PaperWM.spoon

Tiled scrollable window manager for MacOS. Inspired by PaperWM.

Spoon plugin for HammerSpoon MacOS automation app.

Demo

paperwm_spoon_demo.mp4

Installation

1. Clone to Hammerspoon Spoons directory: git clone https://github.com/mogenson/PaperWM.spoon ~/.hammerspoon/Spoons/PaperWM.spoon.

2. Open System Preferences -> Mission Control. Uncheck "Automatically rearrange Spaces based on most recent use" and check "Displays have separate Spaces".

Usage

Add the following to your ~/.hammerspoon/init.lua:

PaperWM = hs.loadSpoon("PaperWM")
PaperWM:bindHotkeys({
    -- switch to a new focused window in tiled grid
    focus_left  = {{"alt", "cmd"}, "left"},
    focus_right = {{"alt", "cmd"}, "right"},
    focus_up    = {{"alt", "cmd"}, "up"},
    focus_down  = {{"alt", "cmd"}, "down"},

    -- move windows around in tiled grid
    swap_left  = {{"alt", "cmd", "shift"}, "left"},
    swap_right = {{"alt", "cmd", "shift"}, "right"},
    swap_up    = {{"alt", "cmd", "shift"}, "up"},
    swap_down  = {{"alt", "cmd", "shift"}, "down"},

    -- position and resize focused window
    center_window        = {{"alt", "cmd"}, "c"},
    full_width           = {{"alt", "cmd"}, "f"},
    cycle_width          = {{"alt", "cmd"}, "r"},
    reverse_cycle_width  = {{"ctrl", "alt", "cmd"}, "r"},
    cycle_height         = {{"alt", "cmd", "shift"}, "r"},
    reverse_cycle_height = {{"ctrl", "alt", "cmd", "shift"}, "r"},

    -- move focused window into / out of a column
    slurp_in = {{"alt", "cmd"}, "i"},
    barf_out = {{"alt", "cmd"}, "o"},

    -- switch to a new Mission Control space
    switch_space_l = {{"alt", "cmd"}, ","},
    switch_space_r = {{"alt", "cmd"}, "."},
    switch_space_1 = {{"alt", "cmd"}, "1"},
    switch_space_2 = {{"alt", "cmd"}, "2"},
    switch_space_3 = {{"alt", "cmd"}, "3"},
    switch_space_4 = {{"alt", "cmd"}, "4"},
    switch_space_5 = {{"alt", "cmd"}, "5"},
    switch_space_6 = {{"alt", "cmd"}, "6"},
    switch_space_7 = {{"alt", "cmd"}, "7"},
    switch_space_8 = {{"alt", "cmd"}, "8"},
    switch_space_9 = {{"alt", "cmd"}, "9"},

    -- move focused window to a new space and tile
    move_window_1 = {{"alt", "cmd", "shift"}, "1"},
    move_window_2 = {{"alt", "cmd", "shift"}, "2"},
    move_window_3 = {{"alt", "cmd", "shift"}, "3"},
    move_window_4 = {{"alt", "cmd", "shift"}, "4"},
    move_window_5 = {{"alt", "cmd", "shift"}, "5"},
    move_window_6 = {{"alt", "cmd", "shift"}, "6"},
    move_window_7 = {{"alt", "cmd", "shift"}, "7"},
    move_window_8 = {{"alt", "cmd", "shift"}, "8"},
    move_window_9 = {{"alt", "cmd", "shift"}, "9"}
})
PaperWM:start()

Feel free to customize hotkeys or use PaperWM:bindHotkeys(PaperWM.default_hotkeys) for defaults. PaperWM actions are also available for manual keybinding via the PaperWM.actions table; for example, the following would enable navigation by either arrow keys or vim-style h/j/k/l directions:

PaperWM = hs.loadSpoon("PaperWM")
PaperWM:bindHotkeys(PaperWM.default_hotkeys)

hs.hotkey.bind({"ctrl", "alt", "cmd"}, "h", PaperWM.actions.focus_left)
hs.hotkey.bind({"ctrl", "alt", "cmd"}, "j", PaperWM.actions.focus_down)
hs.hotkey.bind({"ctrl", "alt", "cmd"}, "k", PaperWM.actions.focus_up)
hs.hotkey.bind({"ctrl", "alt", "cmd"}, "l", PaperWM.actions.focus_right)

hs.hotkey.bind({"ctrl", "alt", "cmd", "shift"}, "h", PaperWM.actions.swap_left)
hs.hotkey.bind({"ctrl", "alt", "cmd", "shift"}, "j", PaperWM.actions.swap_down)
hs.hotkey.bind({"ctrl", "alt", "cmd", "shift"}, "k", PaperWM.actions.swap_up)
hs.hotkey.bind({"ctrl", "alt", "cmd", "shift"}, "l", PaperWM.actions.swap_right)

PaperWM:start() will begin automatically tiling new and existing windows. PaperWM:stop() will release control over windows.

Set PaperWM.window_gap to the number of pixels to space between windows and the top and bottom screen edges.

Configure one or many PaperWM.window_filter:rejectApp("appName") to ignore specific applications. For example:

PaperWM.window_filter:rejectApp("iStat Menus Status")
PaperWM.window_filter:rejectApp("Finder")
PaperWM:start() -- restart for new window filter to take effect

Set PaperWM.window_ratios to the ratios to cycle window widths and heights through. For example:

PaperWM.window_ratios = { 0.23607, 0.38195, 0.61804 }

Limitations

MacOS does not allow a window to be moved fully off-screen. Windows that would be tiled off-screen are placed in a margin on the left and right edge of the screen. They are still visible and clickable.

It's difficult to detect when a window is dragged from one space or screen to another. Use the move_window_N commands to move windows between spaces and screens.

Arrange screens vertically to prevent windows from bleeding into other screens.

Add-ons

The following Spoons compliment PaperWM.spoon nicely.

• ActiveSpace.spoon Show active and layout of Mission Control spaces in the menu bar.
• Swipe.spoon Perform actions when trackpad swipe gestures are recognized. Here's an example config to change PaperWM.spoon focused window:

-- focus adjacent window with 3 finger swipe
local current_id, threshold
Swipe = hs.loadSpoon("Swipe")
Swipe:start(3, function(direction, distance, id)
    if id == current_id then
        if distance > threshold then
            threshold = math.huge -- trigger once per swipe

            -- use "natural" scrolling
            if direction == "left" then
                PaperWM.actions.focus_right()
            elseif direction == "right" then
                PaperWM.actions.focus_left()
            elseif direction == "up" then
                PaperWM.actions.focus_down()
            elseif direction == "down" then
                PaperWM.actions.focus_up()
            end
        end
    else
        current_id = id
        threshold = 0.2 -- swipe distance > 20% of trackpad size
    end
end)

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Here are a few preferences:

• Global variables are CamelCase (eg. PaperWM)
• Local variables are snake_case (eg. local focused_window)
• Function names are lowerCamelCase (eg. function windowEventHandler())
• Use <const> where possible
• Create a local copy when deeply nested members are used often (eg. local Watcher <const> = hs.uielement.watcher)

Code format checking and linting is provided by lua-language-server for commits and pull requests. Run lua-language-server --check=init.lua locally before commiting.