diff --git a/build.zig b/build.zig
index 66ddd2e..a2879f4 100644
--- a/build.zig
+++ b/build.zig
@@ -380,6 +380,15 @@ pub fn build_exe(
         break :blk b.addRunArtifact(tests);
     };
 
+    const shell_mod = b.createModule(.{
+        .root_source_file = b.path("src/shell.zig"),
+        .imports = &.{
+            .{ .name = "thespian", .module = thespian_mod },
+            .{ .name = "cbor", .module = cbor_mod },
+            .{ .name = "log", .module = log_mod },
+        },
+    });
+
     const ripgrep_mod = b.createModule(.{
         .root_source_file = b.path("src/ripgrep.zig"),
         .imports = &.{
@@ -444,6 +453,7 @@ pub fn build_exe(
             .{ .name = "text_manip", .module = text_manip_mod },
             .{ .name = "Buffer", .module = Buffer_mod },
             .{ .name = "keybind", .module = keybind_mod },
+            .{ .name = "shell", .module = shell_mod },
             .{ .name = "ripgrep", .module = ripgrep_mod },
             .{ .name = "theme", .module = themes_dep.module("theme") },
             .{ .name = "themes", .module = themes_dep.module("themes") },
diff --git a/src/keybind/builtin/flow.json b/src/keybind/builtin/flow.json
index 24b3db8..af7dc10 100644
--- a/src/keybind/builtin/flow.json
+++ b/src/keybind/builtin/flow.json
@@ -1,5 +1,12 @@
 {
+    "project": {
+        "press": [
+            ["f5", ["create_scratch_buffer", "*test*"], ["shell_execute_insert", "zig", "build", "test"]],
+            ["f7", ["create_scratch_buffer", "*build*"], ["shell_execute_insert", "zig", "build"]]
+        ]
+    },
     "normal": {
+        "inherit": "project",
         "press": [
             ["ctrl+e", "open_recent"],
             ["ctrl+r", "open_recent_project"],
@@ -120,12 +127,12 @@
             ["ctrl+f2", "insert_command_name"],
             ["f3", "goto_next_match"],
             ["f15", "goto_prev_match"],
-            ["f5", "toggle_inspector_view"],
-            ["f6", "dump_current_line_tree"],
-            ["f7", "dump_current_line"],
+            ["ctrl+f5", "dump_current_line_tree"],
+            ["ctrl+f7", "dump_current_line"],
             ["f9", "theme_prev"],
             ["f10", "theme_next"],
             ["f11", "toggle_panel"],
+            ["ctrl+f11", "toggle_inspector_view"],
             ["f12", "goto_definition"],
             ["f34", "toggle_whitespace_mode"],
             ["escape", "cancel"],
@@ -182,6 +189,7 @@
         ]
     },
     "home": {
+        "inherit": "project",
         "on_match_failure": "ignore",
         "press": [
             ["h", "open_help"],
diff --git a/src/shell.zig b/src/shell.zig
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7896a97
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/shell.zig
@@ -0,0 +1,197 @@
+const std = @import("std");
+const tp = @import("thespian");
+const cbor = @import("cbor");
+const log = @import("log");
+
+pid: ?tp.pid,
+stdin_behavior: std.process.Child.StdIo,
+
+const Self = @This();
+const module_name = @typeName(Self);
+pub const max_chunk_size = tp.subprocess.max_chunk_size;
+pub const Writer = std.io.Writer(*Self, Error, write);
+pub const BufferedWriter = std.io.BufferedWriter(max_chunk_size, Writer);
+pub const Error = error{ InvalidShellArg0, OutOfMemory, Exit, ThespianSpawnFailed, Closed };
+
+pub const OutputHandler = fn (parent: tp.pid_ref, arg0: []const u8, output: []const u8) void;
+pub const ExitHandler = fn (parent: tp.pid_ref, arg0: []const u8, err_msg: []const u8, exit_code: i64) void;
+
+pub const Handlers = struct {
+    out: *const OutputHandler,
+    err: ?*const OutputHandler = null,
+    exit: *const ExitHandler = log_exit_handler,
+};
+
+pub fn execute(allocator: std.mem.Allocator, argv: tp.message, handlers: Handlers) Error!void {
+    const stdin_behavior = .Close;
+    var pid = try Process.create(allocator, argv, stdin_behavior, handlers);
+    pid.deinit();
+}
+
+pub fn execute_pipe(allocator: std.mem.Allocator, argv: tp.message, output_handler: ?OutputHandler, exit_handler: ?ExitHandler) Error!Self {
+    const stdin_behavior = .Pipe;
+    return .{ .pid = try Process.create(allocator, argv, stdin_behavior, output_handler, exit_handler), .stdin_behavior = stdin_behavior };
+}
+
+pub fn deinit(self: *Self) void {
+    if (self.pid) |pid| {
+        if (self.stdin_behavior == .Pipe)
+            pid.send(.{"close"}) catch {};
+        self.pid = null;
+        pid.deinit();
+    }
+}
+
+pub fn write(self: *Self, bytes: []const u8) !usize {
+    try self.input(bytes);
+    return bytes.len;
+}
+
+pub fn input(self: *const Self, bytes: []const u8) !void {
+    const pid = self.pid orelse return error.Closed;
+    var remaining = bytes;
+    while (remaining.len > 0)
+        remaining = loop: {
+            if (remaining.len > max_chunk_size) {
+                try pid.send(.{ "input", remaining[0..max_chunk_size] });
+                break :loop remaining[max_chunk_size..];
+            } else {
+                try pid.send(.{ "input", remaining });
+                break :loop &[_]u8{};
+            }
+        };
+}
+
+pub fn close(self: *Self) void {
+    self.deinit();
+}
+
+pub fn writer(self: *Self) Writer {
+    return .{ .context = self };
+}
+
+pub fn bufferedWriter(self: *Self) BufferedWriter {
+    return .{ .unbuffered_writer = self.writer() };
+}
+
+pub fn log_handler(parent: tp.pid_ref, arg0: []const u8, output: []const u8) void {
+    _ = parent;
+    _ = arg0;
+    const logger = log.logger(@typeName(Self));
+    var it = std.mem.splitScalar(u8, output, '\n');
+    while (it.next()) |line| logger.print("{s}", .{line});
+}
+
+pub fn log_err_handler(parent: tp.pid_ref, arg0: []const u8, output: []const u8) void {
+    _ = parent;
+    const logger = log.logger(@typeName(Self));
+    var it = std.mem.splitScalar(u8, output, '\n');
+    while (it.next()) |line| logger.print_err(arg0, "{s}", .{line});
+}
+
+pub fn log_exit_handler(parent: tp.pid_ref, arg0: []const u8, err_msg: []const u8, exit_code: i64) void {
+    _ = parent;
+    const logger = log.logger(@typeName(Self));
+    if (exit_code > 0) {
+        logger.print_err(arg0, "'{s}' terminated {s} exitcode: {d}", .{ arg0, err_msg, exit_code });
+    } else {
+        logger.print("'{s}' exited", .{arg0});
+    }
+}
+
+const Process = struct {
+    allocator: std.mem.Allocator,
+    arg0: [:0]const u8,
+    argv: tp.message,
+    receiver: Receiver,
+    sp: ?tp.subprocess = null,
+    parent: tp.pid,
+    logger: log.Logger,
+    stdin_behavior: std.process.Child.StdIo,
+    handlers: Handlers,
+
+    const Receiver = tp.Receiver(*Process);
+
+    pub fn create(allocator: std.mem.Allocator, argv_: tp.message, stdin_behavior: std.process.Child.StdIo, handlers: Handlers) Error!tp.pid {
+        const argv = try argv_.clone(allocator);
+        var arg0_: []const u8 = "";
+        if (!try argv.match(.{ tp.extract(&arg0_), tp.more })) {
+            allocator.free(argv.buf);
+            return error.InvalidShellArg0;
+        }
+        const self = try allocator.create(Process);
+        self.* = .{
+            .allocator = allocator,
+            .argv = argv,
+            .arg0 = try allocator.dupeZ(u8, arg0_),
+            .receiver = Receiver.init(receive, self),
+            .parent = tp.self_pid().clone(),
+            .logger = log.logger(@typeName(Self)),
+            .stdin_behavior = stdin_behavior,
+            .handlers = handlers,
+        };
+        return tp.spawn_link(self.allocator, self, Process.start, self.arg0);
+    }
+
+    fn deinit(self: *Process) void {
+        if (self.sp) |*sp| sp.deinit();
+        self.parent.deinit();
+        self.logger.deinit();
+        self.allocator.free(self.arg0);
+        self.allocator.free(self.argv.buf);
+        self.close() catch {};
+        self.allocator.destroy(self);
+    }
+
+    fn close(self: *Process) tp.result {
+        if (self.sp) |*sp| {
+            defer self.sp = null;
+            try sp.close();
+        }
+    }
+
+    fn start(self: *Process) tp.result {
+        errdefer self.deinit();
+        _ = tp.set_trap(true);
+        var buf: [1024]u8 = undefined;
+        const json = self.argv.to_json(&buf) catch |e| return tp.exit_error(e, @errorReturnTrace());
+        self.logger.print("shell: execute {s}", .{json});
+        self.sp = tp.subprocess.init(self.allocator, self.argv, module_name, self.stdin_behavior) catch |e| return tp.exit_error(e, @errorReturnTrace());
+        tp.receive(&self.receiver);
+    }
+
+    fn receive(self: *Process, _: tp.pid_ref, m: tp.message) tp.result {
+        errdefer self.deinit();
+        var bytes: []u8 = "";
+
+        if (try m.match(.{ "input", tp.extract(&bytes) })) {
+            const sp = self.sp orelse return tp.exit_error(error.Closed, null);
+            try sp.send(bytes);
+        } else if (try m.match(.{"close"})) {
+            try self.close();
+        } else if (try m.match(.{ module_name, "stdout", tp.extract(&bytes) })) {
+            self.handlers.out(self.parent.ref(), self.arg0, bytes);
+        } else if (try m.match(.{ module_name, "stderr", tp.extract(&bytes) })) {
+            (self.handlers.err orelse self.handlers.out)(self.parent.ref(), self.arg0, bytes);
+        } else if (try m.match(.{ module_name, "term", tp.more })) {
+            self.handle_terminated(m) catch |e| return tp.exit_error(e, @errorReturnTrace());
+        } else if (try m.match(.{ "exit", "normal" })) {
+            return tp.exit_normal();
+        } else {
+            self.logger.err("receive", tp.unexpected(m));
+            return tp.unexpected(m);
+        }
+    }
+
+    fn handle_terminated(self: *Process, m: tp.message) !void {
+        var err_msg: []const u8 = undefined;
+        var exit_code: i64 = undefined;
+        if (try m.match(.{ tp.any, tp.any, "exited", 0 })) {
+            self.logger.print("'{s}' exited ok", .{self.arg0});
+        } else if (try m.match(.{ tp.any, tp.any, "error.FileNotFound", 1 })) {
+            self.logger.print_err(self.arg0, "'{s}' executable not found", .{self.arg0});
+        } else if (try m.match(.{ tp.any, tp.any, tp.extract(&err_msg), tp.extract(&exit_code) })) {
+            self.logger.print_err(self.arg0, "'{s}' terminated {s} exitcode: {d}", .{ self.arg0, err_msg, exit_code });
+        }
+    }
+};
diff --git a/src/tui/editor.zig b/src/tui/editor.zig
index a0cb8c2..a87ff25 100644
--- a/src/tui/editor.zig
+++ b/src/tui/editor.zig
@@ -3603,6 +3603,9 @@ pub const Editor = struct {
         if (ctx.args.match(.{ tp.extract(&file_path), tp.extract(&content) }) catch false) {
             try self.open_scratch(file_path, content);
             self.clamp();
+        } else if (ctx.args.match(.{tp.extract(&file_path)}) catch false) {
+            try self.open_scratch(file_path, "");
+            self.clamp();
         } else return error.InvalidOpenScratchBufferArgument;
     }
     pub const open_scratch_buffer_meta = .{ .arguments = &.{ .string, .string } };
diff --git a/src/tui/mainview.zig b/src/tui/mainview.zig
index ba54f9d..299ed86 100644
--- a/src/tui/mainview.zig
+++ b/src/tui/mainview.zig
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ const root = @import("root");
 const location_history = @import("location_history");
 const project_manager = @import("project_manager");
 const log = @import("log");
+const shell = @import("shell");
 const builtin = @import("builtin");
 
 const Plane = @import("renderer").Plane;
@@ -382,6 +383,15 @@ const cmds = struct {
     }
     pub const open_config_meta = .{ .description = "Edit configuration file" };
 
+    pub fn create_scratch_buffer(self: *Self, ctx: Ctx) Result {
+        try self.check_all_not_dirty();
+        tui.reset_drag_context();
+        try self.create_editor();
+        try command.executeName("open_scratch_buffer", ctx);
+        tui.need_render();
+    }
+    pub const create_scratch_buffer_meta = .{ .arguments = &.{ .string, .string } };
+
     pub fn restore_session(self: *Self, _: Ctx) Result {
         if (tp.env.get().str("project").len == 0) {
             try open_project_cwd(self, .{});
@@ -592,6 +602,34 @@ const cmds = struct {
         defer rg.deinit();
     }
     pub const find_in_files_query_meta = .{ .arguments = &.{.string} };
+
+    pub fn shell_execute_log(self: *Self, ctx: Ctx) Result {
+        if (!try ctx.args.match(.{ tp.string, tp.more }))
+            return error.InvalidShellArgument;
+        const cmd = ctx.args;
+        const handlers = struct {
+            fn out(_: tp.pid_ref, arg0: []const u8, output: []const u8) void {
+                const logger = log.logger(arg0);
+                var it = std.mem.splitScalar(u8, output, '\n');
+                while (it.next()) |line| logger.print("{s}", .{std.fmt.fmtSliceEscapeLower(line)});
+            }
+        };
+        try shell.execute(self.allocator, cmd, .{ .out = handlers.out });
+    }
+    pub const shell_execute_log_meta = .{ .arguments = &.{.string} };
+
+    pub fn shell_execute_insert(self: *Self, ctx: Ctx) Result {
+        if (!try ctx.args.match(.{ tp.string, tp.more }))
+            return error.InvalidShellArgument;
+        const cmd = ctx.args;
+        const handlers = struct {
+            fn out(parent: tp.pid_ref, _: []const u8, output: []const u8) void {
+                parent.send(.{ "cmd", "insert_chars", .{output} }) catch {};
+            }
+        };
+        try shell.execute(self.allocator, cmd, .{ .out = handlers.out });
+    }
+    pub const shell_execute_insert_meta = .{ .arguments = &.{.string} };
 };
 
 pub fn handle_editor_event(self: *Self, _: tp.pid_ref, m: tp.message) tp.result {