KiwiCanopy/KiwiDesk

Tiling that feels like it shipped with macOS.

Start simple. Grow without limits. KiwiDesk tiles your windows the moment you install it — no config required. When you want more, go deeper: custom Lua, profiles, advanced layouts, per-space rules. Powerful when you reach for it, never in your way.

Website · Docs · Quick Start · Recipes · Changelog · Roadmap · Discord · Sponsor

I love tiling window managers, but I could never seriously recommend one to a friend who doesn't live in a terminal. On macOS, most of them make you write a config file before you can even move a window — they feel more like a nerd's construction kit than actual software.

I want KiwiDesk to be different. A few ideas drive how I build it:

• It just works out of the box. Download it, grant one permission, press Start — no dotfiles to get going, and in-app updates so you never think about maintenance.
• Opinionated, but adaptable. It ships with strong default workflows that make sense right away, and you can still bend and tweak it to your heart's content.
• Performance and UI/UX are equally non-negotiable. I won't trade one for the other. If the UI is clumsy, people lose interest or end up scripting around it; if it lags, power users leave. It has to feel both polished and light.
• Still very much a nerd's toy. Approachable doesn't mean neutered: there's a Lua config, a proper CLI and an event stream, so you can script whatever setup you want.
• Built to survive macOS updates. Every private Apple API has a public fallback, and the few things only Apple's own bridge can do switch themselves off after an update instead of breaking your desktop.

How it compares with yabai, AeroSpace and the rest →

Everything it does, feature by feature →

Requirements: macOS 14 or later, on Apple silicon.

brew install --cask kiwicanopy/tap/kiwidesk

Or download the .dmg — the same signed, notarized app; the cask additionally puts the kiwidesk CLI on your PATH. Either way KiwiDesk checks for updates itself.

On first launch a wizard walks you through the Accessibility permission; nothing moves until you press Start Tiling. Everything past that — Settings, the CLI, Lua — is in the Quick Start.

For contributors, or to run an unreleased commit. Requirements: Xcode 27+ / Swift 6.4 (the app itself runs on macOS 14+).

git clone https://github.com/KiwiCanopy/KiwiDesk.git
cd KiwiDesk
swift build -c release
.build/release/KiwiDesk           # run the app

See CONTRIBUTING.md and AGENTS.md; AI coding agents are welcome. To report a vulnerability, see SECURITY.md.

Questions and ideas go to Discussions, where the answer helps the next person too. To chat, share a setup or follow releases, join the Discord.

Business Source License 1.1: using KiwiDesk is free, at home and at work; offering, selling, bundling or hosting it or a derivative as a product or service needs a commercial license. Each version becomes MIT four years after publication.

KiwiDesk's source is public. If you like it, leave a ⭐ — it is the one thing that helps other people find it.