People leave AeroSpace for one of three reasons. The emulated workspaces confuse Mission Control. The config is text-only. Or windows get too thin as the tree fills up. Each reason points to a different replacement, so start with yours:
- Workspaces bugged you: yabai or Amethyst. Both use real Spaces.
- You wanted a settings window: Amethyst (free), or one of the paid scrolling apps.
- Thin windows bugged you: a scrolling window manager. That's OmniWM, Paneru or PaperWM.spoon for free, or Ribbon (ours), Glidro or ChainYourMac paid.
- It was all too much: Rectangle or Loop, which just snap.
If you got here looking for AeroSpace itself, we wrote a straight guide to installing and using it: AeroSpace on Mac. Everything below was checked on 1 November 2026 against each project's own README or site.
First, what AeroSpace is today
- i3-like tree tiling (tiles and accordion layouts). MIT, free.
- Still labelled public beta: "expect breaking changes until 1.0". Latest tag v0.21.3-Beta (16 July 2026), marked as a prerelease.
- macOS 13+. No SIP changes, and it uses one private API (
_AXUIElementGetWindow). - Emulates its own workspaces instead of using native Spaces. Windows on inactive workspaces are parked off-screen in a corner.
- Configured in a TOML file. The README says AeroSpace "will never provide a GUI for configuration".
- Not notarized. You install it with
brew install --cask nikitabobko/tap/aerospace.
Source: AeroSpace README and guide.
The 10 alternatives at a glance
| # | Tool | Layout model | Native Spaces? | SIP change? | Config | macOS | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | yabai | BSP tiling | Yes | Optional, for extra features | CLI + shell (hotkeys via skhd) | 11+ Intel, 12+ Apple silicon | Free (MIT) |
| 2 | Amethyst | xmonad-style layouts | Yes | No | GUI + optional YAML | 10.15+ | Free (MIT) |
| 3 | OmniWM | Niri scrolling + Dwindle BSP | Own workspaces (1 Space per display recommended) | No | GUI + TOML | 26+, Apple silicon only | Free (GPL-2.0) |
| 4 | Paneru | Scrolling strip per monitor | Yes | No | TOML or Lua | Not stated | Free (MIT) |
| 5 | Nehir | Scrolling (niri columns) | Own workspaces with hotkeys; Spaces behaviour not stated | Not stated | TOML | Not stated | Free (GPL-2.0) |
| 6 | PaperWM.spoon | Scrolling, via Hammerspoon | Yes | No | Lua | Hammerspoon's | Free (MIT) |
| 7 | komorebi for Mac | Tiling (komorebi port) | See docs | No | Config file | See docs | Free for personal use; commercial $10/mo or $110/yr |
| 8 | Ribbon (ours) | Scrolling strip per display, stacks, tabs | Yes | No | GUI over a TOML file | 14+, Apple silicon | From $12 one-time |
| 9 | Glidro | Scrolling strip | See vendor | No | GUI | 13+, Apple silicon | $9.99 launch price, 1 Mac |
| 10 | ChainYourMac | Scrolling strip | See vendor | No | GUI | 13+, Apple silicon | From $19.99, 1 Mac |
Snappers (not tiling managers, but often what people actually need) are covered after the list: Rectangle and Loop.
1. yabai: the closest swap for power users
yabai is a BSP tiling manager driven from the command line. You pair it with skhd for hotkeys. It works with native Spaces and needs "Displays have separate Spaces" turned on. Everything basic works with SIP on. Moving windows between spaces, creating and destroying spaces, removing shadows, transparency, animations, scratchpads, layers, sticky windows and picture-in-picture need SIP partly disabled (yabai wiki). The repo has moved to asmvik/yabai. The latest release is v7.1.25 (May 2026).
Pick it if you like scripting and want native Spaces. Skip it if you hated AeroSpace's text config, because yabai is more of the same. Ribbon vs yabai goes deeper.
2. Amethyst: tiling with a settings window
Amethyst tiles automatically, xmonad-style, with layouts like Tall, Wide, Column, Row, Fullscreen, BSP and 3Column variants. It's free ("and always will be"), runs on macOS 10.15+, needs only Accessibility and has a real preferences window. An optional YAML file overrides it. Latest release v0.24.3 (April 2026). Source.
Pick it if you want automatic tiling without writing config. Skip it if your problem was thin windows. Amethyst still splits the screen. Ribbon vs Amethyst.
3. OmniWM: the maximal free option, Tahoe only
OmniWM offers niri-style scrolling and Hyprland-style dwindle tiling per workspace, plus an overview, a command palette, a Ghostty quake terminal, scratchpads and a workspace bar. It's free and GPL-2.0, signed and notarized. The catch is Apple silicon on macOS 26 or later only, and it needs Accessibility and Input Monitoring. Like AeroSpace, it prefers its own workspaces over native Spaces. v0.7.6 (October 2026). Source.
Pick it if you're on Tahoe and want everything. Skip it if you're on an older macOS or AeroSpace's workspace model was what bothered you. Ribbon vs OmniWM.
4. Paneru: a free scrolling strip with native Spaces
Paneru is a "sliding, tiling" niri-like manager: one strip per monitor, working with native macOS Spaces (it wants "Displays have separate Spaces" on) plus experimental virtual workspaces, configured in TOML or Lua, installed with Homebrew. MIT, v0.5.2 (October 2026). Its README doesn't state a minimum macOS. Source.
Pick it if you want scrolling for free and don't mind a config file. Disclosure: Ribbon's window engine is a fork of Paneru, so if you like Ribbon's behaviour but not its price, Paneru is the free route.
5. Nehir: another free niri-style option
Nehir lays windows out in niri-style columns, configured in TOML under ~/.config/nehir. GPL-2.0. The latest release is v0.5.1 (June 2026), with the last commit in August 2026. The minimum macOS isn't stated. Source.
Pick it if you like niri and want to try a younger project. Check how active it is before you rely on it.
6. PaperWM.spoon: scrolling inside Hammerspoon
If you already use Hammerspoon, PaperWM.spoon adds scrollable tiling in Lua. Swipe gestures are off until you set swipe_fingers. MIT, last commit 30 October 2026. Source.
Pick it if Hammerspoon is already part of your setup. Skip it if you want an app that works out of the box.
7. komorebi for Mac: for Windows komorebi users
LGUG2Z's komorebi now has a Mac port. It's source-available under the Komorebi licence, and commercial use needs a paid licence ($10 a month or $110 a year for Mac). v0.1.1 (May 2026), so it's early. Source.
Pick it if you use komorebi on Windows and want the same model on a Mac. Skip it if you need a mature tool, or you'd use it for work without buying a licence.
8. Ribbon: a scrolling strip that leaves macOS alone
Ribbon (our app) gives each display a horizontal strip of columns. New windows open beside the focused one, and ⌃⌥R steps a column through ¼, ⅓, ½, ⅔, ¾ and full. ⌃⌥S stacks a window into the column on its left, ⌃⌥T makes a tabbed column, and ⌃⌥1–9 jumps to a column. A three-finger swipe scrolls the strip, and so does Option + two-finger scroll. If you keep dotfiles, ~/.config/ribbon/ribbon.toml holds every setting, and the Settings window edits the same file. It uses Accessibility only, keeps SIP on, and works inside native macOS Spaces, so Mission Control behaves as usual. Quitting restores your windows' previous frames. It runs on macOS 14+ on Apple silicon, is signed and notarized, and is a one-time purchase from $12 for 1 Mac (founding price, then $17), $39 for 3 Macs or $59 for 5 (pricing). There's no free trial.
Pick it if AeroSpace's emulated workspaces or text config were the problem, and you want windows that keep their width. Skip it if you want BSP or i3 semantics, need it free, or are on an Intel Mac. AeroSpace's CLI can also query state, which ribbonctl can't. Ribbon vs AeroSpace covers the switch step by step.
9. Glidro
A paid scrolling window manager for macOS 13+ on Apple silicon. Version 1.0.0 is signed and notarized. A perpetual licence for 1 Mac costs $9.99 at launch (the listed regular price is $19.99). Default column widths are 25, 35, 65 and 75%, and a four-finger swipe is the default gesture. Source.
10. ChainYourMac
A paid scrolling window manager (a SwiftUI app with a Rust engine) for macOS 13+ on Apple silicon, notarized. One-time prices: $19.99 for 1 Mac, $49.99 for 3, $79.99 for 5 and $299.99 for 20. No refunds. Changelog at 2.4.5. Source.
Note: Glidro's and ChainYourMac's sites share most of their wording, and we haven't tested either app. We list them from their own published facts.
If you don't need tiling at all: Rectangle and Loop
Some people leave AeroSpace because automatic tiling was more than they needed. Rectangle (free, macOS 14+ for current builds, v2.0.4, Oct 2026) snaps windows to halves, thirds and corners with shortcuts or by dragging. Loop (free, GPL-3.0, macOS 13+) does the same from a radial menu.
Which alternative fixes your reason for leaving
| Why you're leaving AeroSpace | Look at |
|---|---|
| Emulated workspaces, windows parked off-screen, Mission Control confusion | Ribbon, Paneru, yabai, Amethyst (native Spaces) |
| No GUI, TOML only | Amethyst, Ribbon (GUI + TOML), Glidro, ChainYourMac, OmniWM (GUI + TOML) |
| Windows get thin as the tree fills | Any scrolling manager: Ribbon, OmniWM, Paneru, Nehir, PaperWM.spoon, Glidro, ChainYourMac |
| Beta status, breaking changes | Amethyst, Rectangle (long-running, stable releases) |
| Want more power, not less | yabai, OmniWM |
| Not notarized | Ribbon, OmniWM, Glidro, ChainYourMac (all signed and notarized, per their makers) |
How to switch without breaking your day
- Write down your five most-used AeroSpace bindings before you uninstall.
- Quit AeroSpace and remove it from login items. Running two tiling managers at once causes windows to fight.
- AeroSpace parks windows from inactive workspaces off-screen. Before you quit it, move the windows you care about onto the workspace you're looking at. If one is still missing afterwards, pick it from that app's Window menu or use the new manager's "gather" or "rescue" action if it has one.
- Turn off Stage Manager for any tiling manager.
- Give the new tool a full working day before you judge it.
Bottom line
AeroSpace is a good i3 port. If you want i3 without its compromises, look at yabai or Amethyst. If you want to stop splitting the screen at all, try a scrolling manager: OmniWM on Tahoe, Paneru for free with Spaces, or Ribbon for a paid app with a settings window that stays out of macOS's way.