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
Why KiwiDesk?
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 →
Installation
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.
Building from source
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
Contributing
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.
License
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.
