg / color_bg_alt |
Editor background (dark / light) |
color_fg / color_fg_alt |
Editor text (dark / light) |
color_bg_bar / color_bg_bar_alt |
Status bar background (dark / light) |
color_fg_bar / color_fg_bar_alt |
Status bar text (dark / light) |
color_bg_sel / color_bg_sel_alt |
Selection background (dark / light) |
color_heading / color_heading_alt |
Heading highlight (dark / light) |
color_comment / color_comment_alt |
Comment/dim line color (dark / light) |
color_markup / color_markup_alt |
Inline markup color (dark / light) |
Toggle between dark and light with Ctrl+D (configurable via key_dark_toggle).
Example — to use Solarized, add scheme = solarized in [editor], then add this block:
[schemes]
[default]
# … (written automatically by WrithDeck)
[solarized]
# dark mode
color_bg = #002b36
color_fg = #839496
color_bg_bar = #073642
color_fg_bar = #657b83
color_bg_sel = #586e75
color_heading = #b58900
color_comment = #586e75
color_markup = #268bd2
# light mode
color_bg_alt = #fdf6e3
color_fg_alt = #657b83
color_bg_bar_alt = #eee8d5
color_fg_bar_alt = #93a1a1
color_bg_sel_alt = #d3cbb7
color_heading_alt = #b58900
color_comment_alt = #93a1a1
color_markup_alt = #268bd2
[gruvbox]
# dark mode
color_bg = #282828
color_fg = #ebdbb2
color_bg_bar = #1d2021
color_fg_bar = #a89984
color_bg_sel = #504945
color_heading = #fabd2f
color_comment = #928374
color_markup = #83a598
# light mode
color_bg_alt = #fbf1c7
color_fg_alt = #3c3836
color_bg_bar_alt = #ebdbb2
color_fg_bar_alt = #7c6f64
color_bg_sel_alt = #d5c4a1
color_heading_alt = #b57614
color_comment_alt = #a89984
color_markup_alt = #076678
[everforest]
# dark mode
color_bg = #2b3339
color_fg = #d3c6aa
color_bg_bar = #1e2326
color_fg_bar = #a7c080
color_bg_sel = #3a464c
color_heading = #a7c080
color_comment = #7a8478
color_markup = #7fbbb3
# light mode
color_bg_alt = #fdf6e3
color_fg_alt = #5c6a72
color_bg_bar_alt = #efead4
color_fg_bar_alt = #8da101
color_bg_sel_alt = #e6e2cc
color_heading_alt = #8da101
color_comment_alt = #a6b0a0
color_markup_alt = #3a94c5
[nord]
# dark mode
color_bg = #2e3440
color_fg = #d8dee9
color_bg_bar = #3b4252
color_fg_bar = #81a1c1
color_bg_sel = #434c5e
color_heading = #88c0d0
color_comment = #616e88
color_markup = #8fbcbb
# light mode
color_bg_alt = #eceff4
color_fg_alt = #2e3440
color_bg_bar_alt = #e5e9f0
color_fg_bar_alt = #5e81ac
color_bg_sel_alt = #d8dee9
color_heading_alt = #5e81ac
color_comment_alt = #4c566a
color_markup_alt = #5e81ac
[alt01]
# dark mode
color_bg = #1a1214
color_fg = #e8dcc8
color_bg_bar = #241820
color_fg_bar = #9e8878
color_bg_sel = #521828
color_heading = #e63060
color_comment = #6e5858
color_markup = #c24868
# light mode
color_bg_alt = #fffde9
color_fg_alt = #363c42
color_bg_bar_alt = #eee8d5
color_fg_bar_alt = #93a1a1
color_bg_sel_alt = #f0e7c1
color_heading_alt = #c8064a
color_comment_alt = #aaaaaa
color_markup_alt = #7e1c3eIt is the default, and requires Tk
Display
- Graphical window with scrollable editor and file browser
- Configurable pixel margins, font size, font family, line spacing, colors (via INI)
- Inline syntax highlighting: headings, comments, bold, italic, underline, strikethrough
- Line numbers: synchronized with scroll (
line_numbers = 1) - Dynamic font resize: Ctrl++ / Ctrl+- (keyboard and numpad)
- Fullscreen toggle (default: Alt+Enter, configurable)
- Built-in Solarized Light theme (toggle with
dark_modeorCtrl+D) - Optional second docs folder (
docs_dir), shown as two labeled sections in the browser - Clock (HH:MM) in status bar: add
clocktoken to a status zone - Block cursor: rectangle with inverted colors (
block_cursor_gui = 1) - Configurable status bar height (
bar_height); font size adapts automatically - Vertical split view (F3): divide the editor into two independent panes on the same document; each pane scrolls and positions the cursor independently; F4 cycles focus between panes; the active pane is highlighted with a border
- Typewriter / focus mode (Ctrl+T, GUI and TUI): keeps the cursor vertically centered while typing; dims all text outside the current paragraph to reduce distraction
- Hemingway mode (
hemingway_mode = 1in INI, activates with Ctrl+T): forward-only writing — arrows, backspace and undo are disabled; status bar is hidden; margins are doubled. "Write drunk, edit sober!" - Confirm dialogs:
Tabto move between buttons,Returnto confirm,Escapeto cancel,y/nfor direct answer
Shortcuts — Editor
Those are the default keys. Most of them are fully customisable in the writhdeck.ini configuration file!
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| Ctrl+S | Save |
| Ctrl+Shift+S | Save as… (with overwrite confirmation) |
| Ctrl+Q | Close file, return to browser |
| Ctrl+F | Find (inline bar, live highlight, match counter) — operates on the focused pane in split view |
| Ctrl+R | Find & Replace (inline bar; Enter: replace one, Ctrl+Enter: all) |
| Ctrl+Z | Undo |
| Ctrl+Y | Redo |
| Ctrl+T | Typewriter / focus mode (toggle) |
| Ctrl+O | Open any file (system dialog) |
| Ctrl+G | Go to line — jumps in the focused pane |
| Ctrl+H | Help dialog (date/time, file stats, selection stats if text selected) |
| Ctrl+L | Toggle line numbers |
| Ctrl+D | Toggle dark/light theme |
| Ctrl+↑ / Ctrl+↓ | Jump to previous / next paragraph |
| Ctrl+← / Ctrl+→ | Jump to previous / next word |
| F11 | Table of contents — jumps in the focused pane |
| F3 | Split view toggle (GUI only) |
| F4 | Split view — cycle focus between panes |
| Alt+Enter | Fullscreen toggle |
| Tab | Insert 4 spaces |
| Shift+↑↓←→ | Extend selection |
Shortcuts — Browser
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| Enter / double-click | Open file |
| n | New file |
| t | Scratchpad (in-memory buffer, no disk file; Ctrl+S prompts for a name to save) |
| f | Toggle favorite — adds/removes the file from the Favorites section |
| b | Backup file — copies to backups/ subfolder with a name_YYYY-MM-DDTHHhMM timestamp |
| d | Delete file |
| r | Rename file |
| i | Show full path |
| z | Reload — relaunch WrithDeck with the current .ini configuration |
| h / Ctrl+H | Help |
| Ctrl+O | Open any file (system dialog) |
| Ctrl+D | Toggle dark/light theme |
| Alt+Enter | Fullscreen toggle |
| q | Quit |
Split view notes
- F3 splits the current document into two side-by-side panes; press F3 again to close the split
- F4 cycles focus between the two panes (configurable via
key_split_focus) - The active pane is highlighted with a colored border; the inactive pane has none
- Both panes share the same text — edits in one are immediately visible in the other
- Cursor, scroll position, and undo history are independent per pane
- Find, Replace, Go to line, and TOC all operate on the pane that had focus when they were opened
- Line numbers are hidden while split is active
Activated through --no-gui / --tui / --ng, or if no windowing system is available. It's pure TTY/terminal via ANSI escapes.
Display
- Identical feature set to the GUI editor, rendered in the terminal
- Browser with
»selection marker; section headers for dual-folder mode - Vim-style navigation (j/k) + arrow keys, Home/End, PgUp/PgDn
- Inline syntax highlighting: headings (bold), comments (dim), bold/italic/underline/strikethrough
- Scroll indicator:
▐/│bar in the rightmost column when content overflows - Line numbers: left column (
line_numbers = 1), shown on first visual row of each paragraph - Status bar: filename, position, word/char count, clock
- Help dialog shows selection word/char count when text is selected
- Cursor shape configurable: block or bar, blinking or steady (
block_cursor_console,blink_cursor) - Confirm dialogs centered on screen by default (
console_center_alert = 1) - Confirm dialogs:
y/nto answer directly,Escapeto cancel,Returnto confirm the focused button - Typewriter / focus mode (Ctrl+T): cursor centered vertically; text outside current paragraph dimmed
- Hemingway mode (
hemingway_mode = 1): activates with Ctrl+T — blocks arrows, backspace and undo; doubles margins - After closing a file, returns to browser if
browser = 1(default)
Shortcuts — Editor
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| Ctrl+S | Save (scratchpad: prompts for filename, then saves to disk) |
| Ctrl+Q / Esc | Close file, return to browser |
| Ctrl+F | Find (prompt; repeat to find next) |
| Ctrl+R | Find & Replace (global, with replacement counter) |
| Ctrl+Z | Undo (100-state stack) |
| Ctrl+Y | Redo |
| Ctrl+T | Typewriter / focus mode (toggle) |
| Ctrl+O | Save and return to browser |
| Ctrl+G | Go to line |
| Ctrl+H | Help (date/time, file stats, selection stats if text selected) |
| Ctrl+L | Toggle line numbers |
| Ctrl+D | Toggle dark/light theme (reverse video) |
| Ctrl+↑ / Ctrl+↓ | Jump to previous / next paragraph (terminal emulator only; intercepted by TTY console) |
| Ctrl+← / Ctrl+→ or Alt+B / Alt+F | Jump to previous / next word |
| F11 | Table of contents (Esc / Ctrl+Q to close, Enter to jump) |
| Ctrl+A | Select all |
| Ctrl+K | Toggle sticky selection (first press: set anchor; second press: cancel) |
| Shift+↑↓←→ | Extend selection |
| Ctrl+C | Copy (via xclip / xsel / wl-copy) |
| Ctrl+X | Cut |
| Ctrl+V | Paste (multi-line supported) |
| Tab | Insert 4 spaces |
Shortcuts — Browser
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| Enter | Open file |
| n | New file |
| t | Scratchpad (in-memory buffer, no disk file; Ctrl+S prompts for a name to save) |
| f | Toggle favorite — adds/removes the file from the Favorites section |
| b | Backup file — copies to backups/ subfolder with a name_YYYY-MM-DDTHHhMM timestamp |
| d | Delete file |
| r | Rename file |
| i | Show full path |
| h / Ctrl+H | Help |
| q / Ctrl+Q | Quit |
WrithDeck running on a Raspberry Zero W (goto chapter mode):
WrithDeck running within termux on a Meebook M6 Android eBook Reader, using a bluetooth keyboard:
- In GUI mode, end of lines inside a wrapped text can lead to inconsistent block cursor appearence. To fix it, use non-block cursor in the .ini file (block_cursor_gui = 0).
- There is sometimes a slight delay to show the inverted letters under the block cursor in GUI mode. See fix above or use TUI mode.
- In TUI mode sometimes when you resize the terminal window, some artefacts might appear. Just load the help with ctrl+h twice, it will refresh the screen.
- There is no non-wrap mode (and it's not a planned feature).
- There is no tab mode (and it's not a planned feature).
- The split window mode is only for GUI (might be adapted to TUI later)
- On very long texts (above 80,000 words) and slow CPU computer (1.1 Ghz Celeron from 2013), the cursor and typing might be slowed down. It has been optimized in comparison to first version, but if necessary turn off the words and chars count in the status bar. You can still access writing statistics in the help.
Based on https://github.com/lallero7/writerdeckForCMD, itself based on https://github.com/shmimel/bee-write-back/
Designed to run on Tcl/Tk with the help of LLM (Claude Code).
Tcl is an amazing language! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tcl_(programming_language)
Nano, micro or scite are also great tools for a simple writerdeck.
Copyright (C) 2026 by Luginfo
BSD Zero Clause License
Permission to use, copy, modify, and/or distribute this software for any purpose
with or without fee is hereby granted.
THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND THE AUTHOR DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES
WITH REGARD TO THIS SOFTWARE INCLUDING ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES
OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHOR BE LIABLE
FOR ANY SPECIAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR ANY DAMAGES
WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM LOSS OF USE, DATA OR PROFITS, WHETHER IN AN ACTION
OF CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER TORTIOUS ACTION, ARISING OUT OF
OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THIS SOFTWARE.