Config

rift configuration reference

This document details the configuration of rift. Copy the example configuration from rift.default.toml into ~/.config/rift/config.toml (or $HOME/.config/rift/config.toml) and adjust to taste.

reference

The default configuration is available here and that is a great example in addition to the reference below.

---

[settings]

• animate (boolean)
  • Master switch for window animations. true/false.
• animation_duration (float)
  • Seconds per animation. Typical values: 0.15–0.35. 0.0 disables duration but keep animate = false to fully disable.
• animation_fps (float)
  • Frames per second for animations. Values > 0. Recommend 60–120.

Example:

[settings]
animate = true
mouse_follows_focus = true
focus_follows_mouse = true

• default_disable (boolean)
  • Controls whether newly-created macOS spaces are managed by rift by default.
  • If true, spaces start out disabled and must be activated; if false, spaces are managed by default and you can disable specific ones.
• mouse_follows_focus (boolean)
  • If true, when focus changes rift will move the mouse pointer to the focused window.
• mouse_hides_on_focus (boolean)
  • If true, hide the mouse pointer after focusing a window.
• focus_follows_mouse (boolean)
  • If true, moving the mouse into a window focuses it.
• focus_follows_mouse_disable_hotkey (Hotkey/object)
  • Optional: a hotkey which, while held, temporarily disables focus_follows_mouse. (Serialize as the same hotkey shape used in keybindings.)
• auto_focus_blacklist (array of strings)
  • Application bundle IDs (e.g. "com.apple.Spotlight") that should not trigger automatic workspace switching or steal focus behavior.
• run_on_start (array of strings)
  • Shell commands rift will run on startup. Useful for external integrations or launching helper scripts. When used with rift-cli subscribe, rift can send event data via environment variables available to those commands.
• hot_reload (boolean)
  • When true, rift will watch the configuration file and reload automatically when it changes.

---

[settings.layout]

Layout system and layout-specific options.

• mode (string)
  • "traditional" (container-based like i3/sway), "bsp" (binary space partitioning), "stack" (accordion-style stack), "master_stack" (master area plus stack), or "scrolling" (niri-like columns). Defaults to "traditional" if omitted.
  • Layout tuning is done via the subtables described below: [settings.layout.stack], [settings.layout.master_stack], [settings.layout.gaps], and [settings.layout.scrolling].

[settings.layout.stack]

• stack_offset (float)
  • How much stacked windows stick out (px). 0.0 means windows fully overlap. Typical 30–50 for visible stacked edges.
• default_orientation (string / enum)
  • Controls default stack orientation. Options:
    • "perpendicular" (default): choose orientation perpendicular to parent split
    • "same": use the same orientation as the parent split
    • "horizontal" / "vertical": force a specific orientation

[settings.layout.master_stack]

• master_ratio (float)
  • Fraction of the screen reserved for the master area when layout.mode = "master_stack". Valid range 0.05–0.95.
• master_count (integer)
  • Number of windows kept in the master area. Must be at least 1.
• master_side (string / enum)
  • Placement of the master column: left, right, top, or bottom.
• new_window_placement (string / enum)
  • Where a new window lands when the master area is already full: master, stack, or focused.
• master_arrangement (string / enum, optional)
  • Orientation inside the master area: horizontal or vertical. If omitted, rift derives it from master_side.
• stack_arrangement (string / enum, optional)
  • Orientation inside the stack area: horizontal or vertical. If omitted, rift derives it from master_side.

[settings.layout.gaps]

• [settings.layout.gaps.outer]
  • top, left, bottom, right (floats): gap between windows and screen edges.
• [settings.layout.gaps.inner]
  • horizontal, vertical (floats): gaps between tiled windows.
• [settings.layout.gaps.per_display]
  • map keyed by display UUID. Each key may contain:
    • "<display-uuid>.outer"
      • top, left, bottom, right (floats): override outer gaps for that display.
    • "<display-uuid>.inner"
      • horizontal, vertical (floats): override inner gaps for that display.
  • Notes: an override may specify only outer, only inner, or both; any fields present replace the corresponding defaults for that display.

[settings.layout.scrolling]

• animate (boolean, optional)
  • Whether this layout animates transitions regardless of the global [settings].animate flag (None inherits the global setting).
• column_width_ratio (float)
  • Default width of the selected column as a fraction of the screen width (0..1).
• min_column_width_ratio (float)
  • Smallest allowed column width ratio used when resizing the strip.
• max_column_width_ratio (float)
  • Largest allowed column width ratio used when resizing the strip.
• alignment (string / enum)
  • Visual alignment for the focused column: left, center (default), or right.
• focus_navigation_style (string / enum)
  • Horizontal navigation behavior: niri (default, reveal on demand) or anchored (always align focused column to alignment).
• gestures (table)
  • Configure scroll/swipe gestures within the scrolling layout (see below).

[settings.layout.scrolling.gestures]

• enabled (boolean)
  • Enable horizontal scroll gestures (distinct from workspace swipe gestures) when true.
• invert_horizontal (boolean)
  • Reverse the direction of the scroll gesture.
• fingers (integer)
  • Number of fingers required to trigger a scroll gesture.
• distance_pct (float)
  • Normalized horizontal distance (0..1) required to emit a scroll step.
• propagate_to_workspace_swipe (boolean)
  • When true, overscrolling past the strip boundaries can transition to the next/previous workspace.
• workspace_switch_threshold (float)
  • Amount of overscroll (in strip steps) needed before the layout hands control to the workspace switcher (default ~0.625).

---

[settings.ui]

[settings.ui.menu_bar]

• enabled (boolean): show menu bar workspace indicators.
• show_empty (boolean): when true, include empty workspaces in the menu bar (can cause menubar overflow on macOS).
• mode (string / enum)
  • Controls which workspaces appear: all (default) or active.
• active_label (string / enum)
  • How to label the active workspace: index (default) or name.
• display_style (string / enum)
  • How to render a workspace: layout (default) or label.
• layout_folder (path)
  • Folder containing reusable .ron layout files. Defaults to ~/.config/rift/layouts; paths beginning with ~ are expanded from the home directory.

Warning

the following ui features are experimental

[settings.ui.stack_line]

• enabled (boolean): enable experimental stack-line indicator.
• thickness (float): thickness in pixels when enabled.
• horiz_placement (string): "top" / "bottom" for horizontal stacks.
• vert_placement (string): "left" / "right" for vertical stacks.
• spacing (float): spacing in points between the window edge and the stack line.

[settings.ui.mission_control]

• enabled (boolean): enable mission-control related helpers.
• fade_enabled (boolean): whether mission-control fade helper is active.
• fade_duration_ms (float): fade duration in milliseconds.

---

[settings.gestures]

Trackpad gesture configuration.

• enabled (boolean): enable horizontal swipes to switch virtual workspaces.
• consume_dock_swipe (boolean): consume low-level dock swipe events so macOS does not also handle them.
• invert_horizontal_swipe (boolean): invert the direction of swipe actions.
• skip_empty (boolean): attempt to skip empty workspaces on swipe (if supported).
• fingers (integer): number of fingers required for swipe gestures.
• haptics_enabled (boolean): enable haptic feedback on swipe commit.

---

[settings.window_snapping]

• drag_swap_fraction (float)
  • Fraction threshold used when dragging a window over another to determine when they should swap positions in the layout.

---

[virtual_workspaces]

Virtual workspace controls.

• enabled (boolean)
  • If false, rift acts like a tiler with a single space.
• default_workspace_count (integer)
  • Number of workspaces rift creates on startup (maximum 128; recommended 1–32).
• auto_assign_windows (boolean)
  • When true, new windows can be auto-assigned using app_rules.
• preserve_focus_per_workspace (boolean)
  • When true, rift remembers the last-focused window per virtual workspace.
• workspace_auto_back_and_forth (boolean)
  • When true, switching to the previously active workspace will return you to the last active workspace (back-and-forth behavior).
• workspace_names (array of strings)
  • Optional human-readable names for workspaces in indexed order. If fewer names than default_workspace_count are provided, remaining names default to "Workspace X".
• default_workspace (integer)
  • Index of the workspace to use as the default active workspace on startup (0-based).
• reapply_app_rules_on_title_change (boolean)
  • When true, app rules are reapplied if a window title changes (useful with title_regex/title_substring rules).
• workspace_rules (array of objects)
  • Optional layout overrides keyed by workspace index or name so specific workspaces default to a different layout.mode.
• app_rules (array of objects)
  • Rules that match windows and optionally assign them to workspaces or mark them floating.

app_rules object fields

• app_id (string, optional): application bundle identifier (e.g., "com.apple.Safari").
• app_name (string, optional): substring match on application name.
• title_regex (string, optional): regex applied to the window title. If present it must be a valid regex or the rule will be ignored with a warning.
• title_substring (string, optional): literal substring match (case-sensitive) on window title.
• ax_role (string, optional): exact match for the macOS Accessibility AXRole (e.g., "AXWindow", "AXDialog").
• ax_subrole (string, optional): exact match for the macOS Accessibility AXSubrole (e.g., "AXSystemDialog").
• workspace (integer or string, optional): target workspace (0-based index) or workspace name. If omitted or invalid, defaults to the active workspace.
• floating (boolean, optional): whether new windows matched by the rule should float.
• manage (boolean, optional): whether Rift should manage matching windows (default = true). Set to false to ignore certain apps entirely.

Matching semantics:

• All non-empty fields in a rule are combined with logical AND. A rule only matches if every specified field matches.
• Multiple rules may match a window:
  • If multiple matching rules share the same non-empty app_id, the rule with more specified conditions (more specific) wins.
  • Otherwise, the rule with the highest specificity (most fields set) is chosen; ties are broken by earlier config order.

Examples:

• Float dialogs for a specific app but tile others:

app_rules = [
  { app_id = "com.example.X", title_regex = "Dialog", floating = true },
  { app_id = "com.example.X", floating = false },
]

• Float any "Preferences" window for any app:

app_rules = [
  { title_substring = "Preferences", floating = true },
]

workspace_rules object fields

• workspace (integer or string): workspace index (0-based) or workspace name to target.
• layout (string / enum): layout mode that workspace should use. Options: "traditional", "bsp", "stack", "master_stack", "scrolling".

Example: make workspace 2 use the master-stack layout by default:

workspace_rules = [
  { workspace = 2, layout = "master_stack" },
]

---

[modifier_combinations]

Define reusable modifier combinations to avoid repetition in the keybindings table.

• Example:

[modifier_combinations]
comb1 = "Alt + Shift"

Then use comb1 in [keys] entries like "comb1 + H" = { move_node = "left" }.

---

[keys]

Keybindings map strings (modifier + key) to commands or command objects.

• Syntax: use quotes around the key combination: "Alt + Shift + H" = ...
• Supported modifiers: Alt, Ctrl, Shift, Meta (Meta is Command on macOS).
• Available modifier tokens (generic or side-specific): Alt/Option, AltLeft/OptionLeft, AltRight/OptionRight, Ctrl/Control, CtrlLeft/ControlLeft, CtrlRight/ControlRight, Shift, ShiftLeft, ShiftRight, Meta/Cmd/Command, MetaLeft/CmdLeft/CommandLeft, MetaRight/CmdRight/CommandRight.
• Arrow keys can use ArrowUp/Up, etc. Spacing is flexible.

The configuration parses key strings into the internal hotkey structure; modifier combinations defined in [modifier_combinations] will be expanded before parsing.

Example bindings:

"Alt + H" = { move_focus = "left" }
"Alt + Shift + Left" = { join_window = "left" }
"Alt + 1" = { switch_to_workspace = 1 }
"comb1 + S" = { switch_to_workspace = 2 }

Note about comb1 usage: define comb1 in [modifier_combinations] and reference it in [keys].

commands

• toggle_space_activated — Toggle whether the focused macOS space is activated (managed) by rift.
• next_workspace / prev_workspace — Switch to the next/previous virtual workspace. Pass true to force skipping empty workspaces or false to include them; omit the argument to use the configured default skip-empty behavior.
• switch_to_workspace — Jump to a workspace by index (0-based). If the workspace is already active, workspace_auto_back_and_forth may instead return you to the previous workspace.
• move_window_to_workspace — Move the focused window (or a specific window_id) to another workspace. Accepts N or { workspace = N, window_id = 123 }.
• create_workspace — Allocate a new virtual workspace.
• switch_to_last_workspace — Return to the most recently active workspace.
• set_workspace_layout — Change a workspace's layout mode. Example: { mode = "scrolling" } for the active workspace or { workspace = 2, mode = "bsp" } to target a different index. Valid mode values: traditional, bsp, master_stack, scrolling.
• next_window / prev_window — Step focus through the windows in the active workspace.
• ascend / descend — Move focus up/down the layout tree hierarchy.
• move_focus — Move focus in a direction: left, right, up, or down.
• move_node — Move the focused node/window in a direction relative to its current split.
• join_window — Merge the focused window into the branch in the given direction.
• consume_or_expel_window — Consume a neighboring window or expel the selected window in the given direction.
• toggle_stack — Toggle stacked state for the selected container (replaces older stack_windows / unstack_windows).
• toggle_orientation — Toggle the global split/stack orientation behavior.
• unjoin_windows — Unjoin previously joined nodes in the layout.
• toggle_window_floating — Toggle the focused window between tiled and floating.
• toggle_focus_floating — Raise floating windows from the current workspace so they are reachable.
• toggle_fullscreen — Enter/exit fullscreen for the focused window, ignoring outer gaps.
• toggle_fullscreen_within_gaps — Fullscreen the focused window while keeping the configured outer gaps (fills the tiling area).
• resize_window_grow / resize_window_shrink — Smartly expand/contract the current selection.
• resize_window_by — Resize by a specific amount (float), e.g. { resize_window_by = { amount = 25.0 } }.
• swap_windows — Swap two window_ids (e.g. [123, 456] from serialize output).
• show_mission_control_all — Show Rift's mission control view for all workspaces.
• show_mission_control_current — Show Rift's mission control view focused on the current workspace.
• dismiss_mission_control — Hide the Rift mission control view if it is active.
• exec — Execute an external command. Accepts a string or array ("exec" = "alacritty" or exec = ["sh","-c","echo hello"]).
• focus_display — Move focus to a display using a selector (direction string, 0-based index, or UUID); tries to focus the first window before warping the pointer.
• move_window_to_display — Move a window to another display. selector accepts a direction ("left", "right", "up", "down"), a 0-based index, or a display UUID; include window_id to target a specific window or omit it to use the focused/window-under-cursor window.
• focus_window — Focus a specific window_id (and optional window_server_id when needed), useful with serialize output.
• close_window — Close a window. Provide window_server_id if you know it; otherwise Rift closes the tracked current window (usually focused or under the cursor).
• reload_config — Reload the configuration file immediately.
• debug — Print the active layout tree and relevant debug info.
• serialize — Dump Rift's internal state to stdout (useful for debugging or automation).

Master-stack-only commands:

• adjust_master_ratio — Shift the master area size by delta (float).
• adjust_master_count — Change the number of windows kept in the master area by delta (integer).
• promote_to_master — Move the focused window into the master area.
• swap_master_stack — Swap the master area with the currently active stack.

Scrolling-layout-only commands:

• scroll_strip — Scroll the column strip by a normalized delta (e.g. 0.5 for half a column width).
• snap_strip — Snap the strip to the nearest column boundary.
• center_selection — Toggle a temporary centering override for the focused column without altering alignment.

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CLI and command reference

The CLI has its own page so this configuration reference can stay focused on TOML settings and keybindings. See the rift-cli reference for queries, commands, subscriptions, service management, startup flags, and layout persistence.