Workflow Tip: EXIF preview in tmux popup using bat + custom EXIF syntax

[alberti42]

EXIF preview in a tmux popup (bat + custom EXIF syntax)

This is a workflow tip, not a feature request.

If you run Yazi inside tmux, you can turn the reveal action into a clean EXIF viewer popup with syntax highlighting. Below is a screenshot:

What this does

• Opens EXIF metadata in a tmux popup
• Uses bat for colorized output
• Handles all filenames safely (spaces, quotes, leading --)
• Avoids pager / alternate-screen glitches
• Exits on any key press
• Restores terminal state correctly

Requirements

• tmux ≥ 3.2 (for display-popup)
• exiftool
• bat
• Optional: custom EXIF syntax for bat (https://github.com/alberti42/EXIF-Syntax)

Yazi yazi.toml config example

[[opener.reveal]]
run = "xdg-open %d1"
desc = "Reveal"
for = "linux"

[[opener.reveal]]
run = "open -R %s1"
desc = "Reveal"
for = "macos"

[[opener.reveal]]
run = "explorer /select,%s1"
desc = "Reveal"
for = "windows"
orphan = true

[[opener.reveal]]
run = "termux-open %d1"
desc = "Reveal"
for = "android"

[[opener.reveal]]
run = '''
if [ -n "${TMUX-}" ] && command -v tmux >/dev/null 2>&1; then
  MIN_WIDTH=80 &&
  MIN_HEIGHT=24 &&
  cw=$(tmux display -p "#{client_width}") &&
  ch=$(tmux display -p "#{client_height}") &&
  w=$(( (cw * 2 + 1) / 3 )) &&
  h=$(( (ch * 2 + 1) / 3 )) &&

  # clamp to minimum
  [ "$w" -ge "$MIN_WIDTH" ] || w="$MIN_WIDTH" &&
  [ "$h" -ge "$MIN_HEIGHT" ] || h="$MIN_HEIGHT" &&

  # clamp to client maximum (so popup never exceeds the terminal)
  [ "$w" -le "$cw" ] || w="$cw" &&
  [ "$h" -le "$ch" ] || h="$ch" &&

  tmux display-popup -E -w "$w" -h "$h" -T "EXIF" \
  sh -lc '
    exiftool -- "$1" | bat --color=always --plain -l exif --paging=always --pager="less -RX --tilde --clear-screen -Ps'' --mouse"
  ' -- %s1
else
  exiftool -- %s1 | bat --color=always --plain -l exif --paging=always --pager="less -RX --tilde --clear-screen -Ps'' --mouse";
fi
'''
desc = "Show EXIF"
for = "unix"
block = true
orphan = true