Niri: The Scrolling Tiling Compositor That Made Me Leave Hyprland

The Mental Model Shift

Every tiling compositor makes an assumption: windows must fit the screen.

Open four windows, each gets 25%. Open eight, each gets 12.5%. Eventually, windows become unusable.

Niri makes a different assumption: the screen is a viewport into an infinite canvas.

flowchart TB
  subgraph traditional["Traditional Tiling"]
    direction LR
    t1["1"] --- t2["2"] --- t3["3"] --- t4["4"]
  end
  subgraph niri["Niri Scrolling"]
    direction LR
    left["← scroll"] -.-> viewport
    subgraph viewport["Viewport"]
      n2["2"] --- n3["3"] --- n4["4"]
    end
    viewport -.-> right["scroll →"]
  end

Windows stay at your preferred size. You scroll through them like a document.

Why This Matters for Wide Monitors

I have a 3440×1440 ultrawide. Traditional tiling works until I open “too many” windows. Then each window becomes a narrow sliver.

With Niri, I set a preferred column width (50% of screen). Every window gets that width. Open 10 windows? Scroll to see them. Each remains usable.

The tradeoff: You can’t see all windows simultaneously. You must scroll.

Why I accept this: I rarely need to see 6+ windows at once. When I do, I use the overview (Super+W). Most of the time, I work with 2-3 visible windows and scroll to others.

Columns: The Core Abstraction

Niri organizes windows into columns. A column is a vertical stack of windows:

block-beta
  columns 2
  block:col1["Column 1"]:1
    columns 1
    winA["Win A"]
    winB["Win B"]
  end
  block:col2["Column 2"]:1
    winC["Win C"]
  end

• Super+H/L moves between columns (horizontal)
• Super+J/K moves between windows in a column (vertical)

The insight: This maps to how I think about tasks. Related windows stack in a column. Unrelated tasks are separate columns. Navigation reflects the mental organization.

Hyprland vs Niri: Design Differences

I used Hyprland for years. It’s excellent. But the design assumptions differ:

Why I switched:

1. Hyprland’s dwindle/master layouts required mental overhead about where the next window would appear
2. My ultrawide felt like fighting the compositor at high window counts
3. Niri’s scrolling matched my “document-like” mental model

What I miss:

• Hyprland’s special workspace (overlay scratchpad)
• Hyprland’s movetoworkspacesilent (Niri always follows moved windows)
• Hyprland’s mature window rules

KDL Configuration

Niri uses KDL for configuration. It’s a document language like JSON but designed for config files.

// ~/.config/niri/config.kdl

// Keybindings
binds {
    Mod+Q { spawn "kitty"; }
    Mod+C { close-window; }
    Mod+H { focus-column-left; }
    Mod+L { focus-column-right; }
}

// Layout
layout {
    gaps 16
    default-column-width { proportion 0.5; }
}

The advantage: Niri hot-reloads config changes. Save the file, see the result. No restart, no reload command.

Designing for Consistency

When I migrated from Hyprland, I wanted to preserve muscle memory. The strategy:

Keep navigation patterns:

• Super+HJKL for directional focus (same as Hyprland)
• Super+1-9 for workspace switching (same as Hyprland)

Adapt to new model:

• Super+H/L now moves between columns (was windows)
• Super+J/K moves within column (was also windows)

Accept differences:

• Niri always follows moved windows (can’t preserve Hyprland’s silent move)
• Niri’s overview replaces Hyprland’s window switcher

The compromise: 90% of shortcuts feel identical. 10% changed to match Niri’s model.

binds {
    // Column navigation (replaces window left/right)
    Mod+H { focus-column-left; }
    Mod+L { focus-column-right; }
    Mod+Left { focus-column-left; }
    Mod+Right { focus-column-right; }

    // Within-column navigation
    Mod+J { focus-window-down; }
    Mod+K { focus-window-up; }
    Mod+Down { focus-window-down; }
    Mod+Up { focus-window-up; }

    // Workspaces (identical to Hyprland)
    Mod+1 { focus-workspace 1; }
    Mod+2 { focus-workspace 2; }
    // ... etc
    Mod+Tab { focus-workspace-previous; }
}

Column Operations: The Power Features

Niri has unique column operations that make the scrolling model powerful:

Consume and Expel

Move windows between columns without drag-and-drop:

Mod+Comma { consume-window-into-column; }   // Pull from right
Mod+Period { expel-window-from-column; }    // Push to right

Consume: Takes the top window from the column to your right and adds it to your column.

Expel: Pushes the bottom window of your column out to become its own column.

This is faster than drag-and-drop. Entirely keyboard-driven.

Centering

Keep your focus centered on screen:

Mod+Shift+C { center-column; }

Scrolls the viewport to center the focused column. Essential for the scrolling model.

Tabbed Display

Stack windows as tabs within a column:

Mod+T { toggle-column-tabbed-display; }

Useful when you have many related windows but want to save horizontal space.

The Scratchpad Compromise

Hyprland has a “special workspace” — an overlay that appears above everything. Toggle it on, use the window, toggle it off.

Niri doesn’t have this. My workaround: use workspace 9 as a pseudo-scratchpad:

Mod+S { focus-workspace 9; }
Mod+Shift+S { move-column-to-workspace 9; }

The tradeoff: It’s not an overlay. I actually switch workspaces. Less elegant, but functional.

Getting Started

Install Niri and create a minimal config:

// ~/.config/niri/config.kdl

binds {
    Mod+Q { spawn "kitty"; }
    Mod+C { close-window; }

    Mod+H { focus-column-left; }
    Mod+L { focus-column-right; }
    Mod+J { focus-window-down; }
    Mod+K { focus-window-up; }

    Mod+1 { focus-workspace 1; }
    Mod+2 { focus-workspace 2; }
    Mod+3 { focus-workspace 3; }
}

layout {
    gaps 16
}

Start Niri from your display manager or TTY. Edit the config, and changes apply immediately.

Is Niri Right for You?

Good fit if:

• You have an ultrawide monitor
• You work with many windows
• You think in “tasks” rather than “window arrangements”
• You want simpler mental model

Maybe not if:

• You need all windows visible simultaneously
• You heavily use multi-monitor
• You rely on special workspace overlays
• You need mature, battle-tested window rules

Next in this series: Mastering Niri Navigation: Shortcuts That Preserve Muscle Memory