What is Rectangle used for?

Rectangle is a macOS window manager that moves and resizes windows using keyboard shortcuts and drag-to-edge snap areas. It is a good fit for tiling windows on a Mac without a mouse and organizing a large display into zones.

Is Rectangle open source?

Yes. Rectangle is open source under a custom licence. Its source code is on GitHub at rxhanson/Rectangle and is written mainly in Swift.

Yes. Rectangle is open source, so the software itself is free to use under the terms of its own licence.

Can I self-host Rectangle?

Yes. Rectangle can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure; there is no official hosted version.

What is Rectangle an alternative to?

Rectangle is an open-source alternative to BetterTouchTool and Magnet.

Is Rectangle actively maintained?

Yes. The most recent commit to Rectangle was on 1 October 2026, and the latest release is v2.0.2, published on 27 September 2026. The project has 30k stars on GitHub.

Rectangle: open-source alternative to BetterTouchTool

About Rectangle

Rectangle manages application windows on macOS and descends from the earlier Spectacle app. It lets you move and resize windows with keyboard shortcuts or by dragging a window to a screen edge or corner, where a footprint previews the position it will snap to. It is written in Swift and the repository lists its license as Other.

Snap areas map screen regions to actions: left or right edges give halves, the top edge maximizes, corners give quarters, and the bottom thirds give respective thirds or two-thirds. Optional settings turn on window animation, which is marked experimental, and a blurred footprint preview. Current versions require macOS 14 or later, with older releases available for macOS 10.13 to 13. It can be installed from a downloadable dmg on the releases page or with a Homebrew cask.

Key features

Keyboard shortcuts to snap and resize windows
Drag-to-edge snap areas with preview footprint
Halves, quarters, thirds and maximize actions
Optional experimental window animation
Installs by dmg download or Homebrew cask
Based on the Spectacle window manager

Good fit for

→Tiling windows on a Mac without a mouse
→Organizing a large display into zones

Built with: Swift
Tags: window-manager; macos; productivity; keyboard-shortcuts; snap; swift; desktop-app; utilities

Rectangle: questions and answers

What is Rectangle used for?: Rectangle is a macOS window manager that moves and resizes windows using keyboard shortcuts and drag-to-edge snap areas. It is a good fit for tiling windows on a Mac without a mouse and organizing a large display into zones.
Is Rectangle open source?: Yes. Rectangle is open source under a custom licence. Its source code is on GitHub at rxhanson/Rectangle and is written mainly in Swift.
Is Rectangle free?: Yes. Rectangle is open source, so the software itself is free to use under the terms of its own licence.
Can I self-host Rectangle?: Yes. Rectangle can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure; there is no official hosted version.
What is Rectangle an alternative to?: Rectangle is an open-source alternative to BetterTouchTool and Magnet.
Is Rectangle actively maintained?: Yes. The most recent commit to Rectangle was on 1 October 2026, and the latest release is v2.0.2, published on 27 September 2026. The project has 30k stars on GitHub.