yabai

name	yabai
description	Configure and manage yabai, the macOS tiling window manager. Use when the user asks about window tiling, yabai config, layouts (bsp/stack/float), window rules, or managing windows/spaces/displays on macOS.
argument-hint	["query|config|rule|help"]

yabai — macOS Tiling Window Manager

• Repo: https://github.com/koekeishiya/yabai
• Docs: https://github.com/koekeishiya/yabai/wiki
• Full CLI reference: https://github.com/koekeishiya/yabai/blob/master/doc/yabai.asciidoc

Install

brew install koekeishiya/formulae/yabai
brew services start yabai

For the scripting addition (needed for space/display control): https://github.com/koekeishiya/yabai/wiki/Installing-yabai-(latest-release)#configure-scripting-addition

Config file

~/.yabairc — must be executable (chmod +x ~/.yabairc). Reload with yabai --restart-service.

Layouts

Three layout modes per space:

• bsp — binary space partitioning (tiling)
• stack — all windows stacked, cycle with focus
• float — manual positioning

yabai -m space --layout bsp
yabai -m space --layout stack
yabai -m space --layout float

Common patterns

Focus windows

yabai -m window --focus west    # east, north, south
yabai -m window --focus recent
yabai -m window --focus prev    # next, first, last

Swap / warp windows

yabai -m window --swap east
yabai -m window --warp north

Move window to space or display

yabai -m window --space 2
yabai -m window --space 2 --focus   # move and follow focus
yabai -m window --display next

Toggle float / fullscreen

yabai -m window --toggle float
yabai -m window --toggle zoom-fullscreen
yabai -m window --toggle zoom-parent
yabai -m window --toggle split

Resize

yabai -m window --resize bottom_right:100:-200
yabai -m window --grid 1:3:0:0:2:1   # rows:cols:x:y:w:h

Space operations

yabai -m space --create
yabai -m space --destroy
yabai -m space --balance
yabai -m space --mirror x-axis
yabai -m space --rotate 90
yabai -m space --padding abs:20:20:20:20
yabai -m space --gap abs:10

Focus spaces with wraparound

yabai -m space --focus next || yabai -m space --focus first
yabai -m space --focus prev || yabai -m space --focus last

Query state (JSON output, pipe to jq)

yabai -m query --windows
yabai -m query --windows --space 2 | jq '.[].app'
yabai -m query --spaces
yabai -m query --displays

Rules — manage specific apps

yabai -m rule --add app="^System Settings$" manage=off
yabai -m rule --add app="^Calculator$" manage=off
yabai -m rule --add app="^Finder$" title="^Copy$" manage=off
yabai -m rule --add app="^Spotify$" space=3
yabai -m rule --list

Signals — react to events

yabai -m signal --add event=window_focused action="echo focused"
yabai -m signal --add event=application_launched action="echo new app"
yabai -m signal --add event=space_changed action="echo space changed"

When helping the user

1. Check if yabai is installed: which yabai && yabai --version
2. Check current config: read ~/.yabairc
3. Query current state with yabai -m query --windows / --spaces / --displays
4. After config changes, reload: yabai --restart-service
5. For rules targeting apps, use ^exact name$ regex anchors
6. For the scripting addition and SIP, point to the wiki — do not attempt to guide SIP changes directly