Improving your macOS to behave like a Linux Desktop (2025)
In 2024, I wrote a blog post about How to turn your macOS into a Linux-like Desktop in The Miners Blog.
A little more than one year later, my macOS interface and usability remain the same – using a Tiling Window Manager and PC-like key bindings – but with some tools replacement or improvements.
In this article, I’ll present what has changed, using the original blog post as a reference.
TLDR – What changed?
Here is a short list of what changed, in case you prefer a brief overview and want to check the tools’ documentation yourself.
| Previously used | Replaced by |
|---|---|
| Swapping modifier keys | Karabiner Elements |
~/Library/KeyBindings/DefaultKeyBinding.dict | Karabiner Elements |
| SKHD key bindings | Aerospace, Karabiner Elements |
| Yabai / macOS Spaces | Aerospace |
| Dropdown terminal | WIP |
On the other hand, the following tools and configurations remain the same:
- Docker with Colima
- Alacritty middle click paste
- Homebrew
- Scroll Reverser
New tools and configurations
Now, let’s explore the features of these tools in more detail.
Karabiner Elements
Karabiner Elements is a powerful keyboard customizer for macOS. And although it has a GUI, its settings are stored in a JSON file and can be saved to your dotfiles.
Karabiner monitors low-level input events and can make lots of customizations, from replacing a key with another, or with a combination of keys, or even mouse events.
Another great addition, is that there are predefined rules by the community that can be imported and used.
I use a PC-Style Shortcuts configuration to be able to use Ctrl+ key bindings for common tasks like saving, opening new tabs, etc. This is why I don’t need to edit ~/Library/KeyBindings/DefaultKeyBinding.dict anymore or use skhd.
How to install Karabiner Elements
To install Karabiner Elements, download its *.pkg file from the website, or use Homebrew:
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brew install --cask karabiner-elements
Then follow the remaining instructions on the Karabiner Elements installation guide.
Its configuration file is located at ~/.config/karabiner/karabiner.json. It is not a user-friendly file, and it is much easier to configure using the GUI, but you can backup the configuration on your dotfiles.
If you want to import community rules, just find them in the Karabiner community rules page and click the Import button.
Aerospace
Aerospace is a Tiling Window Manager for macOS, inspired by i3 and, although still in beta, it is stable enough to be used daily. Its key features are:
- Employs its own emulation of virtual workspaces, which doesn’t have the downsides or conflicts with macOS native Spaces.
- Allows fast workspace switching, without animations
- Use a plain-text configuration
- Doesn’t require disabling SIP (System Integrity Protection)
- Defines its own key bindings, using the configuration file, avoiding the need for
skhdor another tool
When I first tried Aerospace, it was very new and with a small user base or reviews. But over time, it has evolved to become more stable and reliable, especially comparing with the alternatives I presented before.
There are a few minor downsides, however: Aerospace still doesn’t have a good scriptable way to query and manage windows, especially floating windows, and no support for focus follow mouse behavior. But those features are expected to be implemented at some time.
How to install Aerospace
Aerospace is installed through Homebrew.
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brew install --cask nikitabobko/tap/aerospace
On the first run, Aerospace will require some system permissions to work properly, as well as being started at login.
Its configuration file is located at ~/.config/aerospace/aerospace.toml. For reference or samples, check the Aerospace configuration documentation.
Dropdown terminal (WIP)
Having a working Dropdown terminal is not fully possible with only Aerospace yet, due to the lack of commands for querying and managing floating windows.
I have a work-in-progress solution using a mix of Alacritty window position arguments + Aerospace config. The configuration sample is below, and you can read more about its limitations and issues, or collaborate on the Aerospace DDTerm discussion on GitHub.
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[mode.main.binding]
# Dropdown terminal
ctrl-esc = '''exec-and-forget pgrep -x alacritty > /dev/null && \
alacritty msg create-window \
--title='Dropdown terminal' \
-o window.position.y=0 -o window.position.x=0 \
-o window.dimensions.lines=35 -o window.dimensions.columns=240 || \
open -na /Applications/Alacritty.app --args \
--title='Dropdown terminal' \
-o window.position.y=0 -o window.position.x=0 \
-o window.dimensions.lines=35 -o window.dimensions.columns=240
'''
[[on-window-detected]]
if.window-title-regex-substring = 'Dropdown terminal'
run = ['layout floating']
A similar configuration can be done with other terminal emulators too.
How to install Alacritty
To install Alacritty you can download from its website or use Homebrew.
Due to the lack of notarization, the Alacritty application is held on quarantine by default, not allowing it to be started. To avoid this issue you can explicitly remove the quarantine as below.
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brew install --cask alacritty --no-quarantine
# or
brew install --cask alacritty
xattr -d com.apple.quarantine /Applications/Alacritty.app
Please, be mindful that removing quarantine attributes from unknown applications might impose some risk to your computer. Proceed with caution and at your own discretion.
Alternatives
If you really need a fully functional Dropdown Terminal, you can use another option, like iTerm2. Just remember to add a rule to Aerospace to make its window float.
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[[on-window-detected]]
if.window-title-regex-substring = 'Dropdown terminal' # replace with the window title or id
run = ['layout floating']
Unchanged solutions
As I mentioned, I’m still using Homebrew as package manager, Colima to manager containers, Scroll Reverser to remove mouse/touchpad natural scroll, and Alacritty middle click paste configuration, so you can refer to the original post How to turn your macOS into a Linux-like Desktop for those configurations.
If any of my settings change in the future, I’ll update this blog post or write a new one.
Stay tuned.