Home › Mintangle
Put Every Window in Its Place With One Shortcut
Mintangle puts a window in a half, a corner, a third or two thirds of the screen with one shortcut, or when you drag it to a screen edge. The keys match Rectangle, so Rectangle users feel at home. Part of Tidymint since 0.5.0, off by default; macOS asks for Accessibility permission only when you turn it on.
macOS has tiling, so why Mintangle?
Since macOS 15, Apple tiles windows when you drag them to an edge, from the Window menu, and with Fn-Control plus an arrow key for halves. But Apple's shortcuts have no keys for the four corners and no thirds. Mintangle adds exactly that, and also works on macOS 14.
Turn on and grant permission
- In Tidymint, choose TOOLS › Mintangle in the sidebar and click Turn on and grant permission.
- macOS asks for permission. Open System Settings › Privacy & Security › Accessibility and switch Tidymint on.
- Back in Tidymint, the Mintangle page picks up the permission and starts working.
Default shortcuts
⌃ is Control, ⌥ is Option, ⇧ is Shift, ⌘ is Command.
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Left / right half | ⌃⌥ ← / → |
| Top / bottom half | ⌃⌥ ↑ / ↓ |
| Top left, top right, bottom left, bottom right | ⌃⌥ U, I, J, K |
| First, center, last third | ⌃⌥ D, F, G |
| First, last two thirds | ⌃⌥ E, T |
| Maximize | ⌃⌥ Return |
| Almost maximize | ⌃⌥⇧ Return |
| Maximize height | ⌃⌥⇧ ↑ |
| Center | ⌃⌥ C |
| Larger / smaller | ⌃⌥ = / − |
| Restore | ⌃⌥ Delete |
| Next / previous display | ⌃⌥⌘ → / ← |
Fewer keys to remember: for halves and corners, pressing the same shortcut again changes the width: 1/2 › 2/3 › 1/3. Behavior lets you pick another option, such as moving to the next display.
Drag windows to an edge
| Drag the window to | It becomes |
|---|---|
| Left or right edge | That half of the screen |
| Top edge | Maximized |
| A corner | A quarter, in that corner |
| Bottom edge | A third: left, center or right, depending on the pointer |
A mint outline shows where the window will land. Drag it away from the edge and it goes back to its old size.
macOS 15 and later also tile when you drag to an edge. To keep the two from overlapping, turn off Drag windows to left or right edge of screen to tile in System Settings › Desktop & Dock. While it is on, the Mintangle page shows macOS window tiling is also on under Drag to screen edges, with an Open Settings button that takes you there.
Change shortcuts and options
- Change a key: click a row and press the new combination. It must include Control or Command, because since macOS 15 Apple refuses system-wide shortcuts that use only Option or Shift. If a key matches a macOS shortcut, Mintangle warns you and offers to open Keyboard settings.
- Gap between windows: 0 to 20 points.
- Apps to leave alone: Mintangle ignores windows of the apps in this list.
- Restore defaults puts the keys back as in the table above.
What the Accessibility permission is for
Apple says Accessibility lets an app control your Mac, and that you should grant it only to apps you trust. Tidymint uses it to read the position and size of windows and to move or resize them: the front window when you press a shortcut, and the window under the pointer when you drag it. Tidymint does not read what is inside windows, does not record your keystrokes (shortcuts are registered with macOS, which tells Tidymint only when one of its own keys is pressed), and sends nothing. Turn Mintangle off, or switch Tidymint off in Privacy & Security › Accessibility, at any time. Details: Is Tidymint safe?
FAQ
A shortcut does nothing?
Check that Tidymint is on in Privacy & Security › Accessibility. If the Mintangle page says a key is taken by another app, click that row to pick another key, or quit the other app (Rectangle, Magnet).
Some window will not tile?
Some apps set a minimum size or cannot be resized; then the window is moved but not shrunk to fit. You can add that app to Apps to leave alone.
Permission granted but nothing happens?
In Privacy & Security › Accessibility, switch Tidymint off and on again, then reopen Tidymint. macOS sometimes keeps a stale permission after an app update.
What happens if I turn Mintangle off?
Shortcuts and drag tiling stop at once. The Accessibility switch stays in System Settings until you turn it off; Tidymint no longer uses it.
Clean your Mac for free
Tidymint is free and open source. Everything always goes to the Trash first, so you stay in control.
Sources
- Apple: Allow accessibility apps to access your Mac
- Apple: Tile windows on Mac
- Apple: Window tiling keyboard shortcuts
- Apple: Desktop & Dock settings
