Companion · Safari extension
Auto Picture in Picture
Look away and the video follows you. Switch tabs, switch apps, step to another workspace — whatever you were watching pops out into Picture in Picture on its own, and slides back inline when you return.
A small thing that makes tiling better. Free, 440 KB, and it runs on any Mac — Intel or Apple Silicon, macOS 12 Monterey or later — with or without hyprmac.
Why it exists
A tiling window manager means you move constantly — a workspace for the browser, a workspace for the terminal, a workspace for whatever you are actually meant to be doing. Video does not survive that. It stays behind on the workspace you left, playing to nobody.
macOS has a fix for this already: Picture in Picture. It just expects you to reach up and ask for it every single time. This asks for you.
The part that matters for hyprmac. A workspace you are not looking at has its windows parked, so macOS still counts that Safari window as on screen — an extension that only watched for hidden tabs would never notice. This watches focus too, so leaving the workspace is enough to trigger it.
What you can change
Click the toolbar icon. Every one of these is a switch, and the defaults are the ones that stay out of your way.
- When to pop out
- On a hidden tab, on an unfocused window, or both. The second is the one that catches workspace switches.
- Only when something is playing
- A paused video stays where it is rather than floating over your work.
- How long to wait
- A delay before it pops out, so flicking to another window and straight back does not send the picture bouncing in and out.
- Put it back on return
- Returns the video inline where it came from. Off, and it keeps floating.
- Per site
- YouTube and Twitch independently — turn one off and leave the other on.
What it can reach
The extension can only see YouTube and Twitch. Not your other tabs, not your history, not your passwords, not any other site you visit. That is set in the extension's own permissions, so it is a limit Safari enforces rather than a promise you have to take on trust.
It stores your settings on your Mac and nothing else. No account, no analytics, and it never makes a network request of its own.
Installing
- Open the app once. It carries the extension and registers it with Safari.
- Safari → Settings → Extensions. Tick Auto Picture in Picture.
- Allow it on YouTube and Twitch when Safari asks. It cannot ask for anything else.
macOS 12 Monterey or later · Intel or Apple Silicon · Safari 17 or later · 440 KB · free
Common questions
Does it work with hyprmac's workspaces?
Yes, and that is the reason it exists. hyprmac parks the windows of workspaces you are not looking at, so as far as macOS is concerned the Safari window is still on screen — a hidden-tab check would never fire. This watches focus as well, so stepping to another workspace counts as leaving, and the video pops out.
Which sites does it support?
YouTube and Twitch, including youtube-nocookie embeds. Each can be turned on or off separately, and the extension has no access to any other site — that is enforced by the extension's permissions, not by a setting you have to trust.
Does it pop out when I am still watching?
No. By default it only acts on a video that is actually playing, and it waits a moment before popping out so that flicking to another window and straight back does not make the picture jump around.
What happens when I come back?
The video goes back inline where it came from, and playback continues. You can turn that off if you would rather it stayed floating.
Do I need hyprmac to use it?
No. It is a normal Safari extension and works on any Mac. It just happens to solve a problem that tiling makes more noticeable.