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Amethyst

Automatic tiling window manager for macOS inspired by xmonad — keyboard-driven, multiple layouts.

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Our Verdict

Solid no-frills tiling for macOS if you want xmonad vibes without compiling yabai.

Pros

  • Free and open-source
  • Multiple tiling layouts out of the box
  • Keyboard-driven like xmonad
  • Lightweight with low resource use

Cons

  • No native Stage Manager integration
  • Limited config vs yabai or Hyprland
  • Requires Accessibility permissions
  • Minimal animations, utilitarian feel
Best for: macOS users coming from xmonad or i3 wanting simple keyboard-driven tiling Not for: Users who want polished animations or deep scripting control

When to Use Amethyst

Good fit if you need

  • Tiling layout for multi-window coding on macOS
  • Keyboard-driven window management without mouse usage
  • Auto-arranging browser + terminal + editor side by side
  • Custom space layouts for design vs. development work
  • Productivity boost for developers on large monitors

Lock-in Assessment

High 5/5
Lock-in Score
5/5

Amethyst Pricing

Pricing Model
free
Free Tier
Yes
Entry Price
Enterprise Available
No
Transparency Score

Beta — estimates may differ from actual pricing

1,000
1001K10K100K1M

Estimated Monthly Cost

$25

Estimated Annual Cost

$300

Estimates are approximate and may not reflect current pricing. Always check the official pricing page.

Project Health

C

Health Score

16.1k 517
Bus Factor

4

Last Commit

16 days

Release Freq

92d

Open Issues

278

Issue Response

6d

License

MIT

Last checked: 2026-04-21

Community Discussion

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