how i manage windows on macos
rectangle + hyper key, no yabai
two tools: rectangle for window placement, hyper key to make the shortcuts reachable. no tiling wm, no SIP hacks, no bullshit.
rectangle
brew install --cask rectangleresize, snap, center, move windows across monitors and spaces. no automatic tiling, no layout algorithm
four things i actually use:
- resize — snap to halves, thirds, corners
- center — float centered at reasonable size
- snap — drag to screen edges
- move — next monitor or space
pressing the same shortcut cycles through sizes: left half once = 50%, again = third, again = two-thirds. no need for separate bindings.
hyper key
rectangle's defaults are Ctrl+Option+Shift+Cmd — four modifiers at once. not realistic to type by hand.
hyperkey maps caps lock to all four modifiers. install it, enable caps lock as hyper, done.
every rectangle action becomes Hyper + one key.
my bindings
| key | action |
|---|---|
Hyper+Left | left half |
Hyper+Right | right half |
Hyper+Up | top half |
Hyper+Down | bottom half |
Hyper+J | bottom third |
Hyper+K | top third |
Hyper+Return | maximize |
Hyper+C | center |
Hyper+D | next display |
Hyper+N | next space |
why not yabai?
yabai requires disabling SIP, scripting additions, constant maintenance, breakage on every macOS update. rectangle does what i need with zero config beyond shortcuts. no surprises.
on linux i use wayland with a tiling wm. on macOS, rectangle is the line where the effort-to-benefit ratio stops making sense.