RibbonPaperWM for Mac: the scrolling strip, on macOS
PaperWM is a GNOME extension, so it can't run on macOS. Here's how to get the same scrolling, paper-strip window layout on a Mac, natively.
By Chethan Kumar S N · Updated
PaperWM is a window manager for GNOME, the Linux desktop, that puts your windows on one long strip of “paper” running past the edges of the screen. If you’ve used it, you probably want it back the moment you sit down at a Mac. The short answer: PaperWM itself can’t run on macOS, but the layout can.
Why PaperWM doesn’t run on a Mac
PaperWM is a GNOME Shell extension. It lives inside GNOME and changes how GNOME’s own window manager lays out windows. macOS has no such hook: you can’t replace or extend the system’s window manager. What a Mac app can do is ask for the Accessibility permission and then move and resize other apps’ windows from the outside.
So every “PaperWM for Mac” is really a new app that rebuilds the idea on top of the Accessibility API. How well it works comes down to how quickly and smoothly it can move windows it doesn’t own.
Your options on macOS
Ribbon, a native app
Ribbon is a scrolling window manager built for macOS from the start. Every window gets a full-height column on a strip, opening a window adds a column without shrinking the others, and you move along the strip with a three- or four-finger swipe or ⌃⌥ ← →.
What it adds over a script:
- A trackpad swipe that follows your fingers one to one, with flicks and rubber-banding at the ends of the strip.
- A strip map that floats up while you move, so you always know where you are. There are six styles.
- Settings you can click. Shortcuts, per-app rules, gaps and widths are all in one window, with no config file.
- Multiple displays, each with its own strip, and a switch to turn Ribbon off for any of them.
- Your windows put back where they were if you quit, and the strip restored when it starts again.
It needs macOS 14 Sonoma or later on Apple silicon, and costs $15 once after a 7-day free trial.
PaperWM.spoon, a Hammerspoon script
PaperWM.spoon is a free, open-source “Spoon” (plugin) for Hammerspoon, the Mac automation tool you script in Lua. It recreates PaperWM’s strip with keyboard shortcuts. It’s a good choice if you already run Hammerspoon and like editing your setup in code. You configure it in Lua, and there’s no trackpad gesture or strip map out of the box.
Tiling window managers
AeroSpace, yabai and Amethyst are excellent tiling window managers for macOS, but they’re grid tilers: new windows split the screen, so windows get smaller as you open more. That’s the very thing PaperWM was made to avoid. See Ribbon vs AeroSpace and Ribbon vs yabai for the details.
PaperWM habits that carry over
If you’re coming from PaperWM, most of what your hands know still works in Ribbon:
| In PaperWM you… | In Ribbon you… |
|---|---|
| Switch to the window on the left or right | Press ⌃⌥ ← → or swipe with three fingers |
| Move a window along the strip | Press ⌃⌥⇧ ← → or drag its title bar |
| Cycle through preset widths | Press ⌃⌥R for ⅓, ½ and ⅔ |
| Maximise a column | Press ⌃⌥F to fill the screen, and again to put it back |
| Centre the focused window | Press ⌃⌥C |
| Float a window off the strip | Press ⌃⌥T, or set the app to always float |
Every shortcut can be changed, so you can map them to the keys you used on Linux.
Getting set up
- Download Ribbon and drag it to Applications.
- Open it and give it Accessibility access when it asks. That’s how macOS lets it move windows.
- Follow its setup checks. It warns if a three-finger swipe is also switching full-screen apps, or if macOS’s own edge tiling is on, and shows where to turn them off.
- Open a few apps and swipe.
Before you install anything, you can try the strip on the home page with your arrow keys.
Questions
Can I install PaperWM on a Mac?
No. PaperWM is an extension for GNOME Shell, the Linux desktop, and needs GNOME to run. On macOS you need a separate app that recreates the layout, such as Ribbon or the Hammerspoon script PaperWM.spoon.
What is the best PaperWM alternative for Mac?
If you want a native app with trackpad gestures and settings you can click through, Ribbon is built for exactly this. If you're happy writing Lua and already use Hammerspoon, PaperWM.spoon is a free option.
Does Ribbon use the same shortcuts as PaperWM?
Not the same keys, but the same moves: focus left and right, move a window along the strip, cycle widths and go full width. Every shortcut in Ribbon can be changed in Settings, so you can map them to whatever your hands already know.
Ready? Buy Ribbon for $15, or read all the guides.