Software Alternatives & Reviews

yabai VS Stay for OS X

Compare yabai VS Stay for OS X and see what are their differences

yabai logo yabai

A tiling window manager for macOS based on binary space partitioning

Stay for OS X logo Stay for OS X

Keep windows in their place
  • yabai Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-26
  • Stay for OS X Landing page
    Landing page //
    2019-08-10

yabai videos

Yabai Demonstration

More videos:

  • Demo - yabai macOS Tiling Window Manager Demonstration

Stay for OS X videos

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Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to yabai and Stay for OS X)
Window Manager
80 80%
20% 20
Mac Tools
90 90%
10% 10
OSX Tools
78 78%
22% 22
OSX Window Manager
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, yabai should be more popular than Stay for OS X. It has been mentiond 132 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

yabai mentions (132)

  • Ask HN: Best Hacks for a Ultrawide Monitor?
    I have a 49 inch CRG9 and the best recommendation for window management is Yabai (https://github.com/koekeishiya/yabai). Yabai is a greedy window management solution that tries to fit opened applications in given space and skhd let's you easily jump between those using keyboard shortcuts. This has massively improved my ultrawide experience. Only disclaimer is, configuring yabai has a slight learning curve. - Source: Hacker News / 3 months ago
  • Is there an app that does this Windows feature?
    Want something free that's better than tiling on Windows? Yabai. Source: 5 months ago
  • macOS Containers v0.0.1
    SIP is a feature that protects you from malicious actors with root (admin) access on your device. After they've encrypted your photos and drives and changed your passwords, it prevents them from making your machine unbootable by deleting or altering system binaries. As a side effect of this protection, you give up certain freedoms to customize your system. - Source: Hacker News / 7 months ago
  • Ask HN: Why does Apple refuse to add window snapping to macOS?
    This is disproven by the fact that Yabai [1] can instantly swap spaces with SIP disabled. [1] https://github.com/koekeishiya/yabai. - Source: Hacker News / 11 months ago
  • Ask HN: Why does Apple refuse to add window snapping to macOS?
    I feel the same way. I would much prefer no animation at all, and an instant transition to another space. Apparently this is possible with [yabai](https://github.com/koekeishiya/yabai), but it requires disabling system integrity protection which I am personally uncomfortable with. - Source: Hacker News / 11 months ago
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Stay for OS X mentions (21)

  • I wish OSX had better support for window/desktop arrangement when disconnecting external monitors.
    I've been using Stay for years to solve this. Source: 11 months ago
  • Windows positions
    It’s not built in to macOS but there is a perfect free tool I use that does just want you want. It’s called “Stay” Stay by Cordless Dog. Source: 12 months ago
  • Is there a way to move specific apps to specific monitors when plugging in?
    Stay is designed exactly for that purpose. Source: about 1 year ago
  • I was a MacOS hater until...
    If you like your windows to stay in the same place, I’d recommend Stay. Source: about 1 year ago
  • looking for a solution for keeping windows placed in different spaces on dual monitors
    Previously I would recommend Stay for this. I use it and it works for me (on Monterey), but it seems to be abandonware (multiple support emails to developer have gone unanswered). It is still available. Source: about 1 year ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing yabai and Stay for OS X, you can also consider the following products

Rectangle - Window management app based on Spectacle, written in Swift.

Moom - Move your mouse over the green zoom button in any window, and Moom's mouse control overlay will appear (as seen in the above animation).

Magnet Window Manager - Magnet Developers

Workspaces - Your things well-organized. Ready to open with one click.

uBar - The Dock replacement for the Mac.

Mizage Divvy - Divvy is an entirely new way of managing your workspace.