The macOS tiling setup that finally worked for me: AeroSpace + Karabiner

aerospace-tiling-window-manager

I’ve used different window setups over the years. On Linux I used bspwm earlier, then Hyprland, and now mostly Fedora with the COSMIC tiling mode. So I’m quite used to keyboard-driven workflows and structured layouts. That is something I always missed on macOS.

This setup is most useful when I work only on the laptop. With an external monitor, macOS is manageable. But on a single screen, tiling removes a lot of friction. Layouts stay clean, switching is faster, and I use the trackpad much less.

What I tried before

I didn’t land on the current setup directly. I tried a few options:

Rectangle was simple, but a bit limited for my use. I tried it around 4 or 5 years ago and don’t remember all the details now, but I think things like assigning apps to specific workspaces were missing. Amethyst and Yabai worked better for me, and I used each of them for at least 6 months or more. Yabai in particular was quite close to what I wanted, but the setup was more involved, and it didn’t always survive restarts or macOS upgrades cleanly. So I kept falling back to default macOS behavior.

Aerospace

Aerospace is the first one that stayed. Not because it does everything, but because it does the basics in a reliable way.

Even with Aerospace, things didn’t feel right initially. Workspaces moved around, focus jumped between screens, and apps opened in places I didn’t expect. That turned out to be macOS, not Aerospace.

The settings that made it usable

These settings made the biggest difference. Mission Control

System Settings → Desktop & Dock:

Automatically rearrange Spaces → OFF
When switching to an application, switch to a Space → OFF
Group windows by application → OFF
Displays have separate Spaces → ON

After this, workspaces behave in a stable and predictable way.

Also:

Privacy & Security → Accessibility

Aerospace must be enabled

Without that, window movement and focus control don’t work properly.

My Aerospace setup

I kept it minimal and only use what I actually need day to day.

alt + h/j/k/l → focus
alt + shift + h/j/k/l → move windows

This matches my usual muscle memory, so there was nothing new to learn.

Workspaces

alt + 1..6 → main workspaces
alt + t → terminal
alt + s → slack

And moving windows:

alt + shift + key → send window

Automatic placement

This removes a lot of small decisions.

slack → workspace S
brave → workspace B
kitty → workspace T

Apps open where I expect them, which makes a bigger difference than it sounds.

App shortcuts using Karabiner

I use this small FOSS tool Karabiner-Elements to launch my most used apps with simple key shortcuts:

o + s → Slack
o + b → Brave
o + c → ChatGPT
o + t → Terminal

Stability

This is the main reason I kept it. Aerospace is still in public beta, but in my experience it has been more stable than the other setups I tried. I’ve been using it for around two years now. It survived restarts and multiple macOS upgrades without any extra fixes.