TrellisWM  for Mac

The fractal
window manager.

TrellisWM nests your real Mac windows inside each other, as deep as you like. Zoom out to see everything. Zoom into whatever you need.

Download for Mac

Free to try: every download starts with days of Pro.

Dock them, and everything makes room.

  1. Drag a window to the screen's edge, and it docks.
  2. Dock another on the other side. The Desktop stays between.

Zoom in. Zoom back out.

  1. Pinch in on a window, and it fills the screen.
  2. Press ⌃⌥Space, and everything you have open is back in view.

Features

Everything has a place.
And you can always see it.

Dock anywhere.

Drag a window onto another window's edge to dock beside it, or onto the screen's edge to dock beside everything you're looking at. Spaces nest inside spaces, as deep as you like.

Everything, at a pinch.

⌥-pinch anywhere, or pinch on bare wallpaper, to zoom your real desktop. Let go, and it settles on the space that fits best. ⌃⌥Space shows everything.

Tab groups.Pro

Drop a window on another's middle to stack them under one strip, whatever their apps. Drag a tab out to tear it off.

Resize at the seams.

Drag the gap between two windows to resize both at once. Everything else stays put.

Small, but still clear.

Zoomed out, a window too small to use shows its app's colour and icon. A group too small to see becomes one tile, lined with its splits. Double-click it to go in.

Lives in your menu bar.

Step back and forward through where you've been, or go straight to a saved view, the Desktop or everything, in one click. The button for where you are is filled in. Right-click for the rest.

Saved views.Pro

⌃⌥⇧ + a number saves where you're looking. ⌃⌥ + the number takes you straight back.

Comes back where it left.

Minimize a window and its neighbours take the space. Bring it back, and it returns to the same spot. Arrangements are restored when TrellisWM restarts.

One arrangement per display.

Each display keeps its own spaces and camera. Drag a window across, and it joins the arrangement there.

Your Mac, your rules.

Leave any app alone. Or float every window on the Desktop, and you're back to a normal Mac.

Every action is a URL.Pro

Drive TrellisWM from Raycast, Alfred, Shortcuts, a Stream Deck or a shell. Arrange, back, forward, zoom and more, one link each.

Made for your hands

Fast on the keys.
Fluid under your fingers.

⌃⌥SpaceShow everything
⌃⌥↑Step out a level
⌃⌥↓Step in toward the pointer
⌃⌥↩Frame a window on its own
⌃⌥←→Move to the neighbouring space
⌃⌥[]Back and forward
460ms

One layout motion for every split, dock and close, carried over from the original prototype.

∞

Levels of nesting. Spaces go as deep as you do.

9

Saved views on every display, one keystroke each.

0

Windows lost. Quit, and every window comes back to a visible position.

Built right

Native. Quiet.
Respectful of your Mac.

Written in Swift.

A native Mac app built on AppKit, Accessibility and ScreenCaptureKit. It lives in your menu bar.

Two permissions, both explained.

Accessibility lets TrellisWM move and resize your windows. Screen Recording is optional, and lets windows show their contents while they move.

Pictures, never recordings.

TrellisWM draws windows in motion from still pictures. Nothing is recorded or stored.

Undo, built in.

Float All Windows on Desktop returns you to a normal Mac. Quit, and every window goes back to a visible position.

The Trellis family

One idea.
Every surface.

Trellis is a way of working: spaces that nest, a camera that zooms, and nothing ever out of reach. TrellisWM brings it to your desktop. TrellisUI brings it to the apps you build.

Early access

TrellisWM for Mac

Your real windows, arranged as places you can zoom between. For Macs with Apple silicon, on macOS 14 Sonoma or later.

Download ›
In development

TrellisWM for Windows

The same spaces, the same camera, on the PC you already use. Included with Pro when it ships.

Hear about it first ›
For developers

TrellisUI for the web

A layout engine for web apps where users arrange their own workspace. Panels nest, the view zooms, and every view stays mounted.

trellisui.com ↗

Pricing

Try everything free.
Then keep what you need.

Every download starts with days of TrellisWM Pro. No account, no card. When the trial ends, TrellisWM carries on with Free, or upgrade from its menu.

Free

The core of TrellisWM.

Free, for good.

Download
  • Dock, nest and zoom
  • Up to docked windows per display
  • Live previews
  • Keyboard navigation, back and forward
  • Every display you connect
Everything

TrellisWM Pro

All of it, always up to date.

Get Pro

Or try it free for days: download TrellisWM, and Pro is on.

  • Everything in Free, plus:
  • As many docked windows as you like
  • Tab groups
  • Saved views
  • Commands by URL
  • TrellisWM for Windows, when it ships

Lifetime

Pro, paid once.

One payment. Yours for good.

Buy once
  • Everything in Pro on Mac, plus:
  • Every future version
  • No subscription

Every download starts with days of Pro. No account, no card.

Compare plans
FreeProLifetime
Dock, nest and zoomYesYesYes
Live previewsYesYesYes
DisplaysAllAllAll
Docked windows per displayUnlimitedUnlimited
Tab groupsNoYesYes
Saved viewsNoYesYes
Commands by URLNoYesYes
UpdatesYesYesYes, for good
Windows versionNoWhen it shipsNo

Questions

How is this different from Mission Control?

Mission Control shows your windows so you can pick one. TrellisWM arranges them into a layout you work in, with spaces nested inside each other and a camera that moves between them. Full-screen apps and your other macOS desktops are left to macOS.

Which Macs does it run on?

Macs with Apple silicon (M1 or later) running macOS 14 Sonoma or newer. Intel Macs aren't supported.

Which apps does it work with?

Standard windows from any app. Sheets and dialogs stay attached to their windows and are left to macOS. If an app should be left alone, tell TrellisWM not to arrange it.

Why does it need Accessibility and Screen Recording?

Accessibility is how any app moves and resizes another app's windows. Screen Recording is optional: it lets windows show their contents while they move, instead of their app colour and icon. Because those previews are live, macOS shows its recording indicator while TrellisWM runs. Nothing is recorded or stored.

What happens when I quit?

Every window goes back to a visible position. Your arrangement is saved for each display and restored the next time TrellisWM opens.

Is there a Windows version?

It's in development. Pro includes it when it ships. Leave your email at the bottom of this page to hear first.

Do I need Pro?

No. Free keeps docking, floating and zooming, with up to five docked windows on each display. Pro adds as many windows as you like, tab groups, saved views and commands by URL. Every download starts with two weeks of Pro, so you can see which you need.

What happens when the trial ends?

TrellisWM carries on with Free. Your arrangement stays as it is; new windows past the limit float on the Desktop. Upgrade from the app's menu whenever you like.

Can I cancel, or pay once instead?

Cancel Pro anytime: it keeps working until the end of the period you paid for, then becomes Free. If you prefer not to subscribe, Lifetime is Pro for Mac, paid once.

How does TrellisWM relate to TrellisUI?

They share an idea. TrellisWM arranges the windows on your desktop. TrellisUI is a layout engine that lets developers build the same kind of zoomable, nestable workspace into their own web apps.

See everything.
Lose nothing.

TrellisWM is in early access, for Macs with Apple silicon on macOS 14 Sonoma or later. Every download starts with days of Pro, free.

Hear about new releases, and the Windows version when it's ready: