// the find
nikitabobko/AeroSpace
AeroSpace is an i3-like tiling window manager for macOS
AeroSpace is a tiling window manager for macOS that replicates the i3 workflow, including modal keybindings, tree-based layouts, and its own workspace implementation that sidesteps macOS Spaces entirely. It's aimed at developers coming from Linux who want keyboard-driven window management without the yabai requirement of disabling SIP.
- The virtual workspace emulation is genuinely clever—rather than fighting macOS Spaces (which have awful programmatic support), AeroSpace moves windows off-screen when switching workspaces, making transitions fast and SIP-safe. The tradeoffs are documented honestly.
- CLI-first design with a proper client/server architecture means you can script anything from shell, integrate with status bars like sketchybar, or write keybinding callbacks that query window state. The command set is extensive and well-organized.
- Only one private API call (_AXUIElementGetWindow) and everything else is public accessibility API. The extensive axDumps directory shows real investment in handling edge cases across dozens of apps and window types rather than pretending the happy path is all that matters.
- Test coverage is solid for a GUI-adjacent project—there are unit tests for essentially every command with mock App/Window implementations that don't require a real display, making the test suite actually runnable in CI.
- Still in public beta with an explicitly documented instability: windows can randomly jump to the focused workspace. The core tree data structure is mutable and double-linked, and the planned fix is a full rewrite to an immutable persistent tree—that's a significant chunk of the codebase that could shift under you before 1.0.
- No sticky windows, no picture-in-picture awareness in the tiling model, and ricing support is minimal by design. If you want window borders, gaps beyond the basics, or complex floating rules, the maintainer has explicitly said these are non-priorities and unlikely to change without new maintainers.
- The workspace-emulation approach (moving windows off-screen) causes visual glitches with some apps and breaks Mission Control. Anyone who switches between AeroSpace and native macOS window management will have a bad time—it's all-or-nothing.
- Not notarized, which requires users to manually trust the binary or rely on the Homebrew cask to strip the quarantine attribute. Fine for technically-minded users, but a real barrier for anyone deploying this on managed Macs or sharing configs with less technical teammates.