The issue probably isn’t rectangle itself, but rather enabling input monitoring or accessibility permissions for rectangle in macOS security/privacy settings. It also needs to be running, if it doesn’t run on startup you can go into rectangle settings and toggle that off and back on. Rectangle’s default setup works great for me, easy dragging and snapping behavior to left/right screen halves like Windows, plus more like top/bottom halves and quarters and thirds. The free version has everything you need. Answer from schmalpal on reddit.com
Reddit
reddit.com › r/mac › how do you use rectangle? from a new mac user
r/mac on Reddit: How do you use Rectangle? From a new mac user
September 7, 2022 -
Hi,
So I just bought my first Macbook.. I'm very excited but also super confused. I grew up on Windows and am not sure how to do a lot of things, one of them being "rectangle." I downloaded rectangle in hopes of snapping screens easily. I changed the shortcuts but whenever I use them, nothing happens. The app is open (I think) so I'm not sure what's going on. Can anyone help?
Edit: I got it to work! Thanks everyone. Apparently I just needed to restart my Mac. :)
Top answer 1 of 31
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“Magnet” app works really well for this! in the apple app store for macbooks
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The issue probably isn’t rectangle itself, but rather enabling input monitoring or accessibility permissions for rectangle in macOS security/privacy settings. It also needs to be running, if it doesn’t run on startup you can go into rectangle settings and toggle that off and back on. Rectangle’s default setup works great for me, easy dragging and snapping behavior to left/right screen halves like Windows, plus more like top/bottom halves and quarters and thirds. The free version has everything you need.
Rectangle
rectangleapp.com
Rectangle
Move and resize windows in macOS using keyboard shortcuts or snap areas. The official page for Rectangle.
Rectangle - Move and resize windows in macOS using keyboard shortcuts or snap areas
Spectacle has been one of my favourite apps for a long time, only discovered today that it's no longer being maintained :( Fortunately it's been forked and Rectangle is its continuation. Just a great window management tool, I've found easily being able to split apps into 1/3, 1/2 or 2/3 of the screen really useful for assignment work. More on reddit.com
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May 24, 2020Rectangle is still better
I use Rectangle because I have like 10 windows I use between two monitors. I made a custom Rectangle shortcut that puts them all in their perfect place. First, I launch the 10 apps all at once with the push of a button. Then, I punch Option+CMD+[ (left screen) and Option+CMD+] (right screen) to tile all the apps perfectly. I freaking love it. More on reddit.com
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September 21, 2024how to efficenetly use Rectangle?
Use the keyboard shortcuts. I think I prefer the keyboard shortcuts to mousing the windows around. You can even easily move the window to the next display. You can move via command+option+ arrow keys. If you use control as well it’ll move to another display. I’ve forgotten the shortcut for the first third, it might be command+option+f/a but take a look at the menubar dropdown menu, all the shortcuts are in there. More on reddit.com
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April 24, 2024Try Rectangle before buying Magnet
New M1 machine. I was just about to download Magnet and decided to see if there were better / similar alternatives. Happy to have found this thread. Will shortly give Rectangle a go. Sidenote: For a company with such high focus on UX and UI, it is befuddling why Apple hasn't natively produced a way to organize multiple windows on screen. More on reddit.com
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March 16, 2020Videos
Master Window Management on Mac with Rectangle | Boost ...
05:24
Best Free Window Management on Mac! - Rectangle - YouTube
Rectangle App Tutorial | How To Snap Windows On Mac - YouTube
02:01
Resize and Split Screen on Mac using Shortcut keys | Rectangle ...
04:20
Mac Apps - Rectangle - YouTube
GitHub
github.com › rxhanson › Rectangle
GitHub - rxhanson/Rectangle: Move and resize windows on macOS with keyboard shortcuts and snap areas · GitHub
When the mouse cursor reaches the edge of the screen, you'll see a footprint that Rectangle will attempt to resize and move the window to when the click is released. ... Ignoring an app means that when the app is frontmost, keyboard shortcuts are un-registered from macOS. When the app is no longer frontmost, keyboard shortcuts are re-registered with macOS. This is useful for apps that have the same shortcuts like Rectangle and you do not want to change them.
Starred by 28.6K users
Forked by 900 users
Languages Swift
Rectangle
rectangleapp.com › pro
Rectangle Pro
Rectangle's Todo mode with more to configure. Fully customize the list of commands in the menu bar menu. Show it with a shortcut or as a click context menu. Load your shortcuts from Rectangle. Sync your configuration over iCloud. Save your battery life with minimal resource usage. Keyboard+cursor gestures use less resources than any touch gesture app.
Thisprogrammingthing
thisprogrammingthing.com › 2020 › Using-Rectangle-to-More-Easily-Manage-Our-MacOS-Windows
Using Rectangle to Manage MacOS Windows
November 10, 2020 - This post is an adaptation of Using Rectangle to Manage macOS Windows on our YouTube Channel. For years we’ve used Spectacle to manage our application windows. It was usually the second application installed on any new computer. Spectacle is no longer in active development and Rectangle does ...
Rich's Tongfamily
tongfamily.com › 2023 › 01 › 15 › mac-keyboard-shortcuts-and-navigation-with-rectangle
mac: Keyboard shortcuts and navigation with Rectangle – Rich's Tongfamily (Richtong.net add-on)
January 15, 2023 - A:Here are some popular keyboard shortcuts for window and spaces management on Mac using the defaults and the open-source application Rectangle: Command + M (Minimize Window) Command + Option + M (Minimize all windows in the current application) Command + H (Hide Window) Command + Option + H (Hide all windows in the current application) Command + Shift + H (Hide all other windows in the current application) Command + Option + T (Add current application to the Dock) Command + Option + W (Close all windows in the current application) Control + Command + Left/Right Arrow (Move current window to t
YouTube
youtube.com › watch
How to Use Rectangle: The Best FREE Window Manager for Mac (by far) - YouTube
Rectangle for Mac is a free open-source window management and snapping app. I show how to set up custom keyboard shortcuts and utilize its main features for...
Published January 31, 2024
Substack
yohyphen.substack.com › p › using-rectangle-pro-to-organize-desktop
Using Rectangle Pro to Organize Desktop Window Chaos
September 18, 2024 - When I use my new shortcut, Control + Option + Command + Backslash, it instantly arranges those windows and brings order to an otherwise chaotic workspace. I’ve created several Custom Size & Position shortcuts, like the one I’ve named “Center, ...
Reddit
reddit.com › user/rectanglemac › rectangle app for window management in macos 2023
r/u_rectanglemac on Reddit: Rectangle app for window management in MacOS 2023
May 1, 2023 - Regions: You can customize the regions used for snapping windows by going to the "Regions" tab in the app's preferences. Appearance: You can customize the appearance of the Rectangle app by going to the "Appearance" tab in the app's preferences. ... The Rectangle app is a powerful tool for window management in MacOS.
Reddit
reddit.com › r/macapps › rectangle - move and resize windows in macos using keyboard shortcuts or snap areas
r/macapps on Reddit: Rectangle - Move and resize windows in macOS using keyboard shortcuts or snap areas
May 24, 2020 - I had forgotten to put this in .../rxhanson/Rectangle/blob/master/README.md#changing-the-margin-for-the-snap-areas · Let me know if that's not exactly what you're looking for. ... That's great! Thanks for letting us know. ... This is what I really needed. I use Windows at work and this made the snap to window feature on Mac ...
MacUpdate
rectangle.macupdate.com › system utilities
Download Rectangle for Mac | MacUpdate
Rectangle is the new standard in Window Manager apps. Move and resize windows with keyboard shortcuts and snap areas. Open Source and Free, always! A comprehensive set of available window actions. All the window snapping areas you need - corners and edges for halves, quarters, thirds, and full screen. Privacy. No user data is collected, ever!
PQVST
pqvst.com › 2022 › 02 › 15 › how-i-use-and-abuse-macos
How I use (and abuse) macOS | PQVST
February 15, 2022 - Honestly, I can’t believe macOS still doesn’t have something like this built-in, just like Windows Win+Left, Win+Right. Rectangle has a lot of actions, but I really only ever use these: Opt+Cmd+F properly maximize the current window to fill the screen. I use this all the time.
Mactools
mactools.pro › blog › rectangle-for-mac-download-setup-best-shortcuts
Rectangle for Mac: Download, Setup & Best Shortcuts
February 18, 2026 - Sometimes after a macOS update, Rectangle may stop responding. This usually means the Accessibility permission got corrupted. ... Then reopen Rectangle and grant permission again in System Settings. This fixes most “Rectangle not working” issues. Let’s compare Rectangle with Apple’s built-in tiling. Apple gives you halves and quarters. Rectangle gives you halves, thirds, two-thirds, corners, center, maximize, almost maximize, top/bottom halves, and more.
Rectangle Mac OS App
rectanglemac.wordpress.com › 2023 › 03 › 21 › how-to-organize-windows-on-mac-with-rectangle-app
How to Organize Windows on Mac With Rectangle App – Rectangle Mac OS App
March 21, 2023 - Alternatively, you can type an exact value and press Enter (Windows) or Return (macOS). You can enter different horizontal and vertical curvatures for your rectangles. These values are specified as two-element vectors of the form [horizontal x, vertical y] or a single scalar value. To change the curvature of a rectangle’s corners, specify a scalar value between 0 and 1. The longer dimension is used to calculate the horizontal curvature, and the shorter measurement is used to calculate the vertical curvature.
Medium
medium.com › @mohsen-vaziri › updating-my-mac-window-shortcuts-strategy-for-optimal-workflow-a12ebe36efc3
Updating My Mac Window Shortcuts Strategy for Optimal Workflow
May 1, 2024 - While I found the ⌃⌥⌘ keyboard combinations effective in the past, comments from others indicated that they’ve become less reliable on newer macOS versions. This inconsistency can disrupt productivity. After some investigation, switching to ⌃⌥⇧ shortcuts has restored the expected smooth functionality. ... Rectangle is a fantastic free app that streamlines window resizing and arrangement through keyboard shortcuts.
Homebrew
formulae.brew.sh › cask › rectangle
rectangle — Homebrew Formulae
Move and resize windows using keyboard shortcuts or snap areas · https://rectangleapp.com/
Medium
timchangkw.medium.com › rectangle-app-a-windows-management-for-mac-os-de5d76ab27d2
Rectangle App: A Windows Management for Mac OS | by Tim Chang | Medium
February 23, 2022 - In this article, I will introduce ... works in Mac OS. You can resize and snap your window by hovering at the cursor above the maximize button on the top right corner in Windows 11. ... Rectangle is an open-source app [2] which was written by Swift. And it was implemented and designed based on Spectacle [3]. Basically, you can use hotkeys to ...
How-To Geek
howtogeek.com › home › mac › i can't imagine using my mac without this free app
I Can't Imagine Using My Mac Without This Free App
April 3, 2025 - I also still get to use the default behavior of the left and right edges to snap to half the screen. Of course, you can select the various layouts from the menu bar icon as well, if you prefer. And Rectangle has keyboard shortcuts for many of the common layouts, but not all of them. It really just feels like an extension of macOS' built-in features.
Reddit
reddit.com › r/macos › rectangle is still better
r/MacOS on Reddit: Rectangle is still better
September 21, 2024 -
I dont like the macOS implementation of window snapping. It doesnt feel snappy and afaik, theres no quick keyboard shortcut for setting up in quarters or even moving it to another screen. It'll still take time to get better I guess. Whats your opinion on it?
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I use Rectangle because I have like 10 windows I use between two monitors. I made a custom Rectangle shortcut that puts them all in their perfect place. First, I launch the 10 apps all at once with the push of a button. Then, I punch Option+CMD+[ (left screen) and Option+CMD+] (right screen) to tile all the apps perfectly. I freaking love it.
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It provides basic snapping and is an improvement over what was available before stock. Yes, rectangle is better (especially since it’s free). Even better is the pro version for 10 bucks. This all depends on your needs though. For many people the basic snapping is more than enough. Same thing with the password app. Sure there are better alternatives out there but the stock functionality is good enough for many. Ditto the notes app.
Reddit
reddit.com › r/mac › how to efficenetly use rectangle?
r/mac on Reddit: how to efficenetly use Rectangle?
April 24, 2024 -
hey everyone,
using rectangle, i set my bottom left corner to snap windows in 1/3 on the left but when i have my laptop open (so two screens - laptop display & external monitor), how do i snap it into place? when i drag it bottom left, the window just moves from the external monitor to laptop display.