OmniWM

Demo Video

Contributors

Thank you to everyone who contributed to OmniWM. Your ideas and code made a real difference.

🏢 By Employer

Bitkey
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Naoki Ikeguchi
_@siketyan

EPAM
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Aleksei Gurianov
_@Guria

GitHub
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Ryan Hecht
_@RyanHecht

Google
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muhammadkh
_@MuhammadKh

Luxor Labs
_{━━━━━━━━}

Albert Ilagan
_{@albertilagan}

ReactSquad
_{━━━━━━━━}

Jan Hesters
_@janhesters

vhf
_{━━━━━━━━}

Lukas Gerlinski
_@lgerlinski

🎓 By Education

Assumption University of Thailand
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Panuphong Burakitphachai
_@t1dotdev

Linnaeus University
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Balazs Hevesi
_{@balazshevesi}

NTU Singapore
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Nawat Suangburanakul
_@holmns

SUSTech
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Yang-Yiming
_@Yang-Yiming

✨ All Contributors

Real quake/sticky terminal using ghostty's libghostty
macOS native tab support
IPC/CLI
Scrathpad/Sticky windows for any app
Niri Overview
Unified command palette for windows and app menus
App menu anywhere
Niri tabbed columns and Dwindle tile groups
Niri and Dwindle layout
Hide/unhide status bar icons (Similar to Ice Bar)
Keep awake (Similar to Caffeine)
Interactive workspace/app icon bar
A lot more features not show in the video.

Known Limitations

Dwindle group restore - Group membership and tab order are runtime layout state and are not restored after OmniWM restarts.

Performance & Trust

OmniWM is built for high responsiveness and smooth, crisp animations.

Private APIs - OmniWM leverages Apple's private APIs where ever technically possible in order to reduce latency and improve window management responsiveness.
Refresh rate aware animations - OmniWM targets true display refresh pacing (for example 60/120/144Hz) for animations.
No SIP disable required - OmniWM does not require System Integrity Protection (SIP) to be disabled and never will.
Always notarized official releases - Official OmniWM release builds are developer signed and notarized by Apple and will stay that way.
Forever free, no limitations - OmniWM is and will remain free to use forever, with no subscriptions, feature paywalls, trial limits, or usage caps.

Requirements

macOS 26+ (Tahoe) on Apple Silicon
Accessibility permissions (prompted on launch)
Input Monitoring permission when using a System Hyper Trigger
Displays have separate spaces ON (the macOS default; OmniWM pauses window management until it is enabled)

Installation

Homebrew

brew tap BarutSRB/tap
brew install omniwm

Nix

OmniWM supports both community-maintained Nix packages below. They install official OmniWM release artifacts, while their Nix expressions are maintained by DoomHammer and DavSanchez respectively.

Package	Best for	Packaging difference
DoomHammer NUR package	Fast release tracking	Its current `unzip` extraction does not preserve the release's valid Developer ID signature, and it installs the app bundle without exposing `omniwmctl` on `PATH`.
DavSanchez package and Home Manager module	Signature-preserving, declarative integration	It may trail the latest release, but its `bsdtar` extraction preserves code signing and it provides `omniwmctl`, Home Manager settings, and launchd integration.

Install the fast-tracking DoomHammer package directly:

nix profile install github:DoomHammer/nur-packages#omniwm

Existing NUR configurations can use nur.repos.doomhammer.omniwm.

Install the signature-preserving DavSanchez package directly:

nix profile install github:DavSanchez/nix-dotfiles#omniwm

For a declarative setup, use DavSanchez's exported homeModules.omniwm and overlays.additions. After either installation, complete the macOS setup in steps 3-6 below.

GitHub Releases

Download the latest OmniWM.zip from Releases
Extract and move OmniWM.app to /Applications
In System Settings > Desktop & Dock > Mission Control, turn ON Displays have separate Spaces
Log out of macOS and log back in for that change to take effect unless you had it on already
Launch OmniWM and grant Accessibility permissions when prompted
To use a System Hyper Trigger, grant Input Monitoring from Settings > Hotkeys

Updates

OmniWM checks for updates by default.

On launch, OmniWM polls the latest GitHub release at most once per day.
Updates stay manual. OmniWM does not auto-download or auto-install a new release.
When a newer release is available, OmniWM shows a centered popup with release notes and actions for Open Release Page, Copy brew upgrade omniwm, Skip This Version, and Not Now.
You can control this from Settings > General > Updates or trigger a manual check from the status bar menu with Check for Updates....

Documentation

The documentation hub lives in docs/index.md.

IPC and CLI

OmniWM ships with a bundled CLI, omniwmctl, for automation and scripting.

IPC is disabled by default. Enable Enable IPC from the menu bar before using the CLI or any automation.

For setup, installation options, commands, queries, rules, subscriptions, and security details, see docs/IPC-CLI.md.

Quick Start

Launch OmniWM from your Applications folder
In System Settings > Desktop & Dock > Mission Control, turn ON Displays have separate Spaces
Log out of macOS and log back in for that change to take effect unless you had it on already
Grant Accessibility permissions in System Settings > Privacy & Security > Accessibility
Windows will automatically tile in columns
Keep one macOS Space per display and navigate with OmniWM workspaces; extra native Spaces are tolerated (their windows are left to macOS, not tiled)
Use the default shortcuts in Keyboard Shortcuts to navigate between windows
Click the menu bar icon to access Settings, including Settings > General > Updates
Use Check for Updates... from the status bar menu whenever you want to run a manual update check
In case you freak out and don't see all your status bar icons, relax, OmniWM hides the menu-bar icons you selected in Settings > Hidden Bar. Right-click OmniWM's status bar icon to open the Hidden Icons Bar and click any icon to use it.

User Guide

Multi-Monitor Setup

OmniWM uses two display maps for different jobs:

Open System Settings > Displays > Arrange. Put the physically largest or widest display at the bottom. Place the next smaller display above and to its right so its bottom-left corner touches the lower display's top-right corner. Continue the same staircase for every additional display. This macOS map is a technical arrangement used for actual window placement; it does not need to look like your desk.
Open OmniWM Settings > Monitors and arrange the OmniWM routing map to match where the displays really sit on your desk. Keep every display connected by a left, right, up, or down edge; diagonal-only displays cannot exchange directional focus, window moves, or mouse warp.
Leave Mouse Warp turned on for the recommended experience. It lets the pointer cross between displays according to the real-desk OmniWM map even though macOS uses the staircase.

The setup assistant opens automatically when OmniWM first sees multiple displays. To review or redo it later, choose Run Monitor Setup… in Settings > Monitors. The assistant's Show Numbers on Screens action helps match each physical display to its tile.

Layout Modes

OmniWM offers two layout engines that you can switch between per workspace:

Niri (Scrolling Columns) - Windows arranged in vertical columns that scroll horizontally. Each column can have multiple stacked windows or be "tabbed" (multiple windows, one visible at a time). Best for wide monitors with many windows.

Hyprland Dwindle (BSP) - Binary space partition layout that recursively divides screen space. Each new window splits the space in half, and a tile can group multiple windows as tabs. Best for traditional tiling with predictable layouts.

Use the Toggle Workspace Layout shortcut below to switch layouts per workspace or configure them in GUI settings.

Keyboard Shortcuts

All shortcuts are customizable in Settings > Hotkeys. Hyper is the literal Control + Option + Shift + Command chord. Optionally pick a System Hyper Trigger — a single key (Caps Lock, F13–F20, or a left- or right-side modifier) or an extra mouse button that acts as Hyper while held (this needs Input Monitoring permission). Leave the trigger as None if you already produce Hyper another way, such as a Karabiner Elements remap. The tables below list all the default hotkeys:

Layout legend:

Shared works in any active layout.
Niri works only when the active workspace uses the Niri layout.
Dwindle works only when the active workspace uses the Dwindle layout.

Workspace

Action	Default Shortcut	Layout
Switch to Workspace 1-9	`Option + 1-9`	`Shared`
Move Window to Workspace 1-9	`Option + Shift + 1-9`	`Shared`
Switch to Previous Workspace (Back and Forth)	`Control + Option + Tab`	`Shared`
Switch to Next Workspace	`Unassigned`	`Shared`
Switch to Previous Workspace (Sequential)	`Unassigned`	`Shared`
Move Window to Workspace Up	`Control + Option + Shift + Up Arrow`	`Shared`
Move Window to Workspace Down	`Control + Option + Shift + Down Arrow`	`Shared`
Move Column to Workspace 1-9	`Unassigned`	`Niri`
Move Column to Workspace Up	`Control + Option + Shift + Page Up`	`Niri`
Move Column to Workspace Down	`Control + Option + Shift + Page Down`	`Niri`

Focus

Action	Default Shortcut	Layout
Focus Left / Right / Up / Down	`Option + Arrow Keys`	`Shared`
Focus Down or Top / Up or Bottom	`Unassigned`	`Shared`
Focus Previous Window	`Option + Tab`	`Niri`
Traverse Backward	`Unassigned`	`Niri`
Traverse Forward	`Unassigned`	`Niri`
Focus First Column	`Option + Home`	`Niri`
Focus Last Column	`Option + End`	`Niri`
Focus Column 1-9	`Control + Option + 1-9`	`Niri`
Toggle Command Palette	`Control + Option + Space`	`Shared`
Open Menu Anywhere	`Control + Option + M`	`Shared`
Toggle Workspace Bar	`Unassigned`	`Shared`
Toggle Hidden Icons Bar	`Unassigned`	`Shared`
Toggle Quake Terminal	Option + `	`Shared`
Toggle Overview	`Option + Shift + O`	`Shared`

Move Window

Action	Default Shortcut	Layout
Move Left / Right / Up / Down	`Option + Shift + Arrow Keys`	`Shared`
Reorder Window Up / Down	`Unassigned`	`Shared`

Monitor

Action	Default Shortcut	Layout
Focus Next Monitor	`Control + Command + Tab`	`Shared`
Focus Previous Monitor	`Unassigned`	`Shared`
Focus Last Monitor	Control + Command + `	`Shared`
Move Workspace to Left / Right / Up / Down Monitor	`Unassigned`	`Shared`

The workspace-to-monitor actions target the active workspace and intentionally use the same temporary runtime override as omniwmctl workspace move-to-monitor --force. They do not rewrite the workspace's Home Monitor or swap workspaces, and unsafe fullscreen, hidden-app, scratchpad, or focus states still block the move.

Layout

Action	Default Shortcut	Layout
Toggle Fullscreen	`Option + Return`	`Shared`
Toggle Native Fullscreen	`Unassigned`	`Shared`
Balance Sizes	`Option + Shift + B`	`Shared`
Cycle Size Forward	`Option + .`	`Shared`
Cycle Size Backward	`Option + ,`	`Shared`
Move to Root	`Unassigned`	`Dwindle`
Toggle Split	`Unassigned`	`Dwindle`
Swap Split	`Unassigned`	`Dwindle`
Grow Left / Right / Up / Down	`Unassigned`	`Dwindle`
Shrink Left / Right / Up / Down	`Unassigned`	`Dwindle`
Grow / Shrink Focused Window	`Unassigned`	`Dwindle`
Preselect Left / Right / Up / Down	`Unassigned`	`Dwindle`
Clear Preselection	`Unassigned`	`Dwindle`
Raise All Floating Windows	`Option + Shift + R`	`Shared`
Toggle Focused Window Floating	`Unassigned`	`Shared`
Assign Focused Window to Scratchpad	`Unassigned`	`Shared`
Toggle Scratchpad Window	`Unassigned`	`Shared`
Toggle Workspace Layout	`Option + Shift + L`	`Shared`

Container and Column

Action	Default Shortcut	Layout
Move Container Left / Right	`Control + Option + Shift + Left / Right Arrow`	`Shared`
Move Container Up / Down	`Unassigned`	`Dwindle`
Toggle Column Tabbed	`Option + T`	`Niri`
Toggle Container Full Primary Span	`Option + Shift + F`	`Niri`

The daily Focus and Move shortcuts adapt to the active layout. In Niri, Move Left / Right expels the focused window from a multi-window column or consumes a single-window column into its neighbor, while Move Up / Down reorders within the column.

Dwindle Groups

Dwindle groups use the existing Focus and Move bindings, so there are no separate group shortcuts to memorize. Only the active member occupies the tile; the other members stay hidden and the clickable tab rail shows their order.

Goal	Default Shortcut	Behavior
Focus another tile	`Option + Arrow Keys`	Left / Right are always spatial. Up / Down are spatial for a singleton tile.
Select the next / previous tab	`Option + Down / Up Arrow`	Within a group, Down advances and Up goes back. At the group edge OmniWM tries a spatial tile, then the configured monitor transition, and wraps locally only when neither exit succeeds.
Join a singleton into a tile or group	`Option + Shift + Arrow Keys`	Joins the focused singleton with the touching tile in that direction.
Extract the active tab	`Option + Shift + Arrow Keys`	When the focused tile is grouped, extracts only its active tab onto the requested side.
Move the complete tile or group	`Control + Option + Shift + Left / Right Arrow`	`Move Container` swaps the whole structure. Up / Down are advanced, unassigned Dwindle actions.
Select an exact tab	Click its tab rail item	Reveals and focuses that member without changing the group order.

Moving a tab directly from one existing group into another is intentionally a two-step operation: extract it first, then move the resulting singleton toward the destination group. A singleton at a genuine workspace edge can still use the normal cross-monitor Move behavior; a rejected group mutation does not fall through to tile swapping or monitor movement.

The unassigned advanced actions are available in Settings > Hotkeys. Focus Down or Top / Up or Bottom always wraps within the active Niri column or Dwindle group. Reorder Window Up / Down changes the active member's position by one without wrapping. Move Container is the whole-structure escape hatch and never transfers to another monitor at a workspace edge. Dwindle join/extract and Move Container operations are intentionally unavailable while Overview is open; leave Overview before changing a Dwindle tree.

Quake Terminal (Inside Terminal)

Action	Shortcut
New Tab	`Cmd + T`
Close Tab	`Cmd + W`
Next Tab	`Cmd + Shift + ]`
Previous Tab	`Cmd + Shift + [`
Next Tab (Alt)	`Ctrl + Tab`
Previous Tab (Alt)	`Ctrl + Shift + Tab`
Select Tab 1-9	`Cmd + 1-9`
Split Pane (Horizontal)	`Cmd + D`
Split Pane (Vertical)	`Cmd + Shift + D`
Close Pane	`Cmd + Shift + W`
Equalize Splits	`Cmd + Shift + =`
Navigate Pane	`Cmd + Option + Arrow Keys`

Features

Quake Terminal

A true quake/sticky terminal (powered by Ghostty's libghostty) that slides in from the screen edge and:

Toggle it from the global shortcut shown in Keyboard Shortcuts
Supports multiple tabs and splits within tabs
Tab and pane shortcuts are listed in Quake Terminal (Inside Terminal)
Mouse resize by dragging edges; Option + drag to move (remembers size/position per monitor)
Configure position (top/bottom/left/right/center), size, opacity, and background effect in Settings
Choose Standard Blur with an adjustable radius or native Regular Glass/Clear Glass; switching effects preserves the saved Standard Blur radius
Auto-hides on focus loss (optional)

Command Palette

Quickly search windows or app menus from one shared palette:

Open it from the global shortcut shown in Keyboard Shortcuts
Use Cmd + 1 for Windows and Cmd + 2 for Menu when menu search is available
Type to fuzzy-search by window title, app name, or menu item
Menu results always show keyboard shortcuts when available
Up / Down move the selection
Enter activates the selected result
Shift + Enter summons the selected window to the right when available
Escape dismisses the palette

Menu Anywhere

Access any application's menu from your keyboard:

Shows the native menu at the cursor from a global shortcut

Overview Mode

See all windows at once with thumbnails:

Open it from the global shortcut shown in Keyboard Shortcuts
Configure the 50–150% baseline zoom plus backdrop and window-border colors in Settings → Overview
Click a window to focus it
Type to filter/search windows; Backspace deletes search text
Alt (Option) + Shift + Mouse Scroll temporarily zooms the current overview; the next opening starts from the configured baseline
Arrow Keys navigate the selection; Tab / Shift + Tab move horizontally, and keyboard navigation automatically scrolls the selected thumbnail into view
Assigned structural move, reorder, consume/expel, and workspace-transfer shortcuts operate on the selected thumbnail while Overview is open
In Niri workspaces, reorder windows and columns, consume or expel windows, move windows into or out of columns, move windows across workspaces and monitors, and move whole columns between Niri workspaces
Adjacent-workspace fallback actions can create the next compatible unused numeric workspace when moving past the current workspace edge
In Dwindle workspaces, Overview supports moving windows across workspaces and closing them without adding Overview-only tree placement controls
A successful move keeps the moved window selected and activates its destination workspace and monitor behind Overview
Option + drag a thumbnail onto a workspace, an exact window position, or a Niri column gap; layouts without an exact placement equivalent fall back to moving it to the destination workspace
Command + W closes the selected window once per press and keeps Overview open; selection advances only after the window has closed
Enter, Escape, the configured Overview shortcut, and clicking the backdrop dismiss Overview and focus the current selection; Escape does not clear search first
If another application takes focus, Overview dismisses without stealing focus back

Workspace Bar

A visual indicator showing your workspaces:

Displays open apps per workspace
Click to switch workspaces or jump to that app
If dedupe option is on click the app icon to get a popup with list of all its windows to jump to
Configure position, height, and appearance in Settings
Exclude individual apps or choose alternate app icons across all monitors in Settings

Workspace-bar icon overrides can also be configured in settings.toml. Quote bundle IDs so TOML treats each dotted identifier as one key:

[workspaceBar.iconOverrides]
"com.example.App" = "icons/custom.icns"
"com.cmuxterm.app" = "bundle-resource:AppIconDark"

bundle-resource: loads a named image packaged inside the selected app. The Settings picker discovers likely app-icon resources on demand; runtime-generated or downloaded Dock icons may not be available. Absolute paths are used as written, ~ expands to your home directory, and relative paths are resolved from the directory containing settings.toml. Overrides affect only the workspace bar. A valid override takes precedence over the app's standard icon; an unavailable or invalid image falls back to the standard icon, then the dashed placeholder when no app icon is available. OmniWM does not watch image files; use Replace to reload a file changed in place.

Hidden Bar

Conceal selected menu-bar icons and reach them from a panel:

Concealment requires macOS 27 or later; the rest of OmniWM continues to support macOS 26
Pick the apps to hide in Settings > Hidden Bar
Right-click (or Option-click) the OmniWM menu bar icon to open the Hidden Icons Bar; click an icon to reveal and use it
Revealed icons re-hide automatically after a configurable interval
An optional global hotkey is available and starts unassigned

Tips

Workspaces - Create named workspaces in Settings to organize by project or context (You can use emojis 🥳)
App Rules - Exclude problematic apps from tiling or assign them to specific workspaces
Mouse - On the desktop, Option + drag swaps tiled windows and Option + Shift + drag inserts into a Niri column; in Overview, Option + drag targets a workspace, window position, or Niri column gap
Mouse Resize - Hold Option and right-drag a tiled window to resize (Niri)
Scroll Gestures (Mouse) - Hold Option + Shift + Mouse Scroll Wheel (default, configurable) and scroll through columns horizontally
Trackpad Gestures - Use horizontal gestures with 2/3/4 fingers (configurable); direction can be inverted (local hardware validation is limited)
Workspace Swipe (Trackpad) - Opt-in in Settings → Mouse & Trackpad: swipe with a configurable finger count (2/3/4) and axis (horizontal/vertical) to switch to the next/previous workspace on the monitor under the cursor, one switch per swipe; sharing the column-scroll finger count locks the axis to vertical. For vertical swipes with three or four fingers, first turn off Mission Control in  → System Settings → Trackpad → More Gestures so macOS does not intercept the gesture.

Configuration

Access settings by clicking OmniWM's status bar icon and selecting Settings or App Rules. Mouse and gesture settings live in Settings under Mouse & Trackpad.

OmniWM stores its editable config at ${XDG_CONFIG_HOME:-$HOME/.config}/omniwm/settings.toml; that file is the canonical settings source and is live-reloaded when saved from an editor.

Reveal Settings File and Edit Settings File open the canonical TOML file and recreate it from the running settings if it was deleted.
updateChecksEnabled is part of the persisted settings model, so it round-trips through settings.toml.
Clipboard history, last-check timestamps, skipped-release state, and the persisted window restore catalog live in ${XDG_STATE_HOME:-$HOME/.local/state}/omniwm and stay out of dotfile-oriented config storage.

App Rules

Configure per-application behavior in Settings > App Rules:

Always Float - Force specific apps to always float (e.g., calculators, preferences windows)
Assign to Workspace - Use a valid workspace assignment as the initial default whenever the matching app currently has no tracked windows. Additional windows open on the workspace active when creation began. Automatic rule reevaluation leaves managed windows in place, while explicit rule application can move them. Readmission, structural replacements, tracked transient children, and unique persisted boot-restore matches preserve their existing placement continuity.
Initial Container Primary Span (Niri) - Start matching resizable windows at 5–100% when they create or claim a new container; the container remains freely resizable afterward
Minimum Size - Prevent the layout engine from sizing windows below a threshold

Initial container primary span is a one-time seed. It controls width in horizontal orientation and height in vertical orientation. Niri's Single Window Fit still takes visual precedence for a lone window, and physical minimum-size constraints can clamp the resolved pixel size without changing the stored initial proportion.

The equivalent TOML rule uses a proportion:

[[appRules]]
bundleId = "net.kovidgoyal.kitty"
initialContainerPrimarySpan = 0.5

Building from Source

Requirements:

SwiftPM with Swift 6.4+
macOS 26.0+
Ghostty's arm64 archive (build Ghostty and copy it to Frameworks/GhosttyKit.xcframework/macos-arm64/libghostty-internal-fat.a)

Use the bundled Debug launch for day-to-day development:

make run

make run builds, packages, development-signs, and opens dist/OmniWM.app through LaunchServices. This is the canonical development launch because it gives OmniWM its normal app identity. OmniWM uses its native status bar item while Hidden Bar concealment is inactive. While concealment is active, it uses a separate fallback icon next to the workspace bar because macOS can conceal the app-owned status item with the other restricted items. This behavior applies to both bundled and raw swift run OmniWM launches and is not specific to Debug builds.

Related Forks

Nehir is an endorsed OmniWM fork focused on a narrower, more opinionated Niri-style scrolling-column workflow. It may be friendlier for beginners who want guided defaults and a smaller feature surface, while OmniWM remains the broader upstream project with multiple layout modes and the full feature set.
choru-k/OmniWM is an interesting personal OmniWM fork experimenting with opt-in workflow layers on top of upstream OmniWM, including zone anchors for the Niri strip, a configurable F13-F20 leader-key chord menu, tabbed-column keyboard cycling, and trackpad-friendly modifier resizing. It is best read as a power-user workflow branch rather than a replacement for the main OmniWM release.

Support

If you find OmniWM useful, consider supporting development:

Reporting Bugs

The best way to report a bug is from inside OmniWM: open the status-bar menu and choose Report a Bug…. It records an optional diagnostics trace, creates and reveals a diagnostics bundle for you to attach, and opens a pre-filled GitHub issue — OmniWM never sees your GitHub login.

Prefer the web? The GitHub issue form works too; please include your OmniWM and macOS versions there.

Contributing

Issues and pull requests are welcome on GitHub.

Start with CONTRIBUTING.md for the actual project guidelines, expectations, and preferred direction.

For deeper technical context, the docs pages that back the documentation site are here:

License

Every source file carries an SPDX license header. Forks and redistributions must retain these notices and the LICENSE file, and remain GPL-2.0 with source available.