layman

Per-workspace tiling layouts for Sway and i3

Different layouts on every workspace — MasterStack, Autotiling, Grid, and more.

Features · Quick Start · Layouts · Configuration · Commands · Contributing

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Features

• 🖥️ Per-workspace layouts — MasterStack for coding, Grid for dashboards, Autotiling for everything else
• ⚡ Zero-latency — nop bindings for instant response, no process spawning
• 🔄 Hot reload — change config and reload without restarting
• 🎛️ Full runtime control — switch layouts, rotate windows, toggle stacks via keybindings
• 🐍 Extensible — write custom layouts in Python, auto-loaded from your config dir
• 💾 Minimal — single daemon process, simple TOML config

🚀 Quick Start

1. Install

git clone https://github.com/mschulkind/layman
cd layman
pip install .

Alternative: install with uv (faster)

git clone https://github.com/mschulkind/layman
cd layman
uv sync && uv tool install .

2. Create your config

mkdir -p ~/.config/layman

# ~/.config/layman/config.toml
[layman]
defaultLayout = "MasterStack"
masterWidth = 50
stackLayout = "splitv"
stackSide = "right"

# Per-workspace overrides
[workspace.2]
defaultLayout = "Autotiling"

[workspace.3]
defaultLayout = "Grid"

3. Add to your Sway config

Add these lines to ~/.config/sway/config:

# Start the daemon
exec layman

# Switch layouts
bindsym $mod+m nop layman layout set MasterStack
bindsym $mod+a nop layman layout set Autotiling
bindsym $mod+g nop layman layout set Grid

# MasterStack controls
bindsym $mod+Return nop layman window swap master
bindsym $mod+t nop layman stack toggle
bindsym $mod+l nop layman stack side toggle

4. Reload Sway

Press $mod+Shift+c — you're done!

💡 See example_sway_config for a complete keybinding setup including modes, focus history, and all layout controls.

🎯 Layouts

MasterStack

Primary window on one side, stack on the other. New windows become master.

┌─────────┬──────────┐
│         │ Stack 1  │
│ Master  ├──────────┤
│         │ Stack 2  │
│         ├──────────┤
│         │ Stack 3  │
└─────────┴──────────┘

Autotiling

Alternates horizontal/vertical splits based on window dimensions. Natural spiral pattern.

┌───┬───────────────────┐
│   │         2         │
│   ├─────────┬─────────┤
│ 1 │    3    │    4    │
│   │         ├────┬────┤
│   │         │ 5  │ 6  │
└───┴─────────┴────┴────┘

Grid

Splits the largest container, creating balanced even layouts.

┌─────────┬─────────┐
│    1    │    2    │
├─────────┼─────────┤
│    3    │    4    │
└─────────┴─────────┘

ThreeColumn · TabbedPairs · Custom

Layman ships with 5 layouts and supports custom layouts — drop a Python file in ~/.config/layman/ that extends WorkspaceLayoutManager and it loads automatically.

→ Layout documentation

⚙️ Configuration

Layman uses a single TOML file at ~/.config/layman/config.toml.

Option	Default	Description
defaultLayout	"none"	Layout for new workspaces
masterWidth	50	Master window width (1–99%)
stackLayout	"splitv"	splitv, splith, tabbed, stacking
stackSide	"right"	left or right
visibleStackLimit	3	Max visible stack windows
depthLimit	0	Autotiling depth limit (0 = unlimited)
excludedWorkspaces	[]	Workspace numbers to ignore
debug	false	Enable debug logging

Override any option per-workspace with [workspace.N] sections.

→ Full config reference · Examples

📋 Commands

All commands can be bound via nop (recommended, zero overhead) or exec:

bindsym $mod+m nop layman layout set MasterStack    # nop binding (instant)
bindsym $mod+m exec layman layout set MasterStack   # exec binding (works too)

Command	Description
layout set <name>	Set layout: MasterStack, Autotiling, Grid, ThreeColumn, TabbedPairs, none
layout maximize	Toggle fake fullscreen
window swap master	Swap focused window with master
window focus master	Focus the master window
window move <dir>	Move window: up, down, left, right
window rotate cw/ccw	Rotate windows clockwise/counter-clockwise
stack toggle	Cycle stack layout: splitv → splith → stacking → tabbed
stack side toggle	Toggle stack side: left ↔ right
master add/remove	Add or remove a master slot
reload	Reload configuration
status	Show current workspace state

🔧 Running as a Service

Systemd user service (recommended)

Create ~/.config/systemd/user/layman.service:

[Unit]
Description=Layman Layout Manager
After=graphical-session.target

[Service]
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/layman
Restart=on-failure

[Install]
WantedBy=graphical-session.target

systemctl --user enable --now layman

📚 Documentation

Configuration Reference	Every option explained
Configuration Examples	Common setups
Sway Integration	Full keybinding guide
Layout Details	In-depth layout docs
Custom Layouts	Write your own layouts
Development Guide	Setup, testing, contributing

Credits

Inspired by layman by Joe Maples (frap129).

License

GPL v3