# ChainYourMac vs yabai: scrolling strip vs BSP tiling

Source: https://chainyourmac.com/chainyourmac-vs-yabai  
Updated: 2026-09-18 · Author: Ahmed Gagan (maker of ChainYourMac)

Looking for a **yabai alternative** that doesn't touch SIP? yabai is BSP grid tiling from the terminal. ChainYourMac is a scrolling strip that never reflows. They disagree about what a layout should do when a new window appears.

> **tl;dr:** [yabai](https://github.com/asmvik/yabai) is free, scriptable to an absurd degree, and the right choice if you love BSP grids and the terminal. Its tiling works with SIP on; only its extras (Spaces management, animations, opacity and so on) need SIP partially disabled. [ChainYourMac](https://chainyourmac.com/) ($9.99, one time) is the other model: windows keep the size you set on a [scrolling strip](https://chainyourmac.com/what-is-a-scrolling-window-manager), configured from a GUI, with no SIP changes for any feature.

## Looking for a yabai alternative?

Switch if you want animations and Spaces integration without touching SIP, don't want a `yabairc` + hotkey-daemon stack, or you're tired of every new window resizing the others. Stay on yabai if BSP grids and a queryable CLI are the whole point — ChainYourMac will not do that. It does a strip.

## What yabai is

[yabai](https://github.com/asmvik/yabai) (now at github.com/asmvik/yabai) is a free, open-source (MIT) tiling window manager driven entirely from the command line. It arranges windows in binary-space-partition layouts — each new window splits an existing region in half — with stack and float modes available too. Configuration is a `yabairc` script full of CLI commands, hotkeys aren't built in — most people use the companion tool [skhd](https://github.com/asmvik/skhd), and its query interface lets you script practically anything about your window state.

It's a genuinely impressive project, and for terminal-native users it's the deepest tiling toolkit on macOS. That depth has a price: there's no GUI at all, the learning curve is steep, and its changelog shows scripting-addition fixes landing for specific macOS releases.

Then there's the SIP question. yabai's core tiling works on a stock Mac, but its advanced features — creating, destroying and moving Spaces, window animations, opacity, shadows, sticky windows, picture-in-picture — require **partially disabling System Integrity Protection** so yabai can inject a scripting addition into Dock.app ([what works with SIP on](https://chainyourmac.com/yabai-without-sip)). Plenty of people do it happily; plenty of people are not willing to relax a security boundary for window management.

## What ChainYourMac is

[ChainYourMac](https://chainyourmac.com/) is a native macOS app (SwiftUI interface, Rust engine) built around a different model: the [endless horizontal strip](https://chainyourmac.com/what-is-a-scrolling-window-manager). Windows sit side by side at whatever size you give them; new windows slot in at the edge; you navigate by scrolling — a three- or four-finger swipe that follows your fingers, or [Vim-style Option shortcuts](https://chainyourmac.com/#shortcuts). Nothing ever reflows.

Everything is configured from a GUI that applies instantly — width presets, gaps, gestures, window rules and shortcut recording. It works with native macOS Spaces (each Space keeps its own strip), runs an independent strip per display, and requires only the standard Accessibility permission. **No SIP changes at any feature level, no config files, no companion tools.**

## The real difference: what happens when a window opens

This is the heart of it. In a BSP layout, screen space is a fixed pie: every new window takes a slice from an existing one, so your editor gets narrower as your day gets busier. That's not a yabai flaw — it's the BSP contract, and many people like the everything-always-visible discipline of it.

The strip makes the opposite trade. Your editor stays at the width you chose forever; new windows extend the strip past the screen edge instead of carving up what's visible. You see fewer windows at once and scroll between them — calm layouts, at the cost of the at-a-glance grid. Which contract you prefer is the whole decision.

## Day-to-day feel

The workflows differ as much as the layouts. Tuning yabai means editing `yabairc`, reloading, checking behavior, editing `skhd` for the matching hotkey, reloading again — a loop that terminal users find comfortable and everyone else finds like homework. Window animations are one of the features that need the SIP-disabled scripting addition, and that addition has to keep pace with macOS releases — part of the deal with any tool that reaches as deep as yabai does.

ChainYourMac's loop is: open the settings window, click the thing, watch it apply live. Rebinding a shortcut is [click the field and press the keys](https://chainyourmac.com/#shortcuts). Windows glide between positions with spring animation synced to your display's refresh rate, and the app is notarized and updates itself like any other Mac software. Neither approach is wrong — they're just built for different owners.

## ChainYourMac vs yabai, side by side

|  | yabai | ChainYourMac |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free, open source | $9.99 one time, lifetime |
| Layout model | BSP grid (+ stack, float) | Scrolling horizontal strip |
| New window opens | Splits a region; others resize | Slots in at the edge; nothing resizes |
| Configuration | yabairc script + skhd hotkeys | GUI settings, applied instantly |
| SIP changes | Tiling: none. Spaces management, animations, opacity, sticky windows: partial disable | Never |
| Animations | Needs SIP partially disabled | Yes — synced to display refresh |
| Multi-monitor | Yes | Yes — independent strip per display |
| macOS Spaces | Create/destroy/move Spaces needs SIP disable | Yes — native, per-Space strips |
| Scriptability | Exceptional — full query CLI | URL scheme, CLI and Raycast commands |
| Learning curve | Steep | Minutes |
| Support | Community / GitHub issues | Direct email from the developer |

## Which one should you pick?

### Choose yabai if…

- you live in the terminal and want to script every aspect of your window state;
- BSP grids are exactly the layout discipline you're after;
- free and open source matters more to you than convenience, and you're comfortable with the SIP trade-off for the full feature set.

### Choose ChainYourMac if…

- the thing you dislike about tiling is the reflow — you want windows to keep the sizes you set;
- you want animations and Spaces that just work, without disabling SIP;
- you want trackpad gestures, animations, and a [settings GUI](https://chainyourmac.com/#features) instead of a yabairc file;
- you'd rather spend an afternoon working than configuring.

No hard feelings either way — yabai is superb at being yabai. The question is whether you want a grid you can program or a strip that stays out of your way.

**Tiling automation. Zero SIP changes.** The scrolling strip, trackpad gestures, and GUI config — set up in two minutes on a stock Mac. Price and checkout: https://chainyourmac.com/#pricing (one-time purchase, lifetime license; macOS 13+ on Apple silicon).

## FAQ

### Does yabai need SIP disabled?

Not for its core tiling. yabai's basic BSP layouts work with just the Accessibility permission. Its advanced features — creating, destroying and moving Spaces, window animations, opacity, shadows, sticky windows and a few more — require partially disabling System Integrity Protection so yabai can load a scripting addition into Dock.app. [ChainYourMac](https://chainyourmac.com/) never touches SIP at any feature level. Details: [using yabai without disabling SIP](https://chainyourmac.com/yabai-without-sip).

### Is yabai free?

Yes — yabai is free and open source, and it's an excellent piece of engineering. Hotkeys usually come from the separate skhd tool, and configuration lives in a yabairc script. ChainYourMac is a paid native app: [$9.99 one time](https://chainyourmac.com/#pricing) for a lifetime license with free updates.

### Can ChainYourMac do BSP grid layouts like yabai?

No — and that's deliberate. ChainYourMac is built around the [scrolling strip model](https://chainyourmac.com/what-is-a-scrolling-window-manager), where windows keep their size and new windows never cause a reflow. If binary-space-partition grids are exactly what you want, yabai or [AeroSpace](https://chainyourmac.com/chainyourmac-vs-aerospace) are the better fit.

### Can I run yabai and ChainYourMac at the same time?

No — run one window manager at a time. Both continuously move and resize windows, so they'll fight over the same layout. Quit or disable one before starting the other.

### Does ChainYourMac work with macOS Spaces?

Yes, natively. Each macOS Space keeps its own independent strip, and no SIP changes are needed for it. yabai can also work with Spaces, but its deeper Space-management features are the part that requires the SIP-disabled scripting addition.

## Related

- [yabai without SIP](https://chainyourmac.com/yabai-without-sip) — What yabai does with SIP on, and the no-SIP alternatives.
- [ChainYourMac vs AeroSpace](https://chainyourmac.com/chainyourmac-vs-aerospace) — i3-style tree tiling vs the strip — and the Spaces question.
- [AeroSpace alternatives](https://chainyourmac.com/aerospace-alternatives) — Seven Mac window managers for people leaving AeroSpace.
- [Scrolling window managers, explained](https://chainyourmac.com/what-is-a-scrolling-window-manager) — The strip model, and how scrolling differs from tiling.