--- title: "niri Keybindings on Mac: A Key-by-Key Findow Mapping" description: "niri doesn't run on macOS. This table maps niri's default keys to real Mac shortcuts in Findow, and shows which habits have no match." canonical: https://findowmac.com/niri-keybindings-mac.html --- # niri keybindings on a Mac By Sheik Ahamed, who makes Findow. Checked on 31 October 2026. [All guides](https://findowmac.com/guides.html) **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 - Install Findow and open Settings > Arrange. - Choose Scrolling strip. The strip keys only work in this mode. With arranging off, ⌃⌥← is Left half instead. - 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 | niri default | What it does | Findow on the strip | | --- | --- | --- | | Mod+H or Mod+Left | Focus column left | ⌃⌥← | | Mod+L or Mod+Right | Focus column right | ⌃⌥→ | | Mod+K or Mod+Up | Focus window up | ⌃⌥↑ | | Mod+J or Mod+Down | Focus window down | ⌃⌥↓ | | Mod+Home | First column | ⌃⌥⌘← | | Mod+End | Last column | ⌃⌥⌘→ | | Tap Mod | Overview | Hold ⌃⌥ for a map, or ⌃⌥Space | ## Moving windows | niri default | What it does | Findow on the strip | | --- | --- | --- | | Mod+Ctrl+H | Move column left | ⌃⌥⇧← | | Mod+Ctrl+L | Move column right | ⌃⌥⇧→ | | Mod+BracketLeft or Mod+Comma | Pull a window into a column | Stack into left column, ⌃⌥]; Stack into right column, ⌃⌥[ | | Mod+BracketRight or Mod+Period | Push a window out of a column | Pop out to left, ⌃⌥⇧[; Pop out to right, ⌃⌥⇧] | | Mod+W | Tabbed column | ⌃⌥⇧T | | Mod+V | Floating window | ⌃⌥⇧F | ## Sizing | niri default | What it does | Findow on the strip | | --- | --- | --- | | Mod+R | Next preset width | ⌃⌥R | | Mod+F | Maximize column | ⌃⌥F | | Mod+C | Center column | ⌃⌥C | | Mod+Shift+F | Fullscreen window | ⌃⌥Z fills the screen, but not as a macOS full-screen space | | Mod+Minus | Column narrower | ⌃⌥- | | Mod+Equal | Column wider | ⌃⌥= | | Mod+Shift+Minus | Window shorter | ⌃⌥⇧- | | Mod+Shift+Equal | Window taller | ⌃⌥⇧= | | Mod+Ctrl+R | Reset window height | ⌃⌥0 gives equal heights | 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. ![Findow's Shortcuts settings, with keys for finding windows, tidying and a mouse button option](https://findowmac.com/img/settings-shortcuts.jpg) Every Findow shortcut can be changed, and a mouse button can open the overview. - Find Focus left and add ⌃⌥H. - Do the same with Focus down (⌃⌥J), Focus up (⌃⌥K) and Focus right (⌃⌥L). - 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](https://findowmac.com/best-scrolling-window-managers-mac.html). 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](https://findowmac.com/niri-config-macos.html). For help with the idea itself, see [niri vs PaperWM](https://findowmac.com/niri-vs-paperwm.html). ![Findow's overview showing eight windows, one highlighted in amber](https://findowmac.com/img/overview.jpg) ## 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. ## Try Findow free for 14 days Every feature, with no account and no card. Then $19.99 once, with a 14-day refund. For macOS 14 or later. [Download Findow](https://findowmac.com/index.html#pricing) ## Keep reading - [niri config on macOS](https://findowmac.com/niri-config-macos.html) - [niri vs PaperWM](https://findowmac.com/niri-vs-paperwm.html) - [The best scrolling window managers for Mac](https://findowmac.com/best-scrolling-window-managers-mac.html)