Window management on mac

When I was using Linux, I really enjoyed using the Xmonad app. It's a good window manager for Linux. Generally speaking, it helps to manage windows without using a mouse as much as possible.

Now, I'm using Mac on a regular basis, and since Xmonad can only be used on Linux, I had to find a window manager app that can be used on Mac in the same way. And there is such an application it's called Amethyst.

Amethyst

Installing Amethyst

The setup is pretty straightforward. First, we need to install it using the Homebrew package manager, with the following command:

brew install --cask amethyst

Setup Amethyst in macOS system

Before we move any further, we need to update a few more configurations in our system. I'm using the macOS Sonoma.

We need to give Amethyst permission to use the accessibility API. To do this open System settings, Privacy & Security, Accessibility, and add Amethyst to the list.

In order for keyboard navigation between Spaces not to be unpredictable. Open System settings, Desktop & Dock and at the bottom you'll find Mission control section. Here you should turn off Automatically rearrange Spaces based on most recent use.

Important to note that after configuring the Amethyst, you might have a conflict with PrintScreen hotkeys. To resolve these conflicts open System settings, Keyboard, Keyboard Shortcuts, and choose your hotkeys.

Configuring Amethyst

Config file can be located at:

• ~/.amethyst.yml
• ~/.config/amethyst/.amethyst.yml

Here is my ~/.amethyst.yml:

focus-ccw:
  mod: mod1
  key: k

focus-cw:
  mod: mod1
  key: j

swap-ccw:
  mod: mod2
  key: k

swap-cw:
  mod: mod2
  key: j

smart-window-margins: false
window-margins: true
window-margin-size: 15

focus-follows-mouse: false
mouse-swaps-windows: true
mouse-resizes-windows: true
float-small-windows: false

Here is the full list of configurations:
https://github.com/ianyh/Amethyst/blob/development/docs/configuration-files.md

Here is the sample file:
https://github.com/ianyh/Amethyst/blob/development/.amethyst.sample.yml

Amethyst keyboard shortcuts

I won't go through all the keyboard shortcuts. Instead, I'll describe my favorites:

These are keyboard shortcuts I'm using on a regular basis. The whole list can be found in the documentation.

MacOS spaces

Configuring MacOS spaces

I like having five spaces and navigating between them as needed. To add a few more spaces, click Ctrl+Up Arrow and move the mouse all the way up. Then, you'll see the plus button in the top right corner. This button adds new space. Click it as many times as you want spaces.

Configuring shortcuts

After you've added new spaces, they will appear in your Mission control shortcuts. But you need to turn them on. Open System settings, Keyboard, and at the top, you'll see the Keyboard Shortcuts button. Click it, and the popup will appear with the shortcut list. On this list, find and select Mission control. You'll see the Mission Control item on the list with the checkboxes, which can be expanded. Click on the arrow to expand it and choose all your spaces with the hotkeys. I like to use Ctrl+n where n is the number of the space.

Installing SpaceId

In order not to be confused about what space you're using at the current moment, you need an application that will reflect this information.

There is an app called SpaceId that does exactly what we need.

It's pretty easy to install, you just need to run:

brew install --cask spaceid

In preferences, I've chosen the following options:

• Launch on Login
• Icon Per Space
• Black on White

Now it looks like this:

Mac shortcuts

Minimize & Maximize windows

It's possible to use Cmnd+m to minimize the window; however, when I want to maximize it and press Cmnd+Tab for some reason, it doesn't appear on the screen.

Opening and closing programs

Even though I've mentioned how to open Spotlight, I actually use Raycast instead. The main reason is that its configuration allows for the use of Vim Style navigation keys. A notable point is that a hotkey can be linked to a specific program. As an example, I've configured the Kitty app to launch when Option+Enter is pressed.

JankyBorders

To add borders to the focused window we can use the JankyBorders.

JankyBorders installation

It can be installed with Homebrew:

brew tap FelixKratz/formulae
brew install borders

Update border styles

To configure the border color and width, run this command with the color and width you prefer.

borders active_color=0xFFB30458 inactive_color=0xff494d64 width=10.0

Hex to JankyBorders color format

If you don't know how to transform hex color to the current format, here is the Python script that could do everything for you.

def hex_to_0xAARRGGBB(hex_color):
    hex_color = hex_color.lstrip('#')
    red = int(hex_color[0:2], 16)
    green = int(hex_color[2:4], 16)
    blue = int(hex_color[4:6], 16)
    alpha = 0xFF
    result = (alpha << 24) | (red << 16) | (green << 8) | blue
    return result

# Example usage
hex_color_code = "#b30458"
result = hex_to_0xAARRGGBB(hex_color_code)
print("Hex Color Code:", hex_color_code)
print("Converted Value:", hex(result))

Setting up a login script

In addition to all we've done, we need to set up a shell script that will run when the user logs in to the system.

The script we want to run on startup:

# Setup borders 
/usr/local/bin/borders active_color=0xFFB30458 inactive_color=0xff494d64 width=10.0

# Open Amethyst
open -a "Amethyst"

Your border location might differ from mine. To understand where the bin file is located, you can run which borders, copy the path, and put it instead of mine (/usr/local/bing/borders).

In order to add the script that will run on startup, we need to follow these steps:

• Open Finder
• Choose Application
• Double click on Automator
• Click on New document
• Select Application
• Select Utilities and choose Run Shell Script
• Put your script content into the text area.
• Click Cmnd+S to save the script (LoginSystem.app) and Choose Application folder
• Open System Settings and search for Open at Login
• At left panel click on + button and add your script which we previously named as LoginSystem.app
• Restart to be sure that everything works as expected