ChainYourMac vs AeroSpace: two takes on Mac tiling

What AeroSpace is

AeroSpace is a free, open-source tiling window manager inspired by i3. Windows are arranged in a tree of splits — vertical and horizontal containers you can nest, resize, and navigate with keybindings. It's configured through a TOML file (~/.aerospace.toml), driven by the keyboard and a CLI, and it's one of the most actively developed window managers on macOS. For Linux expats who miss i3 or sway, it's the closest thing the Mac has — and it needs no SIP changes.

Its boldest design decision is workspaces: AeroSpace implements its own virtual workspace system and bypasses macOS Spaces entirely. Switching workspaces is instant — no Mission Control animation — because windows on hidden workspaces are simply parked out of sight in a corner of a hidden area. It works remarkably well, but your windows live in AeroSpace's world: Mission Control, native full-screen behavior, and the macOS Spaces you already use don't map onto it.

What ChainYourMac is

ChainYourMac is a native macOS app (SwiftUI + a Rust engine) built on the scrolling-strip model instead of a tree: windows sit side by side on an endless horizontal strip at whatever size you give them, new windows slot in at the edge, and you navigate by scrolling — trackpad swipes with momentum or vim-style shortcuts, with 120 fps spring animations.

Where AeroSpace replaces Spaces, ChainYourMac embraces them: each native macOS Space keeps its own independent strip, and so does each display. Everything is configured from a GUI with live reload — no TOML, no CLI required.

Tree vs strip: the layout question

An i3-style tree is a power tool: you decide where each split goes and build exactly the grid you want. The cost is that space is finite — windows share the screen, so adding one to a container squeezes the others, and deep trees take skill to manage.

The strip refuses to squeeze. Every window keeps its width forever; the strip just gets longer and you scroll. You lose the see-everything grid, and gain layouts that never degrade as the day gets messy. Neither is objectively right — it's i3 discipline versus scrolling calm.

The workspaces question

This one matters more than people expect. If you love macOS Spaces — three-finger swipes between them, Mission Control, one Space per project — AeroSpace asks you to give that up for its own (faster) system. ChainYourMac layers onto what macOS already does: your Spaces stay your Spaces, each with its own strip. If you've never liked Spaces, AeroSpace's instant switching may genuinely be the better model for you.

Day-to-day feel

Living with AeroSpace means living in ~/.aerospace.toml: keybindings, workspace assignments, and window rules are all text you write, and the CLI answers anything you can't bind. That's a feature for its audience — the config is versionable, portable, and exact. Movement is instant and mostly unanimated, which i3 veterans consider correct behavior.

ChainYourMac trades the text layer for a settings window with live reload: width presets, focus behavior, gestures, and shortcut recording are all clickable, and windows glide with 120 fps spring animations instead of jumping. Both are light on system resources; the difference is whether configuring your window manager should feel like maintaining a dotfile or adjusting System Settings.

ChainYourMac vs AeroSpace, side by side

Which one should you pick?

Choose AeroSpace if…

• you come from i3 or sway and want that exact mental model on macOS;
• instant workspace switching matters more to you than native Spaces integration;
• free, open source, and keyboard-everything is your happy place, and TOML config feels like home.

Choose ChainYourMac if…

• you want your windows to keep the sizes you set — no tree, no squeezing;
• you like macOS Spaces and want a manager that works with them, not around them;
• you navigate by trackpad as much as keyboard and want gestures with real momentum;
• you'd rather adjust a settings panel than maintain a config file.

AeroSpace is the best i3 on a Mac. ChainYourMac isn't trying to be i3 at all — it's trying to make window management something you stop thinking about.

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