# Cate

13 Hacker News commenters recommended Cate and 5 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 1 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Desktop app that arranges files, terminal and tools on an infinite canvas to help with context switching. Critics find it janky and unlike the window manager they expected.

## Why people recommend it

- Spatial infinite canvas for files (3 comments): "I think the infinite canvas is a key feature, so you couldn't just disregard this to make it into a window manager." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48291900)) "creating a spatial map of open files and other resources is" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48291823)) "Spatial got me hooked, but then I saw the demo..." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48291925))
- Workspaces managed inside one app (2 comments): "Having a desktop app for your workspace helps hide Slack and other distracting items while context switching between different productivity apps." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48294403)) "being able to have workspaces managed by an app" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48291234))

## What people warn about

- Expected a window manager, not an app (2 comments): "But I think, I maybe expected more a windowmanager." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48291394)) "it should be WM isntead of a very limited electron app" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48291059))
- Electron app, not native (2 comments): "Nice, but I'd love to see something more native." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48290848)) "it should be WM isntead of a very limited electron app" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48291059))
- Janky, widgets often broken (2 comments): "right now its simply too janky for me to use it on a daily basis" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48292130)) "most basic widget handling either doesn't work or is broken" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48291504))

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Cate", https://hackerapproved.com/p/cate/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).