Okay, not *everyone*, but it does seem like every productivity guru, developer, and their cat is moving towards having some sort of window tiling functionality or the other on their computer.
So what exactly is window tiling? It is a way to organize app windows on your screen so they don't overlap. Instead of stacking windows on top of each other, tiling arranges them side-by-side.
Think of it like arranging tiles on a floor where each window gets its own space. 🧮
You can tile windows manually by dragging them to screen edges, or use keyboard shortcuts for quick organizing. Some systems do it automatically as you open new windows.
Window Tiling is Having its Moment
A quick demo of Window Tiling (watch the initial 30 seconds or so).
The most obvious examples of window tiling in use would be Windows and macOS. Both have gained proper tiling features in recent years. On Windows 11, there are Snap Layouts, which let you hover over the maximize button to choose from preset grid arrangements. Snap Assist then helps you fill the remaining space with other windows.
On macOS Sequoia and later, you can drag windows to screen edges for native tiling. There's also the Option key method for faster snapping and green button layouts for quick arrangements.
As for the Linux desktop, the ecosystem has given birth to so many different approaches to window tiling that I have lost count of them.
From manual tiling window managers like i3 and bspwm to dynamic ones like awesome and XMonad. From Wayland compositors like Sway and Hyprland to GNOME and KDE extensions that add tiling functionality.
Window Tiling is More Accessible Now
Ubuntu, one of the most popular Linux desktop operating systems around, ships with Tiling Assistant by default since 23.10 and has been received quite well by users. The implementation is straightforward. Drag a window to a screen edge, and it snaps into place. The system then suggests other windows to fill the remaining space.
By itself, Tiling Assistant is a GNOME Shell extension that makes it possible to tile windows like this on the GNOME desktop environment, so you could install it on other Linux distros that come equipped with GNOME.
However, there's an even better option that I personally use on my Fedora Workstation daily driver.
Tiling Shell is another GNOME extension that offers significantly more control. You can create and manage custom layouts with a built-in editor, import/export layouts so that they can be used across devices, and easily tile windows across workspaces and displays.
Beyond that, there's COSMIC on Pop!_OS 24.04 LTS, which surprised me recently with how slick its window tiling implementation is. The system handles window organization efficiently, and it just works.
In this case, COSMIC treats each display independently for tiling. Your laptop screen can have one layout while your external monitor uses another. The tiling works per workspace and per display, which is precisely what you would want when you are juggling multiple tasks across different screens.
Finally, there's Hyprland, which has taken the community by storm. This Wayland compositor has become the preferred desktop interface for many people, especially those into ricing their Linux desktops.
If you browse r/unixporn, you will notice Hyprland has dominated the scene over the past couple of years. Beautiful setups with smooth animations and eye candy are everywhere.
But it's not just about looks. The compositor combines dynamic tiling with gorgeous aesthetics, smooth animations, rounded corners, blur effects, and customizable gaps between windows. It achieves all that while being lightweight and responsive.
Closing Words
As Window Tiling becomes standard across operating systems, I wouldn't be surprised if we see better integration with virtual desktops, smarter window grouping based on workflow, or even more distros adopting tiling functionality by default.
Suggested Read 📖: What is a Tiling Window Manager in Linux?
Ankush Das
