Can you run niri on a Mac?

Why niri can't run on macOS

niri is a compositor. On Linux it is the thing that draws the screen: it owns every pixel, renders window borders and shadows, runs its animations on the GPU, and decides where input goes. That only works because Wayland lets a compositor take that job.

macOS has exactly one compositor, Apple's WindowServer, and nobody else gets to replace it. A window manager on a Mac is a normal app that asks other apps to move and resize their windows through the Accessibility API. It can't draw on top of them, can't blur them, and can't make a window vanish off the edge of the screen without macOS having a say.

So "niri for Mac" really means: an app that copies niri's layout using the tools macOS allows. That turns out to be enough for the part most people care about.

What carries over and what doesn't

The core idea moves across almost untouched:

• Windows sit in columns on a horizontal strip that is wider than your screen.
• A new window adds a column. Nothing else shrinks.
• You move focus left and right and the strip slides to follow.
• Columns have preset widths you cycle through, and several windows can share one column.
• Each monitor has its own strip.
• A three-finger trackpad swipe can scroll the strip.

Some things don't make it, or only partly:

• Compositor effects. Gradient borders, background blur, custom shaders and niri's own animation curves need a compositor. Mac tools draw a simple overlay border at most.
• niri's workspaces. On Linux each monitor has a vertical stack of dynamic workspaces. macOS has Spaces instead. Some Mac tools build their own workspaces; others, like Ribbon, use Spaces.
• The overview. niri zooms out to show everything. Only some Mac tools have an equivalent.
• Screenshot UI, screencasting rules, Xwayland. These are compositor jobs. On a Mac you use macOS's own screenshot tool.

If the idea of a scrolling layout is new to you, what a scrolling window manager is explains it from scratch.

Every way to get niri-style scrolling on macOS

Ribbon

Ribbon is a paid native app ($9.99 once for one Mac) that does one thing: the scrolling strip. Every option sits in a settings window, so there is no config file to learn. It runs on macOS 13 Ventura and later, on Apple silicon (M1 or later), and needs only the Accessibility permission. It has stacks, tabbed columns, floating windows and a three- or four-finger swipe that follows your fingers. It uses macOS Spaces rather than its own workspaces, and it has no overview. You can try the layout in the live demo before you buy.

OmniWM

OmniWM is free and open source (GPL-2.0). It offers a niri-style scrolling layout or a Hyprland-style dwindle layout per workspace, plus an overview, its own workspaces, scratchpads and a command palette. It is the most niri-like option on paper. The catch: macOS 26 Tahoe or later, Apple silicon only. There's a full comparison in Ribbon vs OmniWM.

Nehir

Nehir is a fork of OmniWM cut down to the niri column layout only. It's free (GPL-2.0), needs macOS 15 Sequoia or later, has its own workspaces and an overview, and is configured with TOML files plus a settings window. It is a smaller project, and the repo has been quiet since August 2026.

PaperWM.spoon

PaperWM.spoon is a free (MIT) plugin for Hammerspoon, configured in Lua. It's inspired by GNOME's PaperWM rather than niri, but the strip works the same way. It uses native Spaces and has an opt-in trackpad swipe. You need to be comfortable editing init.lua. See PaperWM for Mac for the details.

Paneru

Paneru is a free (MIT) command-line window manager written in Rust, configured with TOML or Lua. It works with native Spaces, has trackpad swiping, and has experimental virtual workspaces. Ribbon's engine is built on Paneru, so if you're happy with a config file and the terminal, Paneru gives you the same core for free.

Side by side

Quick key map

Ribbon uses Control + Option where niri uses Mod, so most binds are one swap away:

The full list, including what has no equivalent, is in niri keybindings on Mac. For gaps, preset widths, centring and focus rings, see niri config on macOS.

Workspaces vs macOS Spaces, honestly

This is the biggest difference you'll feel. In niri, workspaces are cheap and dynamic: there's always an empty one below, and Mod+U/Mod+I move between them. macOS Spaces are heavier. You add them in Mission Control, and switching plays macOS's slide animation.

Ribbon gives each Space on each display its own strip and leaves Space switching to macOS: ⌃← / ⌃→, or a four-finger swipe. If you want workspaces that behave like niri's, OmniWM and Nehir are closer. If you'd rather keep Mission Control, full-screen apps and everything else macOS does with Spaces, Ribbon's approach fits better.

If you're on Linux, just use niri

If you have a choice of operating system, niri on Linux is the real thing, free, and better than any Mac imitation. The Mac tools exist for people who need macOS for work or apps and miss the layout. If that's you, compare them in the best scrolling window managers for Mac, or see pricing for Ribbon.