# ChainYourMac — The Scrolling Window Manager for macOS

> Your windows sit side by side on an endless horizontal strip. Opening a new app never squashes the others — you just scroll. Like PaperWM or Niri, but native to the Mac.

- **Website:** https://chainyourmac.com
- **Download / buy:** https://chainyourmac.com/buy ($19.99 one-time)
- **Requires:** macOS 13 Ventura or later, Apple silicon (M1 or newer)
- **Version:** 2.3
- **Stack:** native SwiftUI app + Rust engine (no Electron)

## How it works

1. **Open** — new windows slot in at the edge of the strip. Nothing else moves or resizes.
2. **Scroll** — swipe the trackpad or press a shortcut; the strip glides on a vsync-locked spring animation that starts the instant you press the key.
3. **Flow** — widths you set are widths that stay. Stack windows into columns; each display and each Space keeps its own strip.

## Features

- Endless horizontal window strip — new windows open next to the focused one and never resize existing ones
- Stacks: several windows in one column; move windows between columns in both directions, reorder inside a stack, resize heights
- Tabbed columns, with a tab bar
- Preset widths, plus wider / narrower, full width and center
- Gaps between windows and at screen edges; Dock-aware sizing
- Center-focused-column modes: never / on overflow / always
- Optional focus border and dim-inactive-windows (both off by default)
- Strip indicator with app icons while navigating: hold Ctrl+Option to keep it up, click a tile to jump, drag a tile to reorder
- Pin a column to the left or right screen edge (Ctrl+Option+P / Ctrl+Option+Shift+P) while the rest of the strip scrolls
- Native macOS window tabs (Finder, Terminal…) take one column
- Dialogs, Quick Look and image previews float automatically
- Optional Keep Original Height: windows keep the height they opened with
- Recovers on its own after sleep, screen lock and display wake
- 3- or 4-finger trackpad swipe that follows your fingers
- Drag a window onto another column to reorder
- Multi-monitor: independent strip per display; windows snap flush to the edge instead of spilling onto the neighbouring screen
- Per-display switch: turn ChainYourMac off for any display (Configuration → Displays); windows there stay exactly where you put them
- macOS Spaces integration
- Session restore: column order and stacks survive restarts, without a reshuffle
- Launch at login and auto-start
- Per-app window rules (float, fixed slot), made with an app picker
- Fixed-size windows (like Calculator) and ChainYourMac's own settings float automatically
- Background apps that pop up a window don't steal focus or scroll the strip
- Optional focus follows mouse and mouse follows focus (both off by default)
- Guided first run that teaches the strip and the five essential shortcuts
- Mac Setup checks macOS settings and warns when another window manager or snapping app (Rectangle, Magnet, OneMenu…) is running
- Every shortcut rebindable, with multiple bindings per action
- Full GUI configuration; settings apply instantly — no Save button, no config files
- `chainyourmac://` URL scheme, Raycast script commands and a CLI
- Automatic updates (Sparkle); engine log and self-healing restart
- Leaves macOS native fullscreen windows alone

## Default shortcuts

All defaults use Control+Option (⌃⌥). Plain Option is left alone because macOS uses it for text editing (Option+arrows jump by word, Option+letter types characters like ç and ®).

- Move focus: Ctrl+Option+H / J / K / L, or Ctrl+Option+arrow keys
- Focus the first / last window: Ctrl+Option+Cmd+Left / Right
- Jump to the window at place 1–8 in the strip, or 9 for the last (like browser tabs): Ctrl+Option+1 … 9; add Shift to move the focused window there
- Move the window: Ctrl+Option+Shift+H / J / K / L, or Ctrl+Option+Shift+arrow keys
- Move the window to the first / last spot: Ctrl+Option+Cmd+Shift+Left / Right
- Cycle width: Ctrl+Option+R
- Full width: Ctrl+Option+F
- Center column: Ctrl+Option+C
- Wider / narrower: Ctrl+Option+= / Ctrl+Option+-
- Taller / shorter (in a stack): Ctrl+Option+Shift+= / Ctrl+Option+Shift+-
- Equalize heights: Ctrl+Option+0
- Stack into the left column: Ctrl+Option+]
- Stack into the right column: Ctrl+Option+[
- Pop out of the stack (to the right): Ctrl+Option+Shift+]
- Pop out to the left: Ctrl+Option+Shift+[
- Tabbed column: Ctrl+Option+Shift+T
- Float / unfloat: Ctrl+Option+T
- Send the window to the next display: Ctrl+Option+N
- Pin to the left / right edge: Ctrl+Option+P / Ctrl+Option+Shift+P
- Stop the window manager: Ctrl+Option+Q
- Trackpad: a 3- or 4-finger swipe scrolls the strip

These are the defaults for fresh installs of 2.1 and later. Users upgrading from an earlier version keep their own shortcuts, and the app's Shortcuts page can switch them to the new set in one click. The shortcut recorder works on non-US layouts (AZERTY, QWERTZ, Dvorak).

## Pricing

| Tier | Price |
|---|---|
| 1 Mac | $19.99 |
| 3 Macs | $49.99 |
| 5 Macs | $79.99 |
| 20 Macs | $299.99 |

One-time purchase, lifetime license, free updates. All sales are final (no refunds). Buy: https://chainyourmac.com/buy

## Guides & comparisons

- [PaperWM for Mac](https://chainyourmac.com/paperwm-for-mac)
- [Niri for Mac](https://chainyourmac.com/niri-for-mac)
- [What is a scrolling window manager?](https://chainyourmac.com/what-is-a-scrolling-window-manager)
- [Best scrolling window managers for Mac](https://chainyourmac.com/best-scrolling-window-managers-for-mac)
- [vs yabai](https://chainyourmac.com/chainyourmac-vs-yabai) · [vs AeroSpace](https://chainyourmac.com/chainyourmac-vs-aerospace) · [vs Amethyst](https://chainyourmac.com/chainyourmac-vs-amethyst) · [vs Rectangle](https://chainyourmac.com/chainyourmac-vs-rectangle)

## Links

- [Home](https://chainyourmac.com/)
- [FAQ](https://chainyourmac.com/#faq)
- [Setup guide: permissions, trackpad gestures, macOS settings](https://chainyourmac.com/setup)
- [Privacy policy](https://chainyourmac.com/privacy)
- [Terms of use](https://chainyourmac.com/terms)
- [LLM summary](https://chainyourmac.com/llms.txt) · [Full content](https://chainyourmac.com/llms-full.txt) · [AI permissions](https://chainyourmac.com/ai.txt)

Support: adgan.business@gmail.com · Made by [Ahmed Gagan](https://x.com/ahmedgagan11)