Flat arrays, not trees
Every space is a flat window list. Layouts are pure functions over that array — no tree surgery, ever.
For everyone with a Mac
Your windows, tidy — all on their own
KiwiDesk arranges your open windows into a neat layout, automatically. No more dragging corners or hunting for that one hidden window. Just a calm, tidy screen. Simple to start — with room to grow when you are.
🥝 Public beta — available nowThe tiling window manager for macOS that just works
Tiling that thinks in flat arrays
KiwiDesk manages windows in flat arrays, not i3-style trees — fully Lua-configurable, with seven layouts to switch between. And it never disables SIP.
🥝 Public beta — available now“Tiling managers were always a nerd's toy. I wanted to make them intuitive for everyone – it should just work, like that.”
“A window manager that works with you — not one you have to tell how to work.”
New here? Start here
What is KiwiDesk, really?
You know the mess: a dozen windows overlapping, half of them hidden, and you spend your day nudging them around. KiwiDesk does that nudging for you. Open a window and it slots neatly into place beside the others — tidy, edge to edge, no gaps you didn’t ask for.
Learn the basicsMeet the kiwi
Watch your windows tidy themselves
Ten playful seconds with our mascot, happily arranging a screenful of windows into place — the KiwiDesk way, just with a little extra charm.
Click to play — 10 seconds 🥝
“Fair warning: it's about as oddly satisfying as watching kiwis stack kiwis. You'll open windows on purpose, just to watch them snap into place.”
How it works
Three steps to a calmer screen
No setup rituals, no manuals. It just starts helping.
Open your windows
Work like you always do — open apps, browse, write. Nothing new to learn.
They arrange themselves
Each window slides into a tidy spot automatically. Every window visible, nothing buried.
Stay in the flow
A tap of a key nudges the layout when you want. Otherwise, it just stays neat while you focus.
Why it feels better
A calmer way to work
Without KiwiDesk
Windows pile up and overlap. You drag, resize, and hunt for the one you need — again and again.
With KiwiDesk
Everything has a place. Your screen stays tidy on its own, so your attention stays on your work.
- Windows fall into place automatically
- Nothing hides behind other windows
- Feels native — built for macOS, top to bottom
- Works out of the box — configurable if you want
“I built KiwiDesk because I wanted to show my friends how good it feels to never tidy your windows again — calm, effortless, and honestly kind of fun.”
Why KiwiDesk
Built around one idea, done well
A flat, one-dimensional window model — and everything fast, scriptable, and safe that falls out of it.
Seven layouts
bsp, stack, scrolling (PaperWM), monocle, grid, track, and floating. Switch between them instantly.
Lua configuration
A sandboxed Lua 5.5 VM reads ~/.config/KiwiDesk/init.lua. A broken config can’t freeze your windows — a 500 ms watchdog guards it.
CLI + socket IPC
Script everything. Stream events to SketchyBar, JankyBorders, or your own tools over a socket.
Smooth animations
One display link per monitor, so mixed 60 / 120 Hz setups each animate at their own native cadence.
No SIP disabling
User-space only. Modal keybindings run through Carbon — no Input Monitoring permission, no keylogger.
“Even though I'm perfectly comfortable in the terminal, I got tired of having to constantly track container nesting just to arrange my windows the way I want. KiwiDesk keeps everything flat. No unnecessary overhead, no distractions: just pure focus on my projects.”
The seven layouts
One key away, each time
Every layout is a pure function over the same flat array — so switching is instant and predictable.
BSP
Binary space partitioning, square-ish splits.
Stack
A master zone beside a stack column.
Scrolling
Niri / PaperWM horizontal columns.
Monocle
Focused window maximized, rest behind.
Grid
Dynamic or rigid rows × columns.
Track
Columns or rows; every resize has one true target.
Floating
The macOS default, left untouched.
Configuration
Script it in Lua
Prefer text to sliders? Drop real Lua into ~/.config/KiwiDesk/init.lua and it takes over — layouts, gaps, keybindings, all as code, running in a sandboxed Lua 5.5 VM behind a 500 ms watchdog so a typo can never freeze your windows.
-- ~/.config/KiwiDesk/init.lua
KiwiDesk.set_gap_global(10)
KiwiDesk.set_mode("music", "floating")
-- one flat array per space, tidy by default
KiwiDesk.bind("cmd+alt+left", function()
KiwiDesk.focus("left")
end)Command line
Drive it from the terminal
Every action is a command. Bind them to keys, script them, or stream live events over a Unix socket into SketchyBar, JankyBorders, or your own tools.
“The day my window manager became scriptable, my desktop started running itself. I haven't dragged a window since.”
$ kiwidesk set_mode monocle
$ kiwidesk focus left
$ kiwidesk get_state
# stream live events (feed SketchyBar, your own tools…)
$ kiwidesk subscribe space_changeQuick start
Install KiwiDesk
KiwiDesk is in public beta. Install it with Homebrew — one command, and the kiwidesk CLI comes with it. Homebrew also keeps it current with brew upgrade. A signed, notarized download follows once the app can update itself, so a direct download is never a dead end.
Read the DocsRequires macOS 14 or later.
$ brew install --cask kiwicanopy/tap/kiwidesk
# the kiwidesk CLI lands on your PATH tooOr build it from source
$ git clone https://github.com/KiwiCanopy/KiwiDesk.git
$ cd KiwiDesk
$ swift build -c release
# for contributors — Homebrew is the easy pathReady when you are
Give your screen a little peace
KiwiDesk is out in public beta — you can install it today with Homebrew, which keeps it current with brew upgrade. A signed direct download follows once the app can update itself.
Support on Ko-fi“They say an apple a day — but the kiwi's got more vitamins and bigger plans... 🥝”
Made for macOS 14 and later.