A cross-platform tiling window manager written in Rust — automatic, keyboard-driven layouts with multi-monitor support, smooth animations, and a clean TOML config.
Most window managers either demand you spend a weekend configuring them or lock you into a rigid workflow. Shellwright takes a different approach: sensible defaults that work on day one, a single TOML file for everything you want to change, and no tray icon, no taskbar widget, no Electron — just a lean Rust binary sitting quietly in the background arranging your windows.
It runs entirely via keybindings. Open a window and it tiles. Close one and the rest re-tile. Switch workspaces, swap window positions, and change layouts — all without touching a mouse.
- 🪟 Automatic tiling — windows arrange themselves as they open and close, no dragging required
- ⌨️ Fully keyboard-driven — focus, move, and resize without leaving the home row
- 🖥️ Multi-monitor — independent workspace and layout per monitor
- 🎨 Overlay borders — crisp GDI borders with configurable colour and radius on Win10 and Win11
- ✨ Smooth animations — configurable easing on window moves and workspace transitions
- 🔀 Six layouts — Fibonacci, BSP, Monocle, Columns, CenterMain, Float
- 🏷️ Float rules — auto-float windows by exe, class, or title substring
- 📋 9 workspaces — per-workspace layouts, cross-monitor window movement
- 🔧 TOML config with hot-reload — change anything and press
Alt+Shift+R, no restart needed - 📡 YASB IPC — named-pipe workspace indicator for your status bar
| Platform | Installer | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Windows x64 | Download MSI → | Windows 10 / 11 |
You will need the Rust toolchain (stable, 1.75+).
git clone https://github.com/code-lodge/shellwright
cd shellwright
cargo build --release
.\target\release\window-manager.exeA default config is created at %APPDATA%\shellwright\config.toml on first run. Logs are written to %APPDATA%\shellwright\shellwright.log.
# Register — adds a Run registry key
.\target\release\window-manager.exe autostart-register
# Remove
.\target\release\window-manager.exe autostart-unregister| Keys | Action |
|---|---|
Alt + H |
Focus previous window |
Alt + L |
Focus next window |
Alt + Shift + H |
Move window left in layout order |
Alt + Shift + L |
Move window right in layout order |
Alt + Shift + Q |
Close focused window |
Alt + F |
Toggle fullscreen |
Alt + Shift + Space |
Toggle floating / tiled |
Alt + G |
Switch to Fibonacci layout |
Alt + T |
Switch to BSP layout |
Alt + M |
Switch to Monocle layout |
Alt + C |
Switch to Columns layout |
Alt + U |
Switch to CenterMain layout |
Alt + 1 … 9 |
Switch to workspace 1–9 |
Alt + Shift + 1 … 9 |
Move focused window to workspace 1–9 |
Alt + Shift + R |
Reload config |
Alt + Shift + E |
Quit |
| Layout | Description |
|---|---|
| Fibonacci (default) | Dwindle spiral — window 0 takes the first half, the rest recurse inward alternating H/V splits |
| BSP | Binary space partition — screen is recursively halved alternating horizontal and vertical |
| Monocle | All windows stacked full-screen; switching focus raises the top window |
| Columns | Fixed number of equal-width columns (set_layout:columns:N) |
| CenterMain | Ultrawide three-column — 50% centre, 25% left, 25% right; ideal for games that won't fill a wide display |
| Float | All windows unmanaged |
Config lives at %APPDATA%\shellwright\config.toml. Created automatically on first run. Reload at any time with Alt+Shift+R.
Full reference
# ── Appearance ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
gap = 8 # pixels between tiled windows
border_width = 2 # overlay border thickness in pixels
border_active = "#5E81AC" # border colour for the focused window (#RRGGBB)
border_inactive = "#3B4252" # border colour for all other windows (#RRGGBB)
border_radius = 8 # border corner radius (0 = square)
# ── Taskbar ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
# "global" — windows on inactive workspaces stay in the taskbar at all times (default)
# "local" — each workspace has its own taskbar entries
taskbar_mode = "global"
# ── Default layout ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
# fibonacci | bsp | monocle | columns | center_main | float
default_layout = "fibonacci"
# ── YASB / external bar padding ──────────────────────────────────────────────────
# Shellwright reads SPI_GETWORKAREA which respects the OS taskbar but not
# third-party bars. Set these values to match your bar height.
[padding]
top = 40 # e.g. 40 px for a top-aligned YASB bar
bottom = 0
left = 0
right = 0
# ── Animations ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
[animations]
enabled = true
duration_ms = 80 # total easing time in ms — lower is faster
frames = 6 # interpolation steps (1–60) — fewer is snappier
# ── Workspaces ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
[[workspaces]]
name = "1"
# Repeat up to 9 times. Name appears in the YASB workspace widget.
# ── Float rules ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
# Windows matching any rule start in floating mode.
# All specified fields must match (AND logic); omit a field to wildcard it.
#
# [[float_rules]]
# exe = "steam.exe"
#
# [[float_rules]]
# class = "TaskManagerWindow"
#
# [[float_rules]]
# title_contains = "Properties"
# exe = "explorer.exe"
# ── Keybindings ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
# Modifiers: "alt", "ctrl", "shift", "super" (Win key)
# Keys: a–z, 0–9, f1–f12, return, space, tab, escape, backspace,
# up, down, left, right, home, end, pageup, pagedown, and more.
#
# [[keybindings]]
# modifiers = ["alt"]
# key = "h"
# action = "focus_prev"All available actions
| Action | Effect |
|---|---|
focus_next / focus_prev |
Cycle keyboard focus |
move_next / move_prev |
Swap window position in layout order |
kill_focused |
Close focused window gracefully |
toggle_float |
Toggle between tiled and floating |
toggle_fullscreen |
Toggle true fullscreen (covers taskbar) |
set_layout:fibonacci |
Switch active workspace to Fibonacci |
set_layout:bsp |
Switch to BSP |
set_layout:monocle |
Switch to Monocle |
set_layout:columns:N |
Switch to N equal columns |
set_layout:center_main |
Switch to CenterMain |
set_layout:float |
Float all windows |
switch_workspace:N |
Activate workspace N (1-indexed) |
move_to_workspace:N |
Move focused window to workspace N |
reload_config |
Re-read config.toml without restarting |
quit |
Gracefully exit Shellwright |
Shellwright splits platform-agnostic logic from OS backends so each layer can be developed and tested independently.
crates/
shellwright-core/ # Layouts, actions, config, workspaces, events
shellwright-windows/ # Win32 — SetWindowPos, SetWinEventHook, GDI overlays
shellwright-macos/ # macOS — Accessibility API (in progress)
shellwright-wayland/ # Linux — Smithay compositor (in progress)
shellwright/ # Binary — event loop, layout dispatch, keybinding dispatch
New layouts and actions go in shellwright-core. OS-specific code goes in the relevant backend crate.
| Feature | Status | Platform |
|---|---|---|
| Fibonacci / BSP / Columns / CenterMain / Monocle | ✅ Done | All |
| GDI overlay borders (Win10 + Win11) | ✅ Done | Windows |
| DWM border colours (Win11 22H2+) | ✅ Done | Windows |
| Multi-monitor support | ✅ Done | Windows |
| 9 configurable workspaces | ✅ Done | All |
| Cross-monitor window movement | ✅ Done | Windows |
| Drag-to-swap tiled windows | ✅ Done | Windows |
| Minimized windows excluded from tiling | ✅ Done | Windows |
| Toggle float / fullscreen | ✅ Done | Windows |
| Float rules (class, title, exe) | ✅ Done | Windows |
| Smooth animations | ✅ Done | Windows |
| TOML config with hot-reload | ✅ Done | All |
| Global / local taskbar mode | ✅ Done | Windows |
| YASB named-pipe IPC | ✅ Done | Windows |
| Autostart via registry | ✅ Done | Windows |
| Float Layout | 🚧 In Progress | All |
| Monocle z-order focus raise | 🚧 In Progress | Windows |
| Proper manual window resizing | 🚧 In Progress | Windows |
| macOS backend (Accessibility API) | 🚧 In Progress | macOS |
| Wayland backend (Smithay) | 🚧 In Progress | Linux |
| Window rules for workspace auto-assignment | 📋 Planned | All |
| Per-workspace layout persistence | 📋 Planned | All |
| Scratchpad windows | 📋 Planned | All |
| X11 backend | 📋 Planned | Linux |
Contributions of any kind are welcome — bug reports, new layout algorithms, platform backend work, documentation improvements, or just ideas. To get started:
- Fork the repository and create a feature branch.
- New layouts and actions go in
shellwright-core; OS-specific code goes in the relevant backend crate. - All public items should have doc comments. Add unit tests for new logic.
- Open a pull request describing what you changed and why.
Shellwright is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0. See LICENSE for the full text.
