niri keybindings on a Mac

By Sheik Ahamed, who makes Findow. Checked on 31 October 2026. All guides

Short answer: niri doesn't run on macOS, so its keybindings can't be installed on a Mac. You can keep most habits, though. Findow's Scrolling strip has its own shortcuts for moving focus, moving columns, changing widths and more, and you can rebind them.

Findow isn't a port of niri. It's our own Mac app, and it has a strip mode with similar ideas. The table below only lists shortcuts that exist in Findow today. Where nothing matches, we say so.

Before you start

1. Install Findow and open Settings > Arrange.
2. Choose Scrolling strip. The strip keys only work in this mode. With arranging off, ⌃⌥← is Left half instead.
3. Quit any other window manager, so the two don't fight.

niri's Mod key is Super on a TTY, or Alt when nested in another desktop. Findow's strip uses ⌃⌥ instead, because ⌘ is taken by so much of macOS. Think of ⌃⌥ as your Mod key.

Moving around

Moving windows

Sizing

niri changes widths and heights by 10 percent by default. Findow's Wider and Narrower move by 5 percent, so expect smaller steps at first. Its height keys only do something in a column with stacked windows. Findow's width steps are 25, 33, 50, 66 and 75 percent, where niri's default presets are a third, a half and two thirds.

Habits with no direct match

• Mod+T and Mod+D. Findow doesn't launch apps. Use Spotlight, or a workflow that opens them for you.
• Mod+Q. Use the normal Mac keys: ⌘W closes a window and ⌘Q quits an app.
• Mod+1 to Mod+9. niri focuses a workspace. Findow has two near matches. ⌃⌥1 to ⌃⌥9 switch workflows, which reopen apps and move windows. ⌃⌥⌘1 to ⌃⌥⌘9 jump to a place on the strip.
• Mod+Ctrl+1 to Mod+Ctrl+9. There's no key to send a column to a chosen workspace. macOS desktops work differently, and the overview only finds windows there.
• Mod+Ctrl+J and Mod+Ctrl+K. There's no key to move a window up or down inside a stack.
• Mod+Shift+H and friends. Findow has no key for focusing a monitor by direction. ⌃⌥N sends a window to the next display.
• Screenshots. Use the Mac's own screenshot keys.

Make it feel more like niri

Open Settings > Shortcuts. Each command can be changed, and each can have more than one shortcut, so you don't have to give up the defaults.

1. Find Focus left and add ⌃⌥H.
2. Do the same with Focus down (⌃⌥J), Focus up (⌃⌥K) and Focus right (⌃⌥L).
3. Add ⌃⌥⇧H and ⌃⌥⇧L to Move left and Move right. These are easier than niri's Ctrl version, since ⌃ is already part of your modifier.

Those letters are free in the standard set. A shortcut needs at least one of ⌘, ⌥ or ⌃, unless it's on an F key. Comma, period, Home and End can't be recorded at the moment, so stick with letters, numbers, brackets and arrows.

Using a different modifier

A plain ⌥ layout is closest to the way niri feels on Alt, but take care. On a Mac, ⌥ with a letter types a special character in many apps. ⌘ with H, J, K and L has its own meanings, and ⌘H hides the app. That's why ⌃⌥ is a safe choice: very little else uses it.

Mouse and trackpad habits

niri scrolls the view with Mod and the wheel, or a three-finger swipe. In Findow, hold ⌃⌥ and use the wheel, or set Trackpad swipe to Three fingers or Four fingers in Settings > Arrange. macOS may already use that swipe to change desktops. Findow warns you if so, and you can change it in System Settings > Trackpad > More Gestures.

If you'd rather have a config file with niri-style keys, look at Paneru in our roundup of scrolling window managers for Mac. It's free, and it takes bindings such as "cmd - h" in a TOML file. To map the rest of your setup, read niri config on macOS. For help with the idea itself, see niri vs PaperWM.

Questions

Can I use niri keybindings on macOS?

niri doesn't run on macOS, so not directly. You can rebind Findow's strip commands, so ⌃⌥H, J, K and L move focus as Mod+H, J, K and L do.

What's the Mac equivalent of niri's Mod key?

In Findow it's ⌃⌥. Most strip shortcuts start with those two keys, and ⌘ is left for macOS.

Can Findow use Super or Command as its modifier?

You can record ⌘ in a shortcut, but many ⌘ keys already belong to macOS and apps, such as ⌘H to hide.

Is there a key like Mod+W for tabs?

Yes. ⌃⌥⇧T runs Stack or tabs on a strip column.

Does Findow have niri's overview?

Not the same one. Hold ⌃⌥ for a map of the strip, or press ⌃⌥Space for an overview that also searches.

Keep reading

• niri config on macOS
• niri vs PaperWM
• The best scrolling window managers for Mac