Keyboard-first workspaces for macOS
Give each project its own workspace. One keystroke brings its windows back where you left them, and reopens that project's Claude chat and Slack channel.
Launching soon. Free for 14 days, then $19 once. macOS 14+, Apple silicon.
Real shortcuts: ⌃⌥1–4, or hover the screen and hold ⌥ Tab.
Step 1: Compose
Start from a template, then make it yours. Split a zone right or down, drag a divider to the percent, and give each zone its apps.
Drag a divider to resize. Proportions are saved for this workspace.
Step 2: Context
Claude, Codex and Slack show every project in one window. Give each workspace its project and channel: when you switch to it, Claude and Codex bring back that project's latest chat, and Slack goes to that channel.
Press Control Option Shift 1⌃⌥⇧1 and every app opens in its zone, on the folder, tabs, chat, device or channel you chose.
Layout opens things. It never runs a shell command, so your dev server has to be up for localhost to load.
Step 3: Switch
Windows from other workspaces move out of view and come back exactly where they were. Nothing is minimized, and nothing reloads.
Try them here: the keys light up as you press them.Every shortcut in the docs
Remap any of them in Settings, down to each workspace's shortcut. Give each keyboard its own: ⌃⌥ on your MacBook, Hyper, thumb keys or F13 on your split keyboard. Layout goes by the keyboards you've connected, so QMK, ZMK and Karabiner setups just work.
Workspaces on the left. On the right, the layout, its zones and floating apps, and what each app opens. While Layout is paused, you can set everything up before it moves a single window.
Before a window leaves the screen, Layout writes it to a journal. Pausing or quitting puts every window back, and so does Control Option Shift R⌃⌥⇧R. After a crash, open Layout again and activate it: the windows come back before anything else.
Layout moves windows with the Accessibility permission. It never asks for Screen Recording or Full Disk Access.
No account, no telemetry. Your layouts live in ~/Library/Application Support/Layout.
Export diagnostics writes a JSON file where you choose. Window titles become aliases unless you ask to include them.
Early access
$9.99instead of $19
One-time purchase, no subscription. The price goes up to $19 with Layout 1.0.
One email at launch, nothing else. The trial has every feature, and you don't need a card to start it.
Everything else is in the documentation.
Not yet: this version supports one display. If you connect a second one, Layout pauses, which brings back any windows it had moved out of view. Turn it back on once you're down to one display.
No. Two window managers would move the same windows, so quit AeroSpace first. Layout checks before it turns on.
No. Layout's workspaces live on one desktop: windows from other workspaces are moved out of view instead of minimized, the way AeroSpace does it. Leave native full screen before you switch.
They come back. Layout keeps a journal of every window it moves out of view. Open Layout again and activate it: those windows come back first. While it's paused, choose Recover windows from the Layout icon in the menu bar.
Yes. Give a workspace a project and a Slack channel. Switching to it brings back that project's latest chat in Claude or Codex and opens the channel in Slack, in the window you already have. For Slack, paste the channel's Copy link address. Discord, Linear, Notion and other apps take a link in their own format instead, such as a discord:// link.
No. It opens folders, tabs and links, launches apps and boots simulators. It never runs a shell command, so localhost has to be running already.
Yes. Remap Layout's shortcuts in Settings, down to each workspace's own. Function keys work on their own, so a spare key can open the command palette.
Yes. Each keyboard can have its own shortcuts: keep ⌃⌥ on your MacBook and give your split keyboard Hyper, thumb keys or F13. Layout goes by the keyboards you've connected, so QMK, ZMK and Karabiner setups work as they are. With two keyboards connected, both sets work.
No. It's $19 once, after a 14-day free trial with every feature.
Layout is launching soon. Leave your email for a single message on launch day.
$19 once · 14-day trial · macOS 14+