RibbonRibbon vs Amethyst
Amethyst auto-tiles windows into xmonad-style layouts; Ribbon puts them on a strip that scrolls so nothing shrinks. How they compare on a Mac.
By Chethan Kumar S N · Updated
Amethyst and Ribbon are both window managers you can set up without writing a config file. Amethyst is an automatic tiler inspired by xmonad. Ribbon is a scroller inspired by PaperWM and niri. Here’s what that means day to day.
The short version
- Pick Amethyst if you want windows automatically arranged into a layout that fills the screen, with several layouts to switch between. It’s free and open source.
- Pick Ribbon if you want every window kept at a usable size however many you open, with a trackpad swipe or a shortcut to move between them.
Side by side
| Amethyst | Ribbon | |
|---|---|---|
| Layout | Tall, wide, columns, full screen, BSP and more, filling one screen | A strip of full-height columns that runs past the screen’s edges |
| Opening a window | Every window on screen is resized to fit | It’s added as a column, and nothing shrinks |
| Control | Keyboard shortcuts | Keyboard shortcuts and three- or four-finger swipes |
| Where you are | Everything is on screen | A strip map that floats up as you move |
| Setup | A settings window | A settings window, plus ribbon:// URLs, a CLI and Raycast scripts |
| Price | Free, open source | $15 once, 7-day free trial |
| Requires | See its docs | macOS 14 Sonoma or later, Apple silicon |
Fitting vs flowing
Amethyst’s promise is that everything is on screen, arranged for you. That’s great with three or four windows on a large monitor. As you open more, each window’s share of the screen gets smaller, until code, documents or web pages no longer fit comfortably.
Ribbon makes the opposite trade. Every window keeps the width you gave it: ⅓, ½, ⅔ or full screen, cycled with ⌃⌥R and ⌃⌥F. The strip simply grows sideways, and the screen scrolls to whatever you’re working on. You see fewer windows at once, but every one you see is big enough to use. On a MacBook screen that usually matters more.
Moving around
Both are keyboard-friendly. Ribbon adds a trackpad swipe that tracks your fingers one to one, with flicks and rubber-banding at the ends, and ⌃⌥1–9 to jump straight to a column. While the strip moves, a map shows every window, so you always know where you are.
Switching from Amethyst
- Quit Amethyst and remove it from your login items.
- Install Ribbon and grant Accessibility access.
- Set the apps you always kept floating in Amethyst to float in Ribbon too, under per-app rules.
You can also try the strip in your browser right now.
Questions
What's the main difference between Ribbon and Amethyst?
Amethyst fits every window on a screen into a layout, so windows get smaller as you open more. Ribbon gives each window a full-height column on a strip that runs past the screen's edges, so opening a window never shrinks the others.
Is Ribbon free like Amethyst?
No. Ribbon has a 7-day free trial, then costs $15 once, with no subscription. Amethyst is free and open source.
Ready? Buy Ribbon for $15, or read all the guides.