tarmac

A tiling window manager for macOS. BSP layout, Lua configuration, IPC control.

macOS Tahoe (15.0+), Apple Silicon.

Install

brew install gardesk/tap/tarmac

Or build from source:

git clone --recurse-submodules git@github.com:gardesk/tarmac.git
cd tarmac
cargo build --release

Binaries land in target/release/ — tarmac, tarmacctl, and ers (border renderer).

Usage

tarmac                            # start the window manager
tarmacctl get-workspaces          # query workspace state
tarmacctl focus left              # focus window to the left
tarmacctl subscribe               # stream events (JSON)

Requires Accessibility permission: System Settings > Privacy & Security > Accessibility.

Configuration

~/.config/tarmac/init.lua — created on first run.

gar.set("mod_key", "option")
gar.set("gap_inner", 8)
gar.set("gap_outer", 8)
gar.set("border_width", 4)

gar.bind("mod+h", "focus left")
gar.bind("mod+shift+h", "swap left")
gar.bind("mod+1", "workspace 1")

gar.rule({ app_name = "Calculator" }, { floating = true })
gar.on("workspace_changed", function(old, new)
    gar.exec("sketchybar --trigger tarmac_wkspc")
end)

Hot reload: Mod+Shift+R

What it does

• BSP tiling with automatic split direction
• 10 numbered workspaces + scratchpads
• Multi-monitor with per-monitor workspaces
• Focus-follows-mouse, mouse-follows-focus
• Window rules (auto-float, workspace assignment)
• Window borders via ers (SkyLight overlays)
• IPC over Unix socket (JSON protocol)
• Lua event callbacks

What it doesn't do

• No Wayland/Linux support — macOS only, uses private SkyLight framework
• No window animations
• No built-in bar — integrates with sketchybar or similar via IPC/callbacks
• Multi-monitor support has known rough edges (see docs)

Documentation

tarmac.musicsian.com — configuration reference, keybindings, IPC protocol, window rules, troubleshooting.

License

MIT