InstantSpaceSwitcher
Hacker ApprovedShares rank 11 of 30 window managers by recommenders
People recommend it for instant switching between macOS desktops (Spaces) without disabling SIP, and say it is simple and works well. One critic says it is less reliable than yabai.
People recommend it for instant switching between macOS desktops (Spaces) without disabling SIP, and say it is simple and works well. One critic says it is less reliable than yabai.
12 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 11
- criticize it
- 1
- approval share
- 92%
Recommended in 4 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 11 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 11 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 4 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Instant transitions between virtual desktops
“the latter gives instant transitions between virtual desktops”
Comment from 30 May 2026 in “It's hard to justify buying a Framework 12” “felt a bit snappier for actually moving between spaces”
Comment from 10 Apr 2026 in “Native Instant Space Switching on macOS” Simple and does what is needed
“Simple does exactly what I need it to do”
Comment from 9 Jun 2026 in “Ask HN: What are tools you have made for yourself since the advent of AI” “i have this installed and its amazing!”
Comment from 20 Aug 2026 on Hacker News
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Doesn't always work reliably
“It works 90% of the time for me and was good enough for me to share.”
Comment from 9 Apr 2026 in “Native Instant Space Switching on macOS” Less reliable than yabai
“Yabai works while InstantSpaces doesn't”
Comment from 9 Apr 2026 in “Native Instant Space Switching on macOS”
Other window managers people recommend
The four most recommended other window managers, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hyprland | 82 | 33 | 71% | 12 | 1 mo4 owners | Approved |
| Rectangle for macOS | 67 | 3 | 96% | 11 | 1 yr3 owners | Approved |
| Enlightenment window manager | 51 | 19 | 73% | 8 | — | Approved |
| FVWM | 28 | 4 | 88% | 8 | 25 yrs7 owners | Approved |
| InstantSpaceSwitcherThis page | 11 | 1 | 92% | 4 | — | Approved |
What people said
10 of the 12 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“so so happy using this, wish alt tab could use it too”
“perfect. you made my day! thank you kind HN user!”
“i have this installed and its amazing!”
“Simple does exactly what I need it to do”
“the latter gives instant transitions between virtual desktops”
“felt a bit snappier for actually moving between spaces”
“They just released a binary so no more source compilation is needed”
“its implementation is simpler and it doesn't require disabling SIP”
“Yabai works while InstantSpaces doesn't”
“It works 90% of the time for me and was good enough for me to share.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.