whatisgithub

What is slate?

fieldju/slate — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-07-17 · repo last pushed 2020-08-06

Audience · developerComplexity · 3/5DormantSetup · moderate

In one sentence

Slate is a free keyboard-driven window manager for Mac that resizes and arranges windows into custom layouts instantly.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((repo))
    What it does
      Resizes windows via keys
      Defines custom layouts
      Snaps windows to positions
    Tech stack
      macOS app
      Config file based
    Use cases
      Multi monitor layouts
      Snap windows to halves
      Replace Divvy or SizeUp
    Audience
      Developers
      Designers and writers
    Setup
      Config in home folder
      Enable accessibility access
      Works on OS X 10.6 plus

Code map

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filefunction / class

What do people build with it?

USE CASE 1

Snap a browser window to the left half and an editor to the right half with one keyboard shortcut.

USE CASE 2

Define custom multi-monitor window layouts for different work setups.

USE CASE 3

Assign shortcuts to move, resize, or snap windows to screen corners.

USE CASE 4

Replace paid window managers like Divvy or SizeUp with a free, more configurable tool.

What is it built with?

macOS

How does it compare?

fieldju/slate0verflowme/alarm-clock0xhassaan/nn-from-scratch
Stars——0
Language—CSSPython
Last pushed2020-08-062022-10-03—
MaintenanceDormantDormant—
Setup difficultymoderateeasymoderate
Complexity3/52/54/5
Audiencedevelopervibe coderdeveloper

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you get it running?

Difficulty · moderate Time to first run · 30min

Requires enabling accessibility permissions in System Preferences and writing a config file.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1
Help me write a Slate configuration file that snaps my browser to the left half and terminal to the right half of the screen.
Prompt 2
Explain how to assign a keyboard shortcut in Slate to move a window to specific pixel coordinates.
Prompt 3
Walk me through enabling the accessibility permissions Slate needs on macOS to control windows.
Prompt 4
Show me how to set up different default layouts in Slate for single-monitor versus three-monitor setups.
Prompt 5
Help me add a shell command to my Slate config that runs before a window layout is applied.

Frequently asked questions

What is slate?

Slate is a free keyboard-driven window manager for Mac that resizes and arranges windows into custom layouts instantly.

Is slate actively maintained?

Dormant — no commits in 2+ years (last push 2020-08-06).

How hard is slate to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated moderate, with roughly 30min to a first successful run.

Who is slate for?

Mainly developer.

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