2 Free Apps That Completely Change Window Management on Mac: AltTab and Rectangle

When you switch from Windows to Mac, some habits die hard. For me, the two biggest pain points were proper window switching and snapping windows into place with the keyboard. Thankfully, two free, open-source apps solve both problems completely.

AltTab: True Window-Based Switching

macOS's default Cmd+Tab shortcut switches between applications, not individual windows. If you have two Chrome windows open — say, one with Stack Overflow and one with GitHub — pressing Cmd+Tab and selecting Chrome is a gamble. You never know which window will come to the front, and the situation gets even more frustrating when those windows are in full-screen mode.

AltTab fixes this at the root. It brings the real Alt+Tab experience from Windows to Mac: it shows a preview of every open window and lets you jump directly to the one you want. Not the app — the specific window. Two Chrome windows, two Terminal sessions, two code editors — you can instantly tell them apart and switch between them.

After installation, it works out of the box with no extra configuration. If you're coming from Windows, it will feel immediately familiar.

Rectangle: Snap Windows with Keyboard Shortcuts

Rectangle lets you snap windows to predefined positions using keyboard shortcuts or by dragging to screen edges. If you've used Windows Snap, you already understand the concept — Rectangle takes it much further.

The core shortcuts use Control + Option + Arrow Keys:

• Right/Left arrow: Snaps the window to the right or left half of the current monitor.
• Same direction again: Moves the window to the next monitor.
• Up/Down arrow: Snaps to the top or bottom half.
• Control + Option + Enter: Sends the window to full screen.

If you work with multiple monitors, Rectangle becomes indispensable. I work with three monitors and never drag windows around — everything is handled with the keyboard.

Another scenario where Rectangle genuinely saves you is presentations. When you connect your laptop to a projector, trying to manage which window appears on which screen using the mouse can turn into chaos. With Rectangle, you can reposition any window to the right place in seconds using keyboard shortcuts alone.

For large monitors — think 40 inches or more — Rectangle's quarter-screen and corner-snapping shortcuts are equally valuable. Top-right corner, bottom-left corner, any quadrant: all reachable with a single shortcut.

Together: A Complete Window Management System

AltTab and Rectangle complement each other naturally. Rectangle places your windows exactly where you want them; AltTab lets you move between them instantly. Both are:

• Completely free
• Open source
• Ready to use immediately after installation

Window management is one of the biggest friction points when switching from Windows to Mac. These two apps remove that friction entirely. They've been part of my standard Mac setup for a long time, and I can't imagine working without them.