IdeaWell

Project ideas from Hacker News discussions.

Native Instant Space Switching on macOS

Original Article

Hacker News Discussion

📝 Discussion Summary (Click to expand)

1. Third‑party tiling tools dominate – Users repeatedly cite Rectangle, Aerospace or Yabai as the way to get Windows‑style window management.

“I use Rectangle.app and enjoy it. I have shortcuts to move windows to the left/right half of the screen…” (probabletrain)

2. macOS Space animation is a pain point – Many find the switch‑space animation sluggish and distracting.

“It is stuttery when you use the magic touchpad via Bluetooth, same applies to the cursor. It's very noticeable with slow movements.” (alpaca128)

3. Need for deterministic, O(1) workspace switching – Power users want fast, mnemonic‑driven jumps between spaces.

“I use mnemonics like always putting discord on workspace “D” so it becomes quite fast.” (airstrike)

4. Frustration with Apple’s removal of grid spaces and SIP‑heavy hacks – The lack of a native grid view and the need to disable SIP for advanced managers annoys experienced users.

“I still miss the grid spaces that got removed in Lion.” (spiderice)

🚀 Project Ideas

[GridSpace Switcher]

Summary

  • Provides a lightweight, native macOS utility that instantly switches between spaces with customizable grid layouts and eliminates the native animation.
  • Core value: Enables O(1) space navigation with a visual grid overlay and per‑space hotkeys, solving the “animation is painfully slow on 120 Hz” complaints.

Details

Key Value
Target Audience Mac power users, developers, and designers who rely on multiple workspaces and need deterministic, fast switching.
Core Feature Instant, animation‑free space navigation with a grid‑based visual overlay and configurable hotkeys.
Tech Stack Swift, SwiftUI, AppKit, Combine, Swift Package Manager.
Difficulty Medium
Monetization Revenue-ready: $9.99 one‑time license

Notes

  • HN commenters repeatedly cite the “animation … slower on 120 Hz displays” and desire a native‑speed alternative (“the animation ... drives me crazy”).
  • Can be packaged as a menubar helper that integrates with existing tools like Rectangle, adding grid‑based space management without disabling SIP.

[FlowSpaces]

Summary

  • A smart workspace manager that automatically pins applications to designated spaces and moves them on launch, removing manual drag‑and‑drop.
  • Core value: Guarantees consistent window placement across reboots and sessions, addressing “I can’t figure out a way to determine which space a window is in”.

Details

Key Value
Target Audience macOS users with multi‑monitor or multi‑space workflows (developers, researchers, multitaskers).
Core Feature Automatic app‑to‑space assignment and migration using Accessibility APIs and system‑wide event observers.
Tech Stack Swift, Core Services, Swift Concurrency, AppKit.
Difficulty High
Monetization Revenue-ready: $4.99/month subscription with free trial.

Notes

  • Users express frustration: “I can’t figure out a way using what Apple gives me to determine which space a window is in” and “it couldn’t distinguish windows of same app”.
  • Directly tackles the “spaces are a necessary evil” pain point and could spark discussion as a complement to tiling WMs.

[SpaceGridDesk]

Summary- Restores the missing grid layout of macOS spaces, replacing the linear row with a configurable 3×3 (or larger) grid for intuitive navigation.

  • Core value: Eliminates cognitive load when switching many spaces, appealing to users who miss the “Snow Leopard” grid.

Details| Key | Value |

|-----|-------| | Target Audience | macOS users who miss the grid layout of OS X 10.6/10.7 spaces and want modern, animated‑free switching. | | Core Feature | Grid overlay with keyboard shortcuts and mouse click to jump to any space; optional native animation. | | Tech Stack | Swift, Combine, CoreGraphics, AppKit, Metal (optional). | | Difficulty | Medium | | Monetization | Hobby |

Notes

  • Frequent HN references to “miss the grid” and “Apple dropped the grid”; users note “the linear design feels overly simplistic”.
  • Could generate discussion on UI ergonomics and how a grid improves navigation for power users.

[WindowCircuit]

Summary

  • A menubar‑based macOS window manager that adds i3‑style tiling shortcuts while preserving native app floating behavior.
  • Core value: Gives tiling‑like control without leaving macOS or disabling SIP, satisfying “need deterministic tiling” requests.

Details

Key Value
Target Audience Developers and power users who love Rectangle/Apple’s built‑in windows but need deterministic tiling options.
Core Feature Keyboard‑driven tiling (quarter, half, third, cascade) combined with per‑app floating rules.
Tech Stack Swift, SwiftUI, Carbon Event APIs, Accessibility, Swift Package Manager.
Difficulty High
Monetization Revenue-ready: $14.99 one‑time or $2.99/month.

Notes

  • HN users praise “Rectangle” and “Aerospace” but note “Aerospace can’t distinguish windows of same app” and “cannot move windows of same app”.
  • This fills the gap by handling same‑app windows separately, a feature repeatedly requested.

[SpaceFlow Helper]

Summary- A lightweight background service that monitors space changes and automatically repositions windows to maintain a consistent workflow layout, integrating with launchers like Raycast.

  • Core value: Eliminates manual repositioning after sleep or monitor changes, addressing “re‑organizing windows after sleep” complaints.

Details

Key Value
Target Audience macOS users with multi‑monitor setups who experience windows drifting after resume.
Core Feature Event‑driven window repositioning based on System Settings notifications, with configurable layout snapshots.
Tech Stack Swift, Combine, AppKit, SwiftUI, optional Raycast API.
Difficulty Medium
Monetization Hobby

Notes

  • Many comments cite “reorganizing windows after sleep” and “spaces become dynamic and unpredictable”.
  • A solution that persists layout across sessions would be highly valued by the HN community and could generate strong word‑of‑mouth promotion.

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