Multiple Projects Across macOS Desktops With Aki Dev Sync

The Problem: Many Projects, Many Desktops, Easy to Lose Track

This is how the author actually uses Aki Dev Sync in practice, not something documented in the README or the repo's official docs yet, shared here as a workflow tip rather than an advertised feature.

A common way to organize work on macOS is to dedicate each Desktop (Space) to one project, for example Desktop 1 for project A, Desktop 2 for project B, and so on, this is just an illustrative example of the organizing pattern, not a fixed claim about the author's own layout. The problem with this setup is that every time you swipe to a different Desktop, you lose all visibility into what's happening on the other projects: which one has changes waiting to push, which one is close to hitting its AI usage quota.

The Fix: Pin the Window Across Every Space

Aki Dev Sync's window can be pinned so it stays visible and on top across every Space on macOS, instead of living on just one Desktop. This is a real, shipped feature, documented in the repo's changelog since v1.11.0.

Combined with the window-size presets in the app-icon menu (Narrow, Wide, Stick Top-Left, Center Primary), keeping a small pinned instance of Aki Dev Sync in a corner of every Desktop becomes practical without eating up much working screen space.

Putting It Into a Workflow

Pin the app once. Then as you Ctrl+swipe between Desktops, each one a different project or context, Aki Dev Sync's project list, sync status, and agent usage monitor stay in the exact same screen position on every Desktop. The result: you never lose track of which project has pending pushes or pulls, or which one is close to hitting its AI usage quota, regardless of which project's Desktop you're currently working in.

Two window-size presets fit this use case best:

Stick Top-Left: auto-fits the window height to the current project list, and snaps to the top-left-most monitor, ideal for a persistent corner dashboard.
Narrow (440px): useful when screen space is tight, the window still reads fine when shrunk down.

Both presets live in the same app-icon menu (the ☰ icon on the titlebar) described in the overview article What Is Aki Dev Sync. As of v1.26.0, these presets can be bound to F1/F2/F3 shortcuts and now persist across launches, so the app remembers your chosen position and size instead of resetting every time you reopen it.

Why This Works

The core idea is separating two things that usually get bundled together: where you work (a separate Desktop per project) and where you monitor (one fixed dashboard, present across every Desktop). No need to manually switch to the Aki Dev Sync app, no need to remember which project lives on which Desktop, just glance at the same familiar spot on screen, since it's there on every Desktop.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a macOS Space or Desktop?

A separate virtual workspace on the same physical screen, each Space can hold a different set of app windows, switched between with a three/four-finger swipe (Ctrl+swipe) or Control plus left/right arrow, letting you separate work contexts without needing multiple physical monitors.

Does pinning the window across Spaces affect performance?

Pinning uses macOS window options for always-on-top and visibility across workspaces; actual resource use still depends on the app state and work it is doing.

Does this require any setup beyond the window-size presets?

No. Just toggle the pin (thumbtack) button on the titlebar and pick one of the window-size presets from the app-icon menu (☰); no extra macOS configuration or project setup is needed.