Comparison
Rectangle and Magnet, but you stop pressing the shortcut
Rectangle and Magnet are the two apps most people reach for when Mac windows get out of hand, and they do their job well. Both work the same way: you tell a window where to go, and it goes there.
hyprmac works the other way round. It decides where windows go, and it keeps deciding as you open and close them.
Snapping versus tiling
The distinction sounds small and changes the whole feel of using a Mac.
- You press a shortcut or drag to an edge
- That one window moves. Everything else stays put
- Open a fifth window and it lands on top of the others
- Close one and a hole is left where it was
- You are still the one doing the arranging, just faster
- You open a window. It takes a share of the screen
- Everything already open resizes to make room
- Nothing ever overlaps, so nothing gets buried
- Close one and the rest expand to fill the space
- You stop arranging entirely
If you mostly want two windows side by side and you are happy pressing a shortcut to get there, Rectangle is the better tool and you should keep using it. It is simpler, it is more mature, and it runs on Intel Macs back to macOS 10.15. This page is only worth reading if you find yourself re-snapping things all day.
Side by side
| Rectangle | Magnet | hyprmac | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arranges automatically | No, on command | No, on command | Yes |
| Windows can overlap | Yes | Yes | Never |
| Keyboard shortcuts | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Drag to screen edge | Yes | Yes | Drop onto another window instead |
| Workspaces | macOS Spaces | macOS Spaces | Five of its own, in the menu bar |
| Trackpad gestures | No | No | Three fingers to switch |
| Text config file | Partial | No | hyprland.conf syntax |
| Price | Free, Pro is paid | Paid | Free, no paid tier |
| Open source | Yes | No | Yes, MIT |
| Runs on Intel Macs | Yes | Yes | Apple Silicon only |
| Minimum macOS | 10.15 | Varies | 14 |
| Maturity | Years | Years | 0.1 beta |
What it feels like day to day
You open a browser. It fills the screen. You open a terminal, and the browser shrinks to half while the terminal takes the other half. You open a second terminal, and it splits the first terminal's half rather than covering anything. Nothing was dragged, nothing was snapped, and nothing is hidden behind anything else.
When you do want to rearrange, drag a window onto another and the two swap. Drop it on the left, right, top or bottom edge of a window instead and that window splits, with yours taking the half you dropped on. The target lights up before you let go, so you can see what is about to happen.
Quitting hyprmac puts every window back exactly where it found it, so trying it costs you nothing but the download.
2.0 MB · Apple Silicon · macOS 14+ · free and MIT licensed
Common questions
What is the actual difference between Rectangle and hyprmac?
Rectangle moves a window when you tell it to. You press a shortcut or drag to an edge, and that window goes where you asked. hyprmac decides for you and keeps deciding: open a window and it takes a share of the screen, close one and everything else expands to fill the gap. With Rectangle you are still the one arranging. With hyprmac you stop arranging.
Is Rectangle not good enough?
For most people it is, and it is excellent at what it does. If your habit is two windows side by side and you are happy pressing a shortcut to get there, Rectangle is simpler, more mature and works on Intel Macs going back to macOS 10.15. Switching would be a downgrade for you.
So who is hyprmac actually for?
People who routinely have four or more windows open, who find themselves re-snapping things all day, or who have used a tiling window manager on Linux and want that back. The moment you notice you are arranging windows rather than working, that's the point where automatic tiling starts paying for itself.
Can I use both?
Not usefully at the same time. Both move windows, so they will fight. hyprmac lets you float any window out of the tiling with ⌥V if you want manual control over a particular one.
Is hyprmac free like Rectangle?
Yes. Free, MIT licensed, no paid tier and no Pro version. Rectangle is also free and open source, with a separate paid Rectangle Pro.