Both bring Niri-style scrolling to the Mac without SIP changes. OmniWM is free, open source and packed with features. The biggest practical difference is which version of macOS you're on.
If you're on macOS 26 Tahoe and want a free tool with lots of power features, pick OmniWM. It's open source, very actively developed, and gives you Niri-style scrolling or Dwindle for each workspace. If you're on macOS 13 Ventura, 14 Sonoma or 15 Sequoia, OmniWM won't run, and ChainYourMac is the scrolling option. It's also the choice if you want a focused, scrolling-only tool with a GUI and direct support from the developer.
Try it right here — this is a working model of ChainYourMac, not a video.
A working model of ChainYourMac, not a video. Drag a title bar to reorder, click a Dock icon to open an app, close a window with its red button. In the real app every key here is ⌥ plus the key.
Both are native macOS window managers that bring the Niri/PaperWM scrolling model to the Mac. Windows sit in columns on a horizontal strip, and new windows don't squeeze the old ones. Neither needs SIP changes. Both are Developer ID signed and notarized, both require Apple silicon, and both have a settings GUI and animations synced to your display's refresh rate. If you like one, you'll probably get along with the other.
OmniWM started in October 2025 and has moved fast: v0.7.0 shipped on 16 September 2026, and it has about 2,950 GitHub stars (as of September 2026). It's GPL-2.0 and promises "no subscriptions, feature paywalls, trial limits". Each workspace gets one of two layouts: Niri-style scrolling or Hyprland-style Dwindle (BSP).
It has a lot of features: a quake-style drop-down terminal (Ghostty), scratchpads, an overview, a command palette, "Menu Anywhere", tabbed containers, a workspace bar, a multi-monitor routing assistant, and the omniwmctl IPC/CLI. Settings live in a GUI (Hotkeys, Monitors, General) and in ~/.config/omniwm/settings.toml. Install with brew install --cask omniwm, from nixpkgs, or from a zip.
Its requirements: macOS 26 Tahoe or later on Apple silicon, the Accessibility and Input Monitoring permissions, and "Displays have separate Spaces" turned on (Screen Recording is optional). It uses "selected Apple private APIs".
ChainYourMac does one layout: an endless horizontal strip where opening a window never resizes the others. Inside that model it goes deep. You get stacks (several windows in one column, with stack, pop out and reorder), tabbed columns, width presets plus wider/narrower, full width, and centering of the focused column. It also has a strip minimap while you navigate, a 3- or 4-finger trackpad swipe that follows your fingers, drag-to-reorder by title bar, and a separate strip on each display.
It's a SwiftUI app with a Rust engine. Settings apply instantly in a GUI, and the shortcut recorder works on AZERTY, QWERTZ and Dvorak. There's also a TOML file you never have to touch, plus a chainyourmac CLI, a URL scheme and Raycast script commands. It runs on macOS 13 Ventura and later (Ventura, Sonoma, Sequoia and Tahoe) on Apple silicon and needs only the Accessibility permission. It's paid and not open source.
| OmniWM | ChainYourMac | |
|---|---|---|
| macOS | 26 Tahoe or later | 13 Ventura or later (13, 14, 15, 26) |
| Chip | Apple silicon | Apple silicon |
| Layouts | Niri-style scrolling or Dwindle, per workspace | Scrolling strip with stacks and tabbed columns |
| Config | Settings GUI + settings.toml | GUI, applies instantly (TOML optional) |
| Permissions | Accessibility + Input Monitoring; separate Spaces on | Accessibility |
| SIP changes | None | None |
| Notarized | Yes | Yes |
| CLI | omniwmctl | chainyourmac + URL scheme + Raycast |
| Extras | Quake terminal, scratchpads, overview, command palette, workspace bar | Strip minimap, session restore, per-app rules |
| Install | Homebrew cask, nixpkgs, zip | Notarized app download; automatic updates |
| Source | Open source, GPL-2.0 | Closed source |
| Price | Free | $9.99 one time, lifetime |
| Support | GitHub | Email the developer |
This decides it for most people. OmniWM needs Tahoe. If your Mac runs Ventura, Sonoma or Sequoia, because of work policy, an app that isn't ready for Tahoe, or plain preference, OmniWM isn't an option today. ChainYourMac supports macOS 13 and later.
OmniWM lets you run a scrolling workspace next to a Dwindle (BSP) workspace. If you sometimes want classic tiling, that's a real advantage. ChainYourMac is scrolling only. Stacks and tabbed columns give you vertical splits and grouping inside the strip, but there's no BSP mode. If "focused" sounds limiting rather than appealing, lean toward OmniWM.
A quake terminal, scratchpads, an overview and a command palette are OmniWM's territory, and ChainYourMac doesn't try to match that list. ChainYourMac puts its effort into the strip itself: stacks, tabs, widths, trackpad navigation, the minimap, and session restore that keeps column order, stacks and tabs across a restart.
OmniWM asks for Accessibility and Input Monitoring, and it needs "Displays have separate Spaces" switched on in System Settings. Screen Recording is optional. ChainYourMac asks only for Accessibility. Neither touches SIP, and both are notarized, so macOS opens them like any other app. OmniWM installs through Homebrew, nixpkgs or a zip. ChainYourMac updates itself automatically. If the ChainYourMac engine stops unexpectedly, the app shows you why and restarts it, and quitting brings every off-screen window back onto the screen.
OmniWM is free, and you can read and change the code. Support comes through GitHub. ChainYourMac is $9.99 one time for a lifetime license with free updates. If you need help, you email the developer directly.
Nehir is an "opinionated fork of OmniWM" that keeps only the scrolling (Niri-style columns) layout. It's GPL-2.0, at v0.5.1 with v0.6.0 release candidates (as of September 2026). It uses split TOML config in ~/.config/nehir/ plus a Settings window, and nehirctl. Install it with brew tap guria/tap && brew install --cask nehir. We haven't verified its minimum macOS or SIP requirements, so check the README.
omniwmctl.Still comparing? See the best scrolling window managers for Mac or AeroSpace alternatives.
OmniWM is a free, open-source (GPL-2.0) tiling window manager for macOS. Each workspace can use Niri-style scrolling or Hyprland-style Dwindle. It needs macOS 26 Tahoe or later on Apple silicon, and it doesn't require disabling SIP.
No. OmniWM requires macOS 26 Tahoe or later. If you're on macOS 13 Ventura, 14 Sonoma or 15 Sequoia, ChainYourMac gives you a scrolling layout on those versions (Apple silicon required).
Yes. It's free and open source, and the project explicitly promises no subscriptions, feature paywalls or trial limits. ChainYourMac is paid: a one-time lifetime license with free updates.
Nehir is an "opinionated fork of OmniWM" that keeps only the scrolling (Niri-style columns) layout. It's GPL-2.0, configured with TOML files in ~/.config/nehir/ plus a Settings window. Check its README for macOS version and permission requirements.
Neither does. Both are Developer ID signed and notarized. OmniWM asks for Accessibility and Input Monitoring and needs "Displays have separate Spaces" on. ChainYourMac asks for Accessibility.