What is a scrolling window manager?

There are three ways a computer can arrange your windows. Most people only ever meet the first.

1. Overlapping

The default on the Mac and on Windows. Windows float wherever they land and cover each other. Flexible, and messy as soon as you have more than a few.

2. Grid tiling

Windows are fitted into the screen with no overlap. Open a second window and the screen splits in two. A third, and one of the halves splits again. Nothing is hidden, but every new window makes the others smaller, so with six windows open each one is cramped.

3. Scrolling

Windows sit side by side in columns on one strip that is wider than the screen. Your display shows part of the strip. Opening a window adds a column next to the one you are using and makes the strip longer. Nothing shrinks. To get to a window you scroll the strip, with a key or a swipe.

Think of a row of sheets of paper on a long desk. You slide along to the one you need, rather than stacking them or cutting them smaller.

Where the idea comes from

On Linux it is well known through PaperWM, an extension for the GNOME desktop, and niri, a window manager built around the strip from the start. ClutterFreeMac brings the same model to macOS as a native app.

Who it suits

• People who keep many windows open at once: research, writing, coding, design, support.
• Laptop screens, where splitting the screen four ways leaves nothing usable.
• Ultrawide monitors, where you can see three or four full columns at once.

It suits people less who only use one full screen app at a time. If that is you, the Mac's own full screen mode is already a fine fit.