Stark Software

Stark Software is a collection of open-source macOS apps designed to boost productivity. Each app started as a solution to a problem I personally faced.

How it started #

I built the first version of Stark in early 2016 while learning Swift. It started as a tool I wanted for myself — something that made managing windows on macOS feel fast, intentional, and effortless.

Because macOS doesn’t offer native window management APIs in the SDK, Stark is powered by a combination of the Accessibility API and carefully used private frameworks. Over the past decade, it has evolved continuously — refined through real‑world use, and inspired by the incredible open‑source macOS window manager community.

Why swm exists #

After years of maintaining Stark as a JavaScript-configurable app, I wanted a smaller foundation for window management — something closer to a system tool than an application framework. swm is that lower-level piece: a daemon that tracks displays, spaces, and windows, plus a command line interface for querying and controlling them.

It keeps the useful parts of scriptable window management while moving away from a public JavaScript API mapped directly into Swift code. The result is a tool that fits better into shell scripts, launch agents, and keyboard-driven workflows.

Why skbd exists #

Window management only feels fast when the controls are immediate. skbd grew out of that need: a small daemon for binding key combinations to shell commands, built specifically for macOS and able to distinguish left and right modifier keys.

Together, skbd and swm form a more modular version of the original idea behind Stark. One tool listens for intent from the keyboard, the other applies that intent to the desktop.