X Mode - A macOS-like Workflow on Linux with Omarchy

Timur Guseynov — Sun, 11 Oct 2026 14:33:46 +0000

You love the power and customization of Linux, but you miss the seamless, muscle-memory window management of macOS.

Enter X Mode for Omarchy. It’s similar to macOS, but not the same.

Here is the core philosophy of how it’s meant to be used, and why it might just change the way you work.

💡 The Golden Rule of X Mode: Never minimize or hide windows. No manual window resizing. Workspaces are only for something extra. Snaps and tabs arrange the windows so they can sit on top of each other. You never think about hiding windows or where you put them. The Dock is always on for fast access.

Let’s break down how this workflow actually feels in practice.

1. Tabs Over Workspaces 🗂️

On a Mac, if you open two Finder windows, they can be grouped. X Mode brings this to every app you choose. If you have two windows of the same app on a workspace, they automatically become tabs of a single window.
Instead of scattering 10 editor windows across 4 workspaces, you have one workspace with a single, tabbed editor window. Your cognitive load drops significantly.
Optional compact tabs: one Chrome-like row.

2. Rectangle-style Snapping 📐

X Mode adds a Mac-like titlebar with intuitive snapping:

Drag to a side → halves the screen.
Drag to a corner → quarters the screen.
Drag to the top edge → maximizes.
Keyboard alternative: Super + Alt + ←/→ cycles through ½ → ⅔ → ⅓ splits.

3. The Dock & App Switcher 🚀

The Dock lives on the right edge. It’s always visible.

Click: Focus or launch.
Right-click: Open a new window, see the window list, pin, or quit.
App Switcher: Hold Super and tap Tab. It works exactly like macOS Cmd+Tab, prioritizing the most recently used apps. Release Super to switch.
Tab switching: Alt + Tab cycles the focused window’s tabs. Ctrl + 1…0 or Super + 1…0 (with Workspaces on F1…F10) jumps to a tab, off by default.

4. Your Mac Keyboard Shortcuts, Everywhere ⌨️

In X Mode, Super acts as your Command (⌘) key. The plugin intelligently maps the shortcuts you already know:

Text Navigation: Super + ←/→ (start/end of line), Alt + ←/→ (by word).
Screenshots: Super + Shift + 3 (full), Super + Shift + 4 (region), Super + Shift + 5 (recording).
App Control: Super + Q to quit, Super + W to close a window/tab.
Terminal friendly: Ctrl + C still interrupts, but Super + C copies.

Some of this is a switch in the panel. Super as Ctrl maps the keys Omarchy doesn’t already use, so ⌘T, ⌘R, ⌘L reach the app as ⌃T, ⌃R, ⌃L right away. Keys Omarchy keeps for itself, like ⌘W, stay put until you turn ⌘W as ⌃W on: then the browser or editor gets the key and closes its own tab instead of the window. Each can be set for every app, or pinned for one.

🎥 See it in action

(Notice how windows stack, tab, and snap without ever touching a "minimize" button)

Why this workflow works

By combining tabs, snapping, and a persistent dock, you stop thinking about "where" a window is. You get to the app with Super+Tab or a click in the Dock, then to the tab with a click, Alt+Tab, or Super+1…0. If you need to compare two documents, you snap them side-by-side. It’s fluid, fast, and respects your existing muscle memory.

Try it out

X Mode is optional and additive. Omarchy’s default tiling stays intact. A single click in the top bar turns X Mode off, and uninstalling leaves your base config untouched.

Not on Omarchy yet? It’s an Arch Linux distro with Hyprland. Strong defaults, a beautiful desktop, ready for work right after installation. It’s made by DHH, the creator of Rails and Basecamp, and the co-author of Rework and Remote: Office Not Required. Here’s the installation guide.

If you are on Omarchy v4+, you can install it in seconds:

hyprpm update
git clone https://github.com/timurguseynov/omarchy-x-mode.git ~/omarchy-x-mode
~/omarchy-x-mode/install.sh

(Check the GitHub Repo for detailed settings, per-app configurations, and uninstallation instructions).

Let me know your thoughts in the comments! 👇

DEV Community: Timur Guseynov