AeroSpace
A keyboard-driven window manager for macOS that tiles windows automatically, inspired by i3.
- Stars
- 23.7k
- Forks
- 795
- Licence
- MIT
- Language
- Swift
- Last update
- 4 days ago
- Type
- App
What it is
AeroSpace arranges the windows on your Mac into tiled layouts so they fill the screen without overlapping, and lets you move between them with the keyboard. It is inspired by the i3 window manager on Linux. Its configuration is a plain text file, and it is controlled through a command-line interface. It does not use macOS Spaces for workspaces; it emulates its own workspaces instead.
- Split your screen into tiled windows for a code editor, terminal and browser without dragging windows around
- Switch between separate workspaces quickly using keyboard shortcuts
- Organize windows across multiple monitors
- Control the window manager from scripts or the shell through its CLI
Great for
- Keyboard-centric users who want to manage windows without the mouse
- Developers and advanced users comfortable editing a text configuration file
- People with multi-monitor setups who want i3-style monitor handling
- Users who already know i3 or other tiling window managers
Not ideal for
- People who want a graphical settings panel, since the project says it will never provide a GUI for configuration
- Users who rely on native macOS Spaces, because AeroSpace does not acknowledge them and uses its own workspace emulation
- Users looking for visual effects such as window borders, transparency or animations, which the project deliberately does not prioritize
- Users who need a stable release today, since the README describes it as a Public Beta with breaking changes expected before 1.0
How to get it
- 1
Install with a package manager
You'll need: Homebrew
Install via Homebrew (preferred, includes autoupdates)
brew install --cask nikitabobko/tap/aerospace - 2
Run it
- Install AeroSpace with the Homebrew command
- If you use multiple monitors, arrange them as described in the guide's monitor arrangement section
- Read the default configuration file linked in the guide to learn the settings
- Use the CLI and keyboard shortcuts described in the commands documentation to manage windows
- 3
Get the most out of it
- Edit the plain text configuration file to set your own keybindings and layout rules, as described in the default-config reference
- Use the commands documentation to script window and workspace actions from the shell
- Watch the official guide video by Josean Martinez for a walkthrough of setup
- Check the AeroSpace Goodies page in the docs for additional integrations
- Ask setup questions in the GitHub Discussions Q&A channel rather than opening issues
Downloads
Strengths
- Built on a tree-based tiling model and inspired by i3, which the README describes as its core design
- Does not require disabling System Integrity Protection (SIP), and the project states it will never require this
- Configuration is a plain text file that works well with dotfiles, and manpages and shell completion are included
Trade-offs
- Described as a Public Beta, with breaking changes expected until version 1.0
- The README notes the app is not notarized by Apple; the Homebrew install script removes the quarantine attribute to avoid warnings
- The README lists open issues it considers important before 1.0, including window-jumping stability problems and no native macOS tabs support yet
How it compares
| Project | Stars | Type | Level | Updated | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AeroSpace (this) | 23.7k | App | intermediate | 4 days ago | Keyboard-centric users who want to manage windows without the mouse |
| yabai | 29.8k | App | intermediate | 5 months ago | Mac users who want keyboard-driven window layouts |
| Amethyst | 16.3k | App | beginner | 4 days ago | Mac users who often work with several windows side by side |
| hammerspoon | 16.4k | App | intermediate | 4 months ago | Mac users comfortable writing small scripts who want custom keyboard shortcuts or window behavior |
| MonitorControl | 34.6k | App | beginner | 22 days ago | Mac users with an external monitor who want keyboard brightness keys to work on it |
| CodeEdit | 23.1k | App | beginner | 19 days ago | Developers on a Mac who work on non-Apple projects and want a native macOS editor |
Stats synced from GitHub. The assessment above was drafted with AI from the project's README on 2026-10-29 and may miss recent changes — check the README before relying on a command. MIT licence: free to use, modify and distribute, including commercially, as long as you keep the copyright notice.