explaingit

wesbos/aerospace

Analysis updated 2026-07-18 · repo last pushed 2024-11-22

1SwiftAudience · developerComplexity · 3/5StaleSetup · moderate

TLDR

AeroSpace is a tiling window manager for macOS that automatically arranges your windows side-by-side and lets you control them entirely with keyboard shortcuts, inspired by the popular Linux tool i3.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((repo))
    What it does
      Auto-arranges windows
      Keyboard-driven control
      Custom workspaces
    Tech stack
      Swift
      macOS native
      Plain text config
    Use cases
      Snap windows into grid
      Switch workspaces fast
      Share setup via text file
    Audience
      Advanced Mac users
      Keyboard-centric devs
      Linux-to-Mac switchers
    Philosophy
      Speed over visuals
      No private Apple APIs
      No animations

Code map

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What do people build with it?

USE CASE 1

Snap your terminal, editor, and browser into a clean grid layout instantly without dragging windows.

USE CASE 2

Switch between dedicated task workspaces instantly using only keyboard shortcuts with no animations.

USE CASE 3

Back up or share your entire window management setup by saving a single plain text configuration file.

What is it built with?

SwiftmacOS

How does it compare?

wesbos/aerospacealtuzar/sonicflowaonez/videotogif
Stars111
LanguageSwiftSwiftSwift
Last pushed2024-11-222016-09-27
MaintenanceStaleDormant
Setup difficultymoderateeasyeasy
Complexity3/52/52/5
Audiencedevelopergeneralgeneral

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you get it running?

Difficulty · moderate Time to first run · 30min

Requires installing a third-party app on macOS and learning keyboard-driven window management concepts.

No license is mentioned in the explanation, so the exact terms of use and distribution are unknown.

In plain English

AeroSpace is a tiling window manager for macOS. It automatically organizes your application windows so they fill your screen without overlapping, and you control everything primarily with keyboard shortcuts instead of dragging windows around with a mouse. It is inspired by a popular Linux tool called i3, bringing that same keyboard-driven workflow to Mac users. Instead of manually resizing and positioning windows, AeroSpace arranges them into a tree-like structure that splits your available screen space. You can quickly switch between different "workspaces" (think of them as dedicated screens for different tasks) without waiting for animations. Notably, it uses its own custom workspace system rather than the built-in macOS Spaces feature, because the native version has limitations that get in the way of fast, keyboard-centric work. This tool is built for advanced users and developers who want to navigate their computer entirely by keyboard. If you are a programmer who keeps a terminal, editor, and browser open at the same time, this lets you snap them into a clean grid instantly. You configure everything through a plain text file, which makes it easy to share your setup with others or back it up, rather than clicking through a preferences menu. The project has a clear philosophy: it favors practical, fast features over visual polish. It avoids animations and graphical configuration interfaces on purpose. It also avoids using "private" Apple APIs that could break during macOS updates, which is why it can offer powerful window management without requiring you to disable Apple's built-in security protections. It is currently in public beta, meaning it is usable for daily work but still under active development.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1
Help me write an AeroSpace config file that creates three workspaces: one for my terminal, one for my editor, and one for my browser, each with a specific keyboard shortcut to switch to them.
Prompt 2
Show me the AeroSpace keyboard shortcuts to split my screen into a 2x2 grid with four applications, then navigate between each pane.
Prompt 3
Explain how AeroSpace workspaces differ from the built-in macOS Spaces, and help me migrate my macOS Spaces setup into AeroSpace custom workspaces.

Frequently asked questions

What is aerospace?

AeroSpace is a tiling window manager for macOS that automatically arranges your windows side-by-side and lets you control them entirely with keyboard shortcuts, inspired by the popular Linux tool i3.

What language is aerospace written in?

Mainly Swift. The stack also includes Swift, macOS.

Is aerospace actively maintained?

Stale — no commits in 1-2 years (last push 2024-11-22).

What license does aerospace use?

No license is mentioned in the explanation, so the exact terms of use and distribution are unknown.

How hard is aerospace to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated moderate, with roughly 30min to a first successful run.

Who is aerospace for?

Mainly developer.

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