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.
One flag covers more than you would think. Safari derives "is anyone looking at this tab" from the window's occlusion state, so a single check catches another tab being frontmost, the window moving to another Space, being minimised, and being completely covered by something else. There is a second trigger for the case that misses — any other app taking focus while Safari is still visible — and it is off by default, because being able to see the video is usually the whole point.
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 by default. There is a second trigger for an unfocused window, off unless you turn it on, for people who want the video out of the way whenever they look elsewhere.
- Only when something is playing
- A paused video stays where it is rather than floating over your work.
- How long to wait
- Three hundred milliseconds by default, so flicking away and straight back does not send the picture bouncing. It also avoids catching YouTube mid ad-to-content switch, when the video is changing size and Safari would build the window with the wrong geometry.
- 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?
It pops out whenever Safari reports that the tab is not being looked at, which covers switching tabs, moving to another Space, minimising, and the window being covered by something else. There is also a focus trigger, off by default, that pops out whenever any other app takes focus even if Safari is still visible. If your workspace setup does not trigger it, that switch is the one to turn on.
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.