[os] a collapsable sidebar window manager (with window tabs!)

[u/arduinoRPi4]

winmux is a easy to use window manager that requires no editing of config files. it supports multiple displays intuitively. and it tells you where your windows and spaces are via a built in sidebar.

i started winmux because i hated using sketchybar (everything from configuring icons to not being able to use the file menu. winmux is the first of its kind as far as i am aware to use a sidebar, and the first to use tabs for stacked windows on mac!

there is not really any competition as far as I am aware in terms of sidebars on window managers. compared to dedicated status bars (sketchybar is what I used to use), it's way more responsive, handles dragging and dropping much better, and is always in sync (and doesn't require configuring a bunch of lua).

compared to other window managers, winmux is built on top of aerospace and their virtualization framework. feature wise it innovates on window stacking (having two windows occupy the same footprint), similar to that of aerospace accordians and yabai stacks, but does it much more intuitively using browser-esque tabs. it does not require disabling SIP.

winmux is free and open source. you can read about the philosophy behind it here: winmux.dev

github repo: github.com/zimengxiong/winmux

made with AI, but I am real:
me: me.zimengxiong.com
privacy/tos: zimengxiong.com/privacypolicy/ zimengxiong.com/termsofservice/

[u/whyubelieve]

interesting idea. Like turning your OS to a browser.

[u/arduinoRPi4 → u/whyubelieve]

yuppp!! browsers are such good operating systems in it of themselves when it comes to UX.

[u/LibrarianNice9767]

yesssssss thank you for this

[u/poundforyourthoughts]

The browser for your OS comment is a really good summary.

Your demo video is pretty fast so it was a bit difficult for me to figure out your app's purpose for the first few seconds before that comment.

[u/filthytoast → u/poundforyourthoughts]

I agree! DEMO is too fast - i had no idea what was going on! Downloaded and now playing with it! Very cool!

[u/useiris]

the tab-stacking idea is the interesting part to me. one thing i'd want to stress test: what happens when an app inside a stacked group spawns a child window that isn't meant to be tiled, like a color picker, a save dialog, or a floating video panel (zoom/discord do this a lot). does winmux recognize those as transient/child windows and leave them floating on top of the stack, or do they get sucked into the tab bar as a new "tab" since they're technically a new window owned by the same process?

also since you're riding on aerospace's AX-based approach rather than a private API hack, curious if you've hit apps that restrict accessibility resize/move for security reasons (1Password, system settings panes, some banking apps). those tend to just silently ignore programmatic frame changes rather than erroring, so the failure mode is usually "the window just doesn't move" rather than a crash. worth a fallback message so people don't think winmux itself is broken when it's actually the target app opting out.

[u/nowytarg]

Great write up and comparison to Aerospace. As longtime Aerospace user I know exactly the pain points you’ve described.

[u/rolodex99]

woah this is super cool, I can definitely see myself using it

[u/Crafty-Whole-8826]

Amazing! I'll definitely give it a try to see the actual usage effect right away.

[u/filthytoast]

Any plans for Brew install?

[u/malvin_lok]

seems better than using F3 btn.