diff --git a/settings/hyprland.nix b/settings/hyprland.nix
index f4342e9..3ae7f4f 100644
--- a/settings/hyprland.nix
+++ b/settings/hyprland.nix
@@ -276,6 +276,11 @@ in
             -- on them reads as "reset this thing", not "close it".
             local scratchpads = {
               ["dev.fred.scratchpad"] = "ghostty --class=dev.fred.scratchpad --title=scratchpad",
+              -- Yazi, parked the same way. A fresh `ghostty -e yazi` per press
+              -- has to link 131 shared libraries and init GTK before it draws
+              -- anything, so SUPER+E felt sluggish even with the daemon warm.
+              -- Toggling a special workspace spawns nothing.
+              ["dev.fred.files"] = "ghostty --class=dev.fred.files --title=files -e yazi",
               -- Spotify sets its own class, so no --class trick here; the
               -- lookup below lowercases before falling back, which covers both
               -- the Wayland app id and the XWayland "Spotify".
@@ -326,6 +331,7 @@ in
               -- login so SUPER+Return is always an instant toggle and the shell
               -- keeps its history/cwd between peeks.
               hl.exec_cmd(scratchpads["dev.fred.scratchpad"])
+              hl.exec_cmd(scratchpads["dev.fred.files"])
               -- swayosd removed; volume/brightness OSD handled by quickshell
               ${lib.optionalString isMacbook ''hl.exec_cmd("hypridle")''}
             end)
@@ -401,6 +407,20 @@ in
               center = true,
             })
 
+            -- Yazi scratchpad — SUPER+E.
+            hl.window_rule({
+              match = { class = "^dev.fred.files$" },
+              workspace = "special:files silent",
+            })
+
+            hl.window_rule({
+              name  = "files-inset",
+              match = { class = "^dev.fred.files$" },
+              float = true,
+              size = "80% 80%",
+              center = true,
+            })
+
             -- Games stall on other workspaces: no frame callbacks = no render =
             -- game loop blocks. Keep them ticking in the background at
             -- misc:render_unfocused_fps (15).
@@ -447,7 +467,7 @@ in
             -- palette instead of needing a GTK restart. Nemo stays one key
             -- away on Super+N — it is the only one of the two that can drag
             -- a file into a browser.
-            hl.bind(mod .. " + E", hl.dsp.exec_cmd("ghostty -e yazi"))
+            hl.bind(mod .. " + E", toggle_scratchpad("files", "dev.fred.files"))
             hl.bind(mod .. " + N", hl.dsp.exec_cmd("nemo"))
             hl.bind(mod .. " + R", hl.dsp.exec_cmd("${pkgs.quickshell}/bin/qs ipc call launcher toggle"))
             hl.bind(mod .. " + Q", hl.dsp.window.close())