Show HN: FlashSpace – fast, open-source, macOS Spaces replacement
18 comments
·February 8, 2025matanrubin
The biggest pain point with macOS spaces is how it handles multiple windows of the same app. It drives me crazy. What is FlashSpace’s approach for solving this?
toddmorey
I’ve tried a lot of tiling window managers & Spaces replacements and it’s hard to take over that central piece of the OS reliably. There’s always at least one of my critical apps that freaks out.
What I want more than anything is just a terminal flag to turn off the dumb animations on the built-in Spaces.
CharlesW
> What I want more than anything is just a terminal flag to turn off the dumb animations on the built-in Spaces.
You can turn on "Reduce Motion" to change it from a slide to a fast cross-fade.
anon7000
I ultimately stopped because the trade off is not being able to see web animations (or most any animations in the OS) most of the time, which isn’t ideal as a web developer.
wojciech-kulik
Yep, tiling window managers usually cause a lot of glitches and you spend more time on fighting with glitches than gaining time using the app. That's why I built FlashSpace with no tiling and annoying taking control over your computer :).
wojciech-kulik
And the terminal flag is not going to happen. Apple doesn't care ;).
rane
Is this compatible with Amethyst? I want tiling windows but without the delay in switching spaces.
wrs
Will this, or anything else, make Safari restore its windows to the spaces they were in when it quit? Chrome does better but only succeeds part of the time. This is so annoying that I’ll consider switching to any browser that does it!
jameschensmith
This looks great! I currently use Aerospace, but your usage of macOS spaces has me curious.
1. Does FlashSpace require disabling SIP?
2. Aerospace documents the limitations of macOS spaces [1]. How does FlashSpace deal with these limitations?
3. Do you have any plans to support file-based configuration? I like syncing my dotfiles between multiple computers.
[1]: https://nikitabobko.github.io/AeroSpace/guide#emulation-of-v...
wojciech-kulik
1. No
2. Aerospace has significant performance issues with workspaces. The problem has persisted for over a year, and there are no plans to fix it. That's why I started building FlashSpace - to make it blazingly fast. Which limitation is especially interesting to you? FlashSpace addresses the animation lag, the number of workspaces is unlimited, and you can move apps between workspaces with hot keys.
3. FlashSpace already supports JSON config files which are stored by default in ~/.config/flashspace, so you can easily sync them.
shaarmar
Good timing, I was exploring my options again in this space and settled on aerospace. Will give this a try
cyberax
Super nice! I wish you could add a grid view of the workspaces. I miss TotalSpaces...
codecraze
Really nice. I will give it a try :)
freedomben
[flagged]
null
conception
This is an interesting question and I think for me open-source on the Mac usually means it’s hard to manage? It might use lots of CLI and config files and libraries and be more Lennox focused. This is fine of course, but I wouldn’t say it’s how you advertise to a Mac user. For me the best Mac apps are made by small focused teams with a passion for the product that they are making with an eye towards customer usability.
wojciech-kulik
Yes, it's a perfect thing to include in the title because using just 2 words I can say:
- It's free to use
- You can request new features, and there is a good chance that they'll be implemented
- There is no tracking = full privacy
- You can add features on your own if you know the platform
- If you learn Swift programming, you can check out the project and learn something from it
- If you are willing to become a contributor, you can join
moondev
Free vs paid subscription
I've recently launched a new open-source project aimed at enhancing the experience of switching between Spaces/workspaces on macOS. The built-in Spaces feature is often slow and unfriendly. This project is designed to boost your productivity :). Enjoy!