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Simple Tiling

A lightweight, opinionated, and automatic tiling window manager for GNOME Shell

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Simple-Tiling-v6

Introduction

Simple Tiling is a GNOME Shell extension for users who want a clean, predictable, and automatic tiling layout without the complexity of larger, more feature-heavy tiling extensions. It is designed to be simple to configure and intuitive to use, focusing on a core set of essential tiling features.

The extension supports GNOME Shell 3.38 through 49 across four dedicated builds and runs on both X11 and Wayland.

Features

  • Automatic Tiling: Windows are automatically arranged into a master and stack layout without any manual intervention.
  • Master & Fibonacci Stack Layout: The first window becomes the "master," occupying the left portion of the screen. All subsequent windows form a "stack" on the right, tiled using a space-efficient Fibonacci-style algorithm.
  • Configurable Master Window Ratio: Set the master window width anywhere between 20 % and 80 % of the work area directly from the preferences window.
  • Multi-Monitor Support: Each connected monitor maintains its own independent master/stack layout. Windows stay on their respective monitors without interference.
  • Monocle Mode: Switch to a full-screen single-window layout at any time with a keyboard shortcut. Cycle through all tiled windows using the next/previous monocle shortcuts without changing the tile order.
  • Toggle Tiling: Enable or disable the entire tiling system on the fly with an assignable keyboard shortcut — without disabling the extension. Re-enabling rescans all open windows and restores the layout automatically.
  • Float Window: Temporarily remove any window from the tiling layout with a keyboard shortcut. The window can then be positioned freely. Press the shortcut again to snap it back into the layout.
  • Configurable New Window Behavior: Choose whether new windows open as the new master or are appended to the stack.
  • Interactive Window Swapping:
    • Drag & Drop: Swap any two windows by dragging one over the other.
    • Keyboard Shortcuts: Swap the focused window with the master or with its nearest neighbor in any direction (left, right, up, down).
  • Interactive Window Focus Switcher: Move focus between windows with customizable keyboard shortcuts in all four directions.
  • Exceptions Management: Exclude specific applications from tiling directly from the preferences window — no file editing required. Exceptions are stored persistently in GSettings and survive extension updates. Excluded windows are automatically centered and kept above all other windows.
  • Smart Pop-up Handling: Dialogs, overlay windows, and applications that set the skip-taskbar flag are automatically excluded from tiling.
  • Simple Settings Panel: Adjust keybindings, window gaps, master ratio, new window behavior, and exceptions from the GNOME Extensions preferences window.

Requirements

  • GNOME Shell Version: 3.38 – 49
  • Session Type: X11 and Wayland (fully supported)
  • Monitor Setup: Single and multi-monitor setups supported.

Installation

Recommended

Use the GNOME Shell Extensions website to install and enable the latest version.

Manual Installation

The repository includes a Makefile that produces ready-to-install ZIP packages for the four supported GNOME Shell lines.

  1. Clone the source

    git clone https://github.com/Domoel/Simple-Tiling.git
cd Simple-Tiling

  2. Install the package that matches your GNOME Shell version

    make install-legacy        # GNOME Shell 3.38
make install-enterprise    # GNOME Shell 40
make install-interim       # GNOME Shell 41 – 44
make install-modern        # GNOME Shell 45+

    To build ZIP archives without installing, run make build (all versions) or make build-legacy / make build-enterprise / make build-interim / make build-modern individually. Place the extracted archive in ~/.local/share/gnome-shell/extensions/ to install manually.

  3. Reload the shell

    Press Alt + F2, type r, hit Enter   (X11)
Log out and back in                  (Wayland)

  4. Clean up (optional)

    make clean

Configuration

Keyboard Shortcuts

All keyboard shortcuts are configured in GNOME Settings:

  1. Open Settings → Keyboard → View and Customize Shortcuts.
  2. Scroll to the Custom Shortcuts section.
  3. All Simple Tiling shortcuts are listed there.
Action Default
Swap with master Super + Return
Swap left / right / up / down Super + ←/→/↑/↓
Focus left / right / up / down Alt + ←/→/↑/↓
Toggle tiling (unset)
Float / unfloat focused window (unset)
Toggle monocle mode (unset)
Monocle: next window (unset)
Monocle: previous window (unset)

Exceptions

Applications excluded from tiling are managed directly in the Simple Tiling preferences window — no file editing required.

  • Open the extension preferences and navigate to the Exceptions section.
  • Enter the application's WM_CLASS (X11) or App ID (Wayland) and click the add button.
  • Remove any entry with the delete button next to it.
  • The check is case-insensitive. Exceptions are stored in GSettings and survive extension updates.

To find an application's WM_CLASS, run xprop WM_CLASS in a terminal and click the window. To find the App ID on Wayland, press Alt + F2, type lg, open the Windows tab, and click the target window.

Excluded applications are centered on screen and kept above all other windows.

Window Gaps

Inner gap (between windows) and outer gaps (horizontal and vertical screen edges) are adjustable in the preferences window.

Master Window Ratio

The master window width defaults to 50 % of the work area. Adjust it between 20 % and 80 % in the preferences window under Window Behavior.

Tiling Window Delays

If you experience race conditions between Mutter and the extension, the tiling delay constants (TILING_DELAY_MS, CENTERING_DELAY_MS) can be adjusted at the top of extension.js after installation.

Development & Support

If you need support or want to participate in the development of this extension, join the Zeitfresser Matrix Community or the Development & Support Channel on Matrix.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License — see the LICENSE file for details.