---
name: "rivertile"
section: "1"
platform: "linux"
package: "river-classic"
version: "0.3.17-2"
release: "Arch Linux 2026-11-01"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/rivertile"
---

# rivertile(1)

tiled layout generator for river

## NAME

rivertile - tiled layout generator for river

## SYNOPSIS

**rivertile** \[*options*\]

## DESCRIPTION

**rivertile** is a layout generator for [**river**(1)](/river/1.md). It provides a simple tiled layout with split main/secondary stacks. The initial state may be configured with various options passed on startup. Some values may additionally be modified while rivertile is running with the help of [**riverctl**(1)](/riverctl/1.md).

## OPTIONS

- **-h**

  Print a help message and exit.

- **-version**

  Print the version number and exit.

- **-view-padding** *pixels*

  Set the padding around views in pixels. (Default: 6)

- **-outer-padding** *pixels*

  Set the padding around the edge of the layout area in pixels. (Default: 6)

- **-main-location** \[**top**\|**bottom**\|**left**\|**right**\]

  Set the initial location of the main area in the layout. (Default: **left**)

- **-main-count** *count*

  Set the initial number of views in the main area of the layout. (Default: 1)

- **-main-ratio** *ratio*

  Set the initial ratio of the main area to total layout area. The *ratio* must be between 0.1 and 0.9, inclusive. (Default: 0.6)

## COMMANDS

These commands may be sent to rivertile at runtime with the help of [**riverctl**(1)](/riverctl/1.md).

**main-location** \[**top**\|**bottom**\|**left**\|**right**\]

Set the location of the main area in the layout.

**main-count** *value*

Set or modify the number of views in the main area of the layout. If *value* is prefixed by a +/- sign, *value* is added/subtracted from the current count. If there is no sign, the main count is set to *value*. Note that the main count cannot be decreased below 1.

**main-ratio** *value*

Set or modify the ratio of the main area to total layout area. If *value* is prefixed by a +/- sign, *value* is added/subtracted from the current ratio. If there is no sign, the main ratio is set to *value*. Note that the ratio will always be clamped to the range 0.1 to 0.9.

## EXAMPLES

Start **rivertile** with 4 pixels outer padding and the **top** main location:

rivertile -outer-padding 4 -main-location top

Increase the main ratio by 0.1 at runtime:

riverctl send-layout-cmd rivertile "main-ratio +0.1"

Set the main count to 3 at runtime:

riverctl send-layout-cmd rivertile "main-count 3"

## AUTHORS

Maintained by Isaac Freund \<mail@isaacfreund.com\> who is assisted by open source contributors. For more information about river's development, see \<https://isaacfreund.com/software/river\>.

## SEE ALSO

[**river**(1)](/river/1.md), [**riverctl**(1)](/riverctl/1.md)