OmniWM v0.4.8 pre-release

[yougotwill]

Just updated to the pre-release for testing. My settings were reset, I assume because of the TOML migration and there is no way to import an existing settings file back.

I will manually convert my file but maybe put a warning on the release notes @BarutSRB

[BarutSRB]

@yougotwill totally forgot you are right ❤️❤️❤️

[yougotwill]

I will post my comments here to keep the issues clean.

[yougotwill]

1. String needs to change JSON to TOML

[yougotwill]

@BarutSRB I just saw that the homebrew cask is showing an update to v0.4.8 pre-release.

I think it would be better if the homebrew install is only used for stable releases. What do you think?

It might also be good to support different release channels in the update checker if you plan on doing pre-releases going forward 😊

[Guria]

I am not sure about performance, but for me this version was barely usable because of many glitches, so I had to downgrade.

[incanus]

Was it intentional to scrap the previous version's config? I see about the new config location, but I lost my config coming from 0.4.7.4.

[BarutSRB]

@incanus you didn't loose your config; if you exported it previously it's just renamed but still in .config/omniwm/

If you didn't export before the config file, it is still in UserDefaults where you can rerun previous version and export the file before moving to the pre-release version

[incanus]

Ok, thanks — I don't mean it as a criticism, just a question/note for others in case you unintentionally upgrade to the pre-release. Keep up the good work!

[BarutSRB]

Don't worry just sometimes if im busy i write quickly so I dont get defocused and it might seem like i took offence 😂❤️

[yougotwill]

2. Swipe animations still freeze and lag between multiple libreoffice windows.

[yougotwill]

3. When I quit an application sometimes the windows are not retiled and the space where the window was is left empty. Using the Niri layout

[flschulz]

I can confirm that. I know that we had that bug also in the past, so maybe it is a regression.

[dagrlx]

Hi @BarutSRB, I don't know if I should open an issue since I'm using the pre-release 0.4.8 version, but I'll describe something I've noticed here.

Bug Report: Workspace assignment resets when creating new windows
Description
When applications are configured to open by default in a specific workspace, moving them to another workspace and then creating new windows causes the application to snap back to the original default workspace instead of respecting the current one. This behavior is inconsistent across applications.

Steps to Reproduce
Configure Ghostty to open by default in workspace 2 in tiling mode.

Open Ghostty and move the window to workspace 3.

Create a new Ghostty window.

Observed behavior: the new window opens, but Ghostty is forced back to workspace 2.

Repeat by moving Ghostty to workspace 4 and creating another window.

Observed behavior: all Ghostty windows return to workspace 2.

Expected Behavior
Once an application has been manually moved to another workspace, newly created windows should remain in the current workspace instead of reverting to the default assignment.

Additional Cases
Vivaldi: Configured to open by default in workspace 5.

Moved to workspace 3.

Creating a new private window causes Vivaldi to move back to workspace 5.

Safari: Configured to open by default in a workspace.

Moved to another workspace.

Creating a new window does not trigger the same issue. Safari respects the current workspace assignment.

[BarutSRB]

@dagrlx Hi, firstly you should always open up an issue, not only does it show you care about improving Omni but also gives an opportunity to improve it or get an answer. It also gives an opportunity for someone else to maybe take a poke at fixing the issue. That being said most of the issues including this one will be fixed for the release, pre-release was just that a way to get feedback from the community if I'm on the right track and also catch bugs that I missed or can't reproduce with my tests or my manually workflow.

Thank you for taking the time to write an issue and using Omni ❤️❤️❤️

[dagrlx]

@dagrlx Hi, firstly you should always open up an issue, not only does it show you care about improving Omni but also gives an opportunity to improve it or get an answer. It also gives an opportunity for someone else to maybe take a poke at fixing the issue. That being said most of the issues including this one will be fixed for the release, pre-release was just that a way to get feedback from the community if I'm on the right track and also catch bugs that I missed or can't reproduce with my tests or my manually workflow.

Thank you for taking the time to write an issue and using Omni ❤️❤️❤️

Thanks for the observation, I've already opened the issue #274.

I'm eagerly awaiting the new version. I'm using OmniWM as my main Windows Manager under Niri, and despite the bugs, I'm experiencing less friction than with other options.

Long live OmniWM!

[ddevaal]

I kind of have a love–hate relationship with OmniWM. On one hand, I really want to love it because it’s about as close as you can get to Niri on macOS (paneru and rift are not close at all imo). It could be perfect, but there are so many bugs that I usually end up going back to my manual tiling setup on macOS within an hour. I know it's all volunteer based work <3 but I hope it improves eventually!

[dagrlx]

I kind of have a love–hate relationship with OmniWM. On one hand, I really want to love it because it’s about as close as you can get to Niri on macOS (paneru and rift are not close at all imo). It could be perfect, but there are so many bugs that I usually end up going back to my manual tiling setup on macOS within an hour. I know it's all volunteer based work <3 but I hope it improves eventually!

I understand your frustration, and I share it. I hadn't tried anything like Niri's style, and it's the best fit for my work style. I haven't used Linux on my desktop for about nine years, only on servers. Something that has always frustrated me about macOS is its poor window management. Mac fans can say what they want, but this is an issue that has been criticized for years. People with an altruistic spirit, or with a desire to improve their lives and the lives of others, create these development instances in their free time, seeking to alleviate the deficiencies of the base software. I know we all want things to progress quickly and gradually, but we have to be patient and wait for a team or group of people to form to support a project of this magnitude. This is a young project, but new technologies are leading us to expect everything to mature and be stable in a short time, but the truth is, it doesn't work that way, not even in a private company. The Ghostty project took quite a while before its public release, and its release cycle is approximately six months unless you use the tip release version.

I'll conclude by saying patience. I've been through Aerospaces, Yabai, Rift, and now this, and no software is perfect. I recently tried Paneru and Komorebi, and nothing compares to what OmniWM is. I'm also eagerly awaiting a new version with many bugs fixed, but we'll have to wait. Good luck.

[flschulz]

I have on one Mac always the latest version to see how stable it is and on my other Mac that I use most of the day for productive use cases I currently stick to version 0.4.5. This is currently for me the most stable version, it also has some flaws (e.g. the raycast border is not getting removed, although raycast is already closed and it needs a few window switches until this disappears), but besides of that it is at least on my setup super usable and I use it day by day.
I hope that at some point in time the whole Zig migration with all the regressions that came back is done and then I'm happy to upgrade to that version, until then I'm happy to stick with 0.4.5.

In general my hope is that OmniWM still somehow keeps a focus and doesn't try to solve in the end lots of different problems, but that it instead keeps its focus on Niri and Hyperland and thats it. Of course thats up to the owner of the project, but what you often see is that projects get bloated up over time and the usability suffers from it. I'm more a fan of modular applications that you can stick together and solve single problems.