pre(defined)

Ghostty workspace preset manager — save and restore multi-tab, multi-pane terminal layouts with a single command.

Written in OCaml. Uses al for alias integration.

How it works

1. All layouts live in ~/.config/pre/layouts/
2. pre apply <name> orchestrates Ghostty via AppleScript to create the full layout
3. Each layout is auto-registered as a shell alias via al, so you can just type work

Requirements

• macOS (uses AppleScript to control Ghostty)
• Ghostty terminal
• OCaml 5.x with opam, dune, otoml (opam install otoml)
• al for alias management

Installation

./install.sh

Usage

pre save work             # Capture current Ghostty window as a layout
pre apply work            # Apply a saved layout
pre list                  # List all layouts
pre show work             # Show layout details
pre preview work          # Preview generated AppleScript
pre init myproject        # Create a new layout from template
pre edit myproject        # Open layout in $EDITOR
pre which work            # Show which file a layout resolves to
pre delete myproject      # Delete a layout
pre register work         # Register as al alias
pre register-all          # Register all layouts as al aliases
pre unregister work       # Remove al alias

Or just type the layout name directly (thanks to al aliases):

work    # applies the "work" layout

Capturing layouts

Set up your Ghostty window exactly how you want it — tabs, splits, directories — then save it:

pre save myworkspace

This inspects the running Ghostty window and captures:

• Working directories from the process tree (via lsof)
• Tab count via macOS Accessibility / AppleScript
• Split structure (horizontal/vertical) via the accessibility tree

The layout is saved to ~/.config/pre/layouts/.

If the accessibility inspection can't determine the split structure (e.g. permissions not granted), it falls back to a sensible default (all right-splits). You can then fine-tune with pre edit myworkspace.

Tip: Make sure Ghostty has accessibility permissions in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility.

Layout directory

All layouts live in ~/.config/pre/layouts/. The repo layouts/ directory contains starter layouts that get copied on install (existing files are not overwritten).

TOML Layout Format

# ~/.config/pre/layouts/work.toml

[layout]
name = "work"

# First tab
[[tab]]
name = "backend"

[[tab.pane]]
path = "/path/to/backend"
command = ""         # optional command to run
split = "first"      # first pane (no split)

[[tab.pane]]
path = "/path/to/backend"
command = "make dev"
split = "right"      # split right from previous

# Second tab
[[tab]]
name = "frontend"

[[tab.pane]]
path = "/path/to/frontend"
split = "first"

[[tab.pane]]
path = "/path/to/frontend"
command = "npm start"
split = "down"       # split below previous

Pane split values

Value	Description
first	First pane in the tab (no split)
right	Split right (Cmd+D)
down	Split down (Cmd+Shift+D)

License

MIT