# Set up Ribbon

Source: https://ribbonformac.com/setup  
Updated: 2026-10-22

Ten minutes, once. Install the app, give it the one permission it needs, paste your licence key, then free up a trackpad gesture so the strip can follow your fingers.

## 1. Check the requirements

- **macOS 13 Ventura or later.** Ventura, Sonoma, Sequoia and Tahoe all work.
- **An Apple silicon Mac (M1 or later).** Ribbon doesn't run on Intel Macs.
- **No other window manager running at the same time.** Two apps moving the same windows fight each other. Quit Rectangle, Magnet, yabai, AeroSpace, Amethyst and similar tools first, and turn off their launch at login. Ribbon's Mac Setup page warns you if it spots one.

## 2. Install from the DMG

1. Open the download link from your receipt email and save `Ribbon.dmg`.
2. Double-click the DMG and drag **Ribbon** into **Applications**.
3. Eject the DMG, then open Ribbon from Applications (or with Spotlight).

Run it from Applications, not from inside the DMG or your Downloads folder. macOS ties the Accessibility permission to the app's location, and an app running from a disk image loses it the moment you eject.

The download is signed with an Apple Developer ID and notarized, so macOS lets it open. The first time, you may see a dialog saying Ribbon was downloaded from the internet. Click **Open**.

## 3. Allow Accessibility

Every window manager on macOS moves windows through the Accessibility API, and macOS asks you to approve that once.

1. When Ribbon asks, click **Open System Settings**. If you missed the prompt, go to **System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility**.
2. Turn on the switch next to **Ribbon**. macOS may ask for your password or Touch ID.
3. Ribbon notices within a few seconds and starts tiling. You don't need to restart it.

> **Already on, but nothing happens?** After an update macOS sometimes keeps the old entry. Select Ribbon in the Accessibility list, remove it with the **−** button, then add it again with **+** (or reopen Ribbon so it asks again).

Ribbon doesn't need Screen Recording, Input Monitoring, Full Disk Access or any change to System Integrity Protection.

## 4. Activate your licence

Your licence key is in the receipt email, and also on the thank-you page you saw after paying.

1. Click the Ribbon icon in the menu bar and open **Settings**, then the **Overview** page.
2. Paste the key into the licence field and click **Activate**.

Activation uses one seat of your licence (1, 3, 5 or 20 Macs depending on what you bought). Moving to a new Mac? Deactivate on the old Mac first, from the same place, and the seat is free again. If the old Mac is gone, email support with your key and we'll reset it.

## 5. Free up a swipe for the strip

This is the step people miss. Ribbon scrolls the strip with a sideways trackpad swipe, three fingers by default. macOS ships with its own three-finger swipe, **Swipe between full-screen applications**, and while that gesture is set to three fingers it captures the four-finger swipe too. Nothing reaches Ribbon.

1. Open **System Settings → Trackpad → More Gestures**.
2. Set **Swipe between full-screen applications** to **Swipe left or right with four fingers**, or turn it off.
3. Ribbon now gets the three-finger swipe. Four fingers stay with macOS for switching Spaces and full-screen apps.

If you use **Three Finger Drag** (System Settings → Accessibility → Pointer Control → Trackpad Options → Use trackpad for dragging), it will also eat a three-finger swipe. Either turn it off, or set Ribbon to a four-finger swipe on the **Configuration** page of its settings and leave macOS's full-screen swipe off.

You can also scroll the strip with a mouse: hold the scroll-wheel modifier (Option by default) and scroll sideways.

## 6. Mission Control, Stage Manager and macOS tiling

Open **System Settings → Desktop & Dock** and check these. Stage Manager is in the Desktop & Stage Manager section, the Spaces options in the Mission Control section, and the tiling options in the Windows section.

| Setting | Set it to | Why |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Stage Manager | Off | Stage Manager moves windows itself and fights any window manager. |
| Displays have separate Spaces | On | Each display then gets its own strip. Needs a log out to take effect. |
| Automatically rearrange Spaces based on most recent use | Off | Otherwise macOS reshuffles your Spaces, and the strips with them. |
| Drag windows to screen edges to tile (macOS 15; on macOS 26 it reads "Drag windows to left or right edge of screen to tile") | Off | macOS's own tiling grabs windows you drag near an edge. |
| Drag windows to menu bar to fill screen (macOS 15+) | Off | Same reason. |
| Hold Option key while dragging windows to tile (macOS 15+) | Off | Same reason. |

Ribbon's **Mac Setup** page checks all of this every few seconds and shows a green tick or a fix for each item, so you can work through it there instead.

## 7. Learn five shortcuts

Every shortcut is Control + Option plus one key, so it never clashes with the Option shortcuts macOS uses for typing.

| Do this | Press |
| --- | --- |
| Focus left / right | <kbd>⌃⌥←</kbd> <kbd>⌃⌥→</kbd> (or <kbd>⌃⌥H</kbd> <kbd>⌃⌥L</kbd>) |
| Move the window left / right | <kbd>⌃⌥⇧←</kbd> <kbd>⌃⌥⇧→</kbd> |
| Cycle the column width | <kbd>⌃⌥R</kbd> |
| Centre the column | <kbd>⌃⌥C</kbd> |
| Pause or resume Ribbon | <kbd>⌃⌥Q</kbd> |

The full list is on the [home page](https://ribbonformac.com/#shortcuts) and in **Settings → Shortcuts**, where you can rebind any of them. Coming from niri? See [niri keybindings on a Mac](https://ribbonformac.com/niri-keybindings-mac).

## 8. Multiple displays

Each display gets its own strip with its own focus and scroll position. <kbd>⌃⌥N</kbd> sends the focused window to the next display. Each Space on each display has its own strip as well. Arrange your displays in **System Settings → Displays → Arrange** so their positions match your desk.

## 9. Updates and uninstalling

Updates are free for life. When a new version is out, download it the same way and drag it into Applications to replace the old copy; your settings and licence stay put.

To uninstall, quit Ribbon from its menu bar icon, drag it from Applications to the Bin, and remove it from the Accessibility list. Your settings live in `~/Library/Application Support/Ribbon/` if you want those gone too.

## FAQ

### Shortcuts beep and nothing moves. What's wrong?

Almost always the Accessibility permission. Check that Ribbon is on in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility; if it already is, remove it and add it again. Also check you haven't paused Ribbon with <kbd>⌃⌥Q</kbd>.

### The three-finger swipe does nothing.

macOS's "Swipe between full-screen applications" is probably still on three fingers. Set it to four fingers or off (System Settings → Trackpad → More Gestures). Three Finger Drag also takes the gesture.

### An app keeps landing in the strip but I want it to float.

Press <kbd>⌃⌥T</kbd> to float or unfloat the focused window, or add the app to the window rules on the Configuration page so it always floats.

### Does Ribbon need SIP disabled?

No. Ribbon uses the standard Accessibility permission and nothing else. There are no kernel extensions and no scripting additions.

### Can I get a refund?

No. All sales are final (see the [terms](https://ribbonformac.com/terms)). If Ribbon doesn't work on your Mac, email support and we'll help you get it working.

## Keep reading
- [Tile windows on Mac](https://ribbonformac.com/how-to-tile-windows-on-mac) — Drag, green button, Window menu and every Fn-Control shortcut, plus how to turn it off.
- [Scrolling WMs explained](https://ribbonformac.com/what-is-a-scrolling-window-manager) — The strip, the columns, the moves, and every scrolling WM by operating system.
- [Niri keybindings on Mac](https://ribbonformac.com/niri-keybindings-mac) — Each default niri bind next to its Ribbon shortcut, and the ones with no Mac twin.
- [MacBook window manager](https://ribbonformac.com/macbook-window-manager) — Grids get cramped on 13–15" screens. What works better on a laptop, honestly.