Show HN: SpinWin – A macOS menu bar app to visually rotate or spin any window
SpinWin is a new macOS utility that allows users to visually rotate any window on their screen using layer transforms. The developer explains the technical constraints of macOS window management and provides instructions for building or installing the app.
Why it matters
Demonstrates creative use of macOS accessibility and windowing APIs to solve a niche UI customization problem.
A macOS menubar utility that visually rotates a selected window by any angle (90° increments, arbitrary angles, or a continuous spin).
macOS has no public API to rotate another app's window . Real rotation would require private SkyLight calls ( CGSSetWindowTransform ) with System Integrity Protection disabled — not worth it.
Because it's a layer transform, any angle works — the overlay is sized to the rotated content's bounding box so nothing clips, and a diagonal-sized square is used while spinning.
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