Mac window guides

Written by Sheik Ahamed, who makes Findow. We say so where it matters, and we name the free option when it's the better one.

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• Findow setup guide. Install Findow, grant permissions and learn the keys that matter in about ten minutes.

Compare

• AltTab alternative for Mac: when to stay, when to switch. Free AltTab is excellent. Here's when a paid all-in-one makes sense, and when it doesn't.
• Rectangle Pro alternative: Findow vs Rectangle Pro. Rectangle Pro is deep on placing windows. Findow adds finding them and bringing them back.
• Findow vs ChainYourMac. A dedicated scrolling window manager, or one app that also switches and restores?
• Contexts alternative for Mac: four apps to try. On a recent macOS and unsure about Contexts? These are the options we'd check.
• Findow vs yabai: a window manager you script, or one you switch on. yabai is a window manager you script. Findow is one you switch on. Here's who each suits.
• Findow vs AeroSpace: emulated workspaces or your normal desktops. AeroSpace replaces Spaces with its own workspaces. Findow leaves your desktops alone.
• Findow vs OmniWM: the two apps that overlap most. Both have a strip and an overview. OmniWM is free and needs macOS 26. Here's the honest split.
• Findow vs Amethyst: always tiling, or tiling when you want it. Amethyst tiles automatically for free. Findow makes tiling optional and adds finding windows.
• Findow vs Rectangle: have you outgrown free snapping?. Rectangle is free and may be all you need. Here's how to tell if you've outgrown it.
• Findow vs Loop: a gesture for one window, or a system for all of them. Loop makes moving a window a gesture. Findow is about finding and restoring them.
• AeroSpace alternatives for Mac, sorted by why you're leaving. Sorted by what's pushing you away from AeroSpace, with the free options first.
• OmniWM alternatives for Mac: scrolling, BSP and simpler options. Blocked by OmniWM's requirements, or after something simpler? Your options by need.

Coming from

• Niri for Mac: how to get a scrolling strip on macOS. niri doesn't run on macOS. These apps give you the same strip, with a few Mac limits.
• PaperWM for Mac: PaperWM.spoon and the other options. PaperWM is a GNOME extension. PaperWM.spoon is the Mac project that shares its idea.
• i3 for Mac: the closest options on macOS. AeroSpace is the free pick for most i3 users. Here's what maps across and what doesn't.
• Hyprland for Mac: what you can and can't get. You can get close to Hyprland's tiling on a Mac. Its visual effects are another matter.
• Komorebi for Mac: the real version and your options. Komorebi for Mac is real. Here's what it costs at work, and the other routes from Windows.
• Stage Manager alternatives for Mac. What Stage Manager really does, and when Spaces, tiling or workflows do the job better.

Learn

• The best window switchers for Mac in 2026. Six ways to switch windows on a Mac, including the free ones, and who each suits.
• The best window managers for Mac in 2026. Snapping, tiling, scrolling or all-in-one: start with how you work, then pick the app.
• How to switch between windows on a Mac. Every built-in way to move between windows, and which keys do what.
• How to restore minimized windows on a Mac. Why ⌘Tab won't bring them back, and five ways that will.
• How to save and restore window layouts on a Mac. macOS can't do it. What can, and the difference between moving windows and reopening them.
• Mac windows move when you unplug a monitor: how to fix it. Why windows pile onto one screen, the settings to check, and how to bring them back.
• How to tile windows on a Mac. Every built-in way to tile, the settings behind them, and where they stop.
• What is a scrolling window manager?. Why opening a window doesn't shrink the others, and who this suits.
• The best scrolling window managers for Mac. Every scrolling option that really runs on a Mac, free and paid.
• niri vs PaperWM. Same idea, very different foundations, and what that means on a Mac.
• niri keybindings on a Mac. niri doesn't run on macOS. Here's every habit mapped to a Mac key.
• niri config on macOS. niri can't run on macOS. Translate your config.kdl section by section.
• Using yabai without disabling SIP. What yabai still does with SIP on, what you lose, and other options.
• How to set up PaperWM.spoon on a Mac. From Hammerspoon to a working strip, with the settings people miss.
• Window management on an ultrawide Mac monitor. Why halves fail on an ultrawide, and three layouts that work better.
• Choosing a window manager for a MacBook. A small screen, a trackpad and a dock: what actually helps on a laptop.

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