Code
Terminal
Logs
Docs
Safari
Stacks
Put two or three related windows in one column, like a terminal above its logs. Pull a window into the column beside it, pop it back out, and change each row's height.
⌃⌥SStack⌃⌥DPop out
NewLanesMac 1.0 is here
All your windows, side by side.
LanesMac is a scrolling window manager for macOS. Open as many apps as you like. Nothing shrinks, nothing overlaps. Just swipe to the one you need.
Free for 24 hours, then $19 once. macOS 13 Ventura or later.
TerminalFileEditViewWindowHelp
4 of 5Thu 9:41Safari
lanesmac.com
Download Free
Code
Notes
Terminal
~/project > git status
On branch main
nothing to commit
~/project > cargo test
running 42 tests
test result: ok
~/project >
Chat
LanesMac Strip active · Column 3 of 4
In the app, every shortcut above starts with ⌃ ⌥ (Control + Option). In this demo, press the key on its own, click a button, swipe sideways on your trackpad, or press and drag the desktop. You can also drag a title bar to reorder windows and click a Dock icon to open an app.
- Notarized by Apple
- Signed with Developer ID
- No account, no analytics
- Accessibility is the only permission
- Automatic updates
How it works
Other tilers divide your screen. LanesMac extends it.
A grid tiler fits every window into the same rectangle, so each app you open makes the others narrower. In LanesMac, every window is a column on one long horizontal strip, and your display is a window onto part of it. Open something new and the strip simply grows.
Grid tiling
Each new app cuts the screen into thinner slices.
Code
Safari
Terminal
LanesMac
The strip grows longer. No window gets smaller.
Code
Safari
Terminal
3 windows open. A grid gives each one a third of the screen. On the strip, every window still gets half.
01
New windows open beside you
Launch an app and its window takes the next spot on the strip, right after the one you were working in. It never lands on top of something else.
02
The strip comes to you
Press a key or swipe the trackpad and the strip glides until the window you want is in view. It moves only as far as it needs to.
03
Tomorrow looks like today
Your columns, widths and stacks are restored after a restart, and each display keeps its own strip, so your setup is where you left it.
Features
The ideas of PaperWM and niri, made for the Mac.
If you've used a scrolling window manager on Linux, you already know how this works. LanesMac adds what you expect from a Mac app: a real settings window instead of a config file, trackpad gestures, and no need to disable System Integrity Protection.
Safari
CodeTerminalLogs
Notes
Mail
Tabbed columns
When every window in a column needs the full height, switch the stack to tabs. A slim tab bar shows what's inside, and one key switches it back.
⌃⌥⇧TTabs / stack
Mail
Code
Notes
25%33%50%66%75%
Widths that stay put
Cycle a window through 25, 33, 50, 66 and 75 percent, or nudge it wider and narrower. Whatever width you pick, it keeps when new windows open.
⌃⌥RCycle width⌃⌥CCentre
Chat
Code
Safari
Terminal
Docs
Pinned columns
Keep chat, music or a dashboard fixed to the left or right edge of the screen while the rest of the strip scrolls past it. Press the same key again to unpin.
⌃⌥PPin left⌃⌥⇧PPin right
Mail
Music
Chat
MacBook
Code
Safari
Terminal
External display
A strip for every display
Each monitor gets its own strip, focus and scroll position. Scroll your laptop without moving your external display, and send a window across with one shortcut.
⌃⌥NNext display
Safari
Code
Terminal
Notes
Chat
Mail
Swipe to move
Swipe sideways on the trackpad and the strip follows your fingers, then settles on the nearest window. Hold ⌥ to scroll inside an app instead, or turn on three- and four-finger swipes in Settings.
term
Code
Safari
Terminal
Notes
Mail
Chat
Figma
Music
Search and overview
Type a few letters to jump to any open window, or zoom out to see the whole strip at once and pick one. Windows 1 to 9 are a single shortcut away.
⌃⌥SpaceSearch⌃⌥OOverview
❯ lanesmac focus --column 4
❯ lanesmac workspace load ~/client.json
Restored 6 columns on 2 displays
❯ npm test && lanesmac notify --status success
❯ open "lanesmac://focus?app=Safari"
Scriptable
The lanesmac command-line tool and lanesmac:// links let you focus windows, save and load layouts, and flag a column when a long job finishes. They work from Raycast, Alfred or any shell script.
And the small things.
- Opens beside you
- A new window lands next to the one you're using, never on top of it.
- Session restore
- Column order, widths and stacks come back after you log out or restart.
- Saved layouts
- Export a workspace to a JSON file and load it again for the next project.
- Per-app rules
- Always float an app, or give it a default width when it opens.
- Float any window
- Take a window off the strip with ⌃⌥T, and put it back the same way.
- Gaps and the Dock
- Set the space between windows down to zero. Windows stop above the Dock.
- Focus border and dimming
- An optional outline for the focused window and a gentle dim for the rest.
- Menu bar position
- A small indicator shows where you are on the strip, like “3 of 8”.
- Stubborn apps handled
- If an app refuses to shrink into a stack, it stays beside it and LanesMac tells you why.
- Drag to rearrange
- Drag a title bar to move a window along the strip, or sideways out of its stack.
- Drag to resize
- Pull a window's edge to resize it, and the column keeps the new width.
- Clean quit
- Quit LanesMac and every window goes back to where it started.
Keyboard
Everything is one shortcut away.
Every default starts with ⌃⌥ Control and Option, which leaves plain ⌥ free for typing accented characters and jumping by word. Arrow keys and Vim keys both work, and you can rebind any of them.
Move focus
- Focus left / right⌃⌥←/→or H / L
- Focus up / down in a stack⌃⌥↑/↓or K / J
- Focus the first / last window⌃⌥⌘←/→
- Jump to window 1 to 9⌃⌥1…9
- Search windows⌃⌥Space
- Overview of all windows⌃⌥O
Move windows
- Move the window left / right⌃⌥⇧←/→or H / L
- Move the window up / down in its stack⌃⌥⇧↑/↓or K / J
- Send to the next display⌃⌥N
- Pin to the left edge (press again to unpin)⌃⌥P
- Pin to the right edge (press again to unpin)⌃⌥⇧P
- Float / tile again⌃⌥T
Size
- Cycle width (25 / 33 / 50 / 66 / 75%)⌃⌥R
- Wider / narrower⌃⌥=/-
- Taller / shorter (in a stack)⌃⌥⇧=/-
- Even heights in a stack⌃⌥E
- Centre the window⌃⌥C
- macOS full screen / back⌃⌥F
Stacks and tabs
- Stack: join the column on the left, then add the next window (up to three)⌃⌥S
- Pop out of the stack⌃⌥D
- Stack into the left / right column⌃⌥[/]
- Pop out to the left / right⌃⌥⇧[/]
- Tabbed column / back⌃⌥⇧T
Trackpad and mouse
- Two-finger swipe sideways
- Scroll the strip. Hold ⌥ to scroll inside the app instead.
- Three- or four-finger swipe
- Also scrolls the strip, once you turn it on in Settings > Motion.
- Drag a title bar
- Move the window to another place in the strip, or drag it sideways out of its stack.
- Drag a window's edge
- Resize it. The column keeps the new width.
Need a break? ⌃⌥Q pauses LanesMac and resumes it again.
Full shortcut referenceBuilt for macOS
A proper Mac app, not a config file.
LanesMac lives in your menu bar, and everything is set up in a regular settings window, from gaps and widths to every shortcut. There is nothing to compile and no dotfile to learn.
It asks for one permission, Accessibility, because that is the only way macOS lets any app move windows. It doesn't touch System Integrity Protection, and it never sends your data anywhere.
- Requires
- macOS 13 Ventura or later
- Runs on
- Apple silicon and Intel Macs, natively
- Security
- Signed with Developer ID and notarized by Apple
- Permissions
- Accessibility only
- Privacy
- No account, no analytics, no tracking
- Updates
- Delivered automatically through Sparkle
- License
- $19 once, for one Mac
Pricing
Buy it once. It's yours.
No subscription and no account. One license for one Mac, yours to keep.
Lifetime license · 1 Mac
$19
One-time purchase. No subscription.
- Everything in LanesMac 1.0: the scrolling strip, stacks, tabbed columns, pinned columns, trackpad swipes and multiple displays
- Free updates for every 1.x release, installed automatically
- Works offline, no account needed
- Email support from the people who build it
Requires macOS 13 Ventura or later on Apple silicon or Intel.
All sales are final: no refunds (terms). Please check the requirements first.
Common questions.
What is a scrolling window manager?
Instead of piling windows on top of each other, or slicing the screen into smaller and smaller tiles, a scrolling window manager places every window in one row of full-height columns. Your display shows a part of that row, and moving focus slides the row to the window you want. Linux users know the idea from PaperWM and niri. LanesMac brings it to the Mac.
How is it different from Rectangle, Magnet, yabai or AeroSpace?
Rectangle and Magnet snap a window into a half or a third when you ask them to, but everything else still overlaps. yabai and AeroSpace tile automatically, but every new window splits the same screen again. LanesMac tiles automatically and lets each window keep its width. Extra windows simply wait off to the side until you scroll to them.
Which Macs and macOS versions are supported?
LanesMac requires macOS 13 Ventura or later. It is a universal app that runs natively on Apple silicon and Intel Macs.
Why does LanesMac need the Accessibility permission?
macOS only lets an app move and resize other apps' windows through the Accessibility API. Every window manager on the Mac needs it for that reason. It is the only permission LanesMac asks for, and you can turn it off at any time in System Settings > Privacy & Security > Accessibility.
Does it work with more than one display?
Yes. Every display gets a strip of its own, with its own focus and scroll position, so scrolling on your laptop never moves the windows on your external monitor. Press ⌃⌥N to send the focused window to the next display.
Do I need to quit my other window tools?
Yes. Two window managers moving the same windows will fight each other, and their shortcuts may clash. Quit Rectangle, Magnet, yabai, Amethyst or AeroSpace before you start LanesMac. If a few apps should never tile, float them with ⌃⌥T or add a per-app rule in Settings.
How does the free trial work?
Download LanesMac and every feature works for 24 hours, with no account or credit card. When the trial ends, tiling pauses until you enter a license key. Your windows go back to normal in the meantime.
Can I use my license on more than one Mac?
Each license activates LanesMac on one Mac. To use it on another Mac, that Mac needs its own license. The free trial works on any Mac, so you can try it there first.
Still curious? Read the full FAQ or contact support.
Stop arranging windows. Start working.
Download LanesMac and give the strip a day. Every feature is unlocked during the trial.
macOS 13 Ventura or later · Apple silicon and Intel Macs