mogenson / PaperWM.spoon

Tiled scrollable window manager for MacOS

PaperWM.spoon

Tiled scrollable window manager for MacOS. Inspired by PaperWM.

Spoon plugin for HammerSpoon MacOS automation app.

Demo

paperwm_spoon_demo.mp4

Installation

1. Clone to Hammerspoon Spoons directory: git clone https://github.com/mogenson/PaperWM.spoon ~/.hammerspoon/Spoons/PaperWM.spoon.

2. Open System Preferences -> Mission Control. Uncheck "Automatically rearrange Spaces based on most recent use" and check "Displays have separate Spaces".

Usage

Add the following to your ~/.hammerspoon/init.lua:

PaperWM = hs.loadSpoon("PaperWM")
PaperWM:bindHotkeys({
    -- switch to a new focused window in tiled grid
    focus_left  = {{"ctrl", "alt", "cmd"}, "left"},
    focus_right = {{"ctrl", "alt", "cmd"}, "right"},
    focus_up    = {{"ctrl", "alt", "cmd"}, "up"},
    focus_down  = {{"ctrl", "alt", "cmd"}, "down"},

    -- move windows around in tiled grid
    swap_left  = {{"ctrl", "alt", "cmd", "shift"}, "left"},
    swap_right = {{"ctrl", "alt", "cmd", "shift"}, "right"},
    swap_up    = {{"ctrl", "alt", "cmd", "shift"}, "up"},
    swap_down  = {{"ctrl", "alt", "cmd", "shift"}, "down"},

    -- position and resize focused window
    center_window = {{"ctrl", "alt", "cmd"}, "c"},
    full_width    = {{"ctrl", "alt", "cmd"}, "f"},
    cycle_width   = {{"ctrl", "alt", "cmd"}, "r"},
    cycle_height  = {{"ctrl", "alt", "cmd", "shift"}, "r"},

    -- move focused window into / out of a column
    slurp_in = {{"ctrl", "alt", "cmd"}, "i"},
    barf_out = {{"ctrl", "alt", "cmd"}, "o"},

    -- switch to a new Mission Control space
    switch_space_l = {{"ctrl", "alt", "cmd"}, ","},
    switch_space_r = {{"ctrl", "alt", "cmd"}, "."},
    switch_space_1 = {{"ctrl", "alt", "cmd"}, "1"},
    switch_space_2 = {{"ctrl", "alt", "cmd"}, "2"},
    switch_space_3 = {{"ctrl", "alt", "cmd"}, "3"},
    switch_space_4 = {{"ctrl", "alt", "cmd"}, "4"},
    switch_space_5 = {{"ctrl", "alt", "cmd"}, "5"},
    switch_space_6 = {{"ctrl", "alt", "cmd"}, "6"},
    switch_space_7 = {{"ctrl", "alt", "cmd"}, "7"},
    switch_space_8 = {{"ctrl", "alt", "cmd"}, "8"},
    switch_space_9 = {{"ctrl", "alt", "cmd"}, "9"},

    -- move focused window to a new space and tile
    move_window_1 = {{"ctrl", "alt", "cmd", "shift"}, "1"},
    move_window_2 = {{"ctrl", "alt", "cmd", "shift"}, "2"},
    move_window_3 = {{"ctrl", "alt", "cmd", "shift"}, "3"},
    move_window_4 = {{"ctrl", "alt", "cmd", "shift"}, "4"},
    move_window_5 = {{"ctrl", "alt", "cmd", "shift"}, "5"},
    move_window_6 = {{"ctrl", "alt", "cmd", "shift"}, "6"},
    move_window_7 = {{"ctrl", "alt", "cmd", "shift"}, "7"},
    move_window_8 = {{"ctrl", "alt", "cmd", "shift"}, "8"},
    move_window_9 = {{"ctrl", "alt", "cmd", "shift"}, "9"}
})
PaperWM:start()

Feel free to customize hotkeys or use PaperWM:bindHotkeys(PaperWM.default_hotkeys) for defaults. PaperWM actions are also available for manual keybinding via the PaperWM.actions table; for example, the following would enable navigation by either arrow keys or vim-style h/j/k/l directions:

PaperWM = hs.loadSpoon("PaperWM")
PaperWM:bindHotkeys(PaperWM.default_hotkeys)

hs.hotkey.bind({"ctrl", "alt", "cmd"}, "h", PaperWM.actions.focus_left)
hs.hotkey.bind({"ctrl", "alt", "cmd"}, "j", PaperWM.actions.focus_down)
hs.hotkey.bind({"ctrl", "alt", "cmd"}, "k", PaperWM.actions.focus_up)
hs.hotkey.bind({"ctrl", "alt", "cmd"}, "l", PaperWM.actions.focus_right)

hs.hotkey.bind({"ctrl", "alt", "cmd", "shift"}, "h", PaperWM.actions.swap_left)
hs.hotkey.bind({"ctrl", "alt", "cmd", "shift"}, "j", PaperWM.actions.swap_down)
hs.hotkey.bind({"ctrl", "alt", "cmd", "shift"}, "k", PaperWM.actions.swap_up)
hs.hotkey.bind({"ctrl", "alt", "cmd", "shift"}, "l", PaperWM.actions.swap_right)

PaperWM:start() will begin automatically tiling new and existing windows. PaperWM:stop() will release control over windows.

Set PaperWM.window_gap to the number of pixels to space between windows and the top and bottom screen edges.

Configure one or many PaperWM.window_filter:rejectApp("appName") to ignore specific applications. For example:

PaperWM.window_filter:rejectApp("iStat Menus Status")
PaperWM.window_filter:rejectApp("Finder")
PaperWM:start() -- restart for new window filter to take effect

Set PaperWM.window_ratios to the ratios to cycle window widths and heights through. For example:

PaperWM.window_ratios = { 0.23607, 0.38195, 0.61804 }

Limitations

MacOS does not allow a window to be moved fully off-screen. Windows that would be tiled off-screen are placed in a margin on the left and right edge of the screen. They are still visible and clickable.

It's difficult to detect when a window is dragged from one space or screen to another. Use the move_window_N commands to move windows between spaces and screens.

Arrange screens vertically to prevent windows from bleeding into other screens.