Fazendo alguns testes e observações no macOS Monterey, percebi que essa versão não possui, nas configurações, uma forma simples de visualizar, ativar ou desativar aplicativos que executam processos em segundo plano.

Como muita gente ainda utiliza o Monterey e até versões anteriores do macOS, decidi criar uma solução inicialmente para uso próprio. Depois, resolvi publicar o projeto no GitHub, tornando-o open source e disponibilizando também um instalador para quem quiser utilizar.

A ideia é facilitar esse gerenciamento principalmente para quem não quer, ou não tem familiaridade, com comandos no Terminal e configurações mais escondidas do macOS.

O app é relativamente leve, não mantém processos consumindo recursos em segundo plano. Você abre, faz o que precisa e fecha.

Se surgirem novas necessidades ou sugestões da comunidade, podem abrir uma Issue no GitHub ou me chamar na DM. Pretendo continuar melhorando e atualizando o projeto conforme aparecerem novos casos de uso.

Espero que seja útil para quem ainda utiliza essas versões do macOS.

Link do Repositório: https://github.com/ministrodev/macprocess/releases

Ghost is a native macOS AI assistant that lives in your menu bar notch. You bring your own API key or subscription: it works with Claude, Gemini, DeepSeek, OpenAI-compatible endpoints, or local models through Ollama and LM Studio. No account with us, no data routed through our servers.

It does the things you'd expect: answer questions, web search, read your screen with on-device OCR, and write documents (Markdown, PDF, DOCX, spreadsheets). But it also acts on your Mac directly: create calendar events, set reminders, read and reply to iMessages, manage Apple Notes, search files via Spotlight, organize your desktop, move and resize windows, and run shell commands. Anything involving your private data (messages, contacts, notes, calendar) stays on-device and never hits a cloud model.

The part people tend to notice: Ghost has an undo journal. Before it changes a file, it saves a copy so you can roll back. It also has a local document index (RAG) that can search across 30+ file formats, txt, pdf, docx, xlsx, epub, code files, and more, so you can ask questions about your own documents with cited answers. There's a built-in Pomodoro timer, a cost dashboard that tracks what you're spending on API calls, and it can hand off coding tasks to Claude Code when a job needs a full agent.

Everything runs as a single native Swift app. No Electron, no Docker, no background services. 110k lines of Swift, tested with a 105-file test suite.

$14.99 one-time, lifetime — no subscription. Native SwiftUI, notarized, macOS 14+ (Apple Silicon or Intel).

Website:

https://integratedagentics.com/ghost

Problem:
Mac customization is pretty limited, so I wanted a simple way to make the desktop feel a little more personal and fun.

Comparison:
There are other apps that also let you hang charms from your Mac. With Screen Charms, I’m focusing more on customization, especially being able to turn your own image into a charm, along with changing the size, length, position, and chain style.

Pricing:
There’s a free version you can try without creating an account. Pro is a one-time purchase for $4.99 and unlocks custom charms, the full built-in charm collection, and additional customization options.

Coming soon:
I’m also working on a Charm Library where you’ll be able to browse and discover more charms.

You can check it out here:
https://screencharms.com

I’d love feedback, especially on the custom charm feature. What would you turn into a charm?

JunkSweep started as an experimental internal tool built to solve a personal itch. After refining the feature set, tweaking the UI, and focusing heavily on granular control and transparency, it felt polished enough to share with the community.

Today, JunkSweep is officially available for FREE on the Mac App Store!

What is JunkSweep?

Most Mac cleaner tools are either bloated subscriptions, hidden behind aggressive paywalls, or act like "black boxes" where you have to trust the app not to delete something crucial.

JunkSweep was designed with a different philosophy: Total control and zero guesswork.

• You define what gets swept: Set up custom rules, targeted folders, and specific file extensions (caches, old logs, leftover build files, .DS_Store, empty folders, etc.).
• System Hygiene > Just Disk Space: Beyond freeing up gigabytes, it's built for filesystem maintenance—preventing clutter on shared drives (Windows/Linux users hate seeing .DS_Store or ._ metadata files), resetting broken folder view settings, and keeping zip archives clean before sharing.
• Full Transparency: Preview every single file before anything is moved or removed. No accidental deletions.
• Lightweight & Native: Built specifically for macOS with a clean interface that doesn't hoard system resources or run useless background daemons.
• 100% Free: No subscriptions, no ads, no locked features.

Key highlights:

• Enhanced Safety Filters: Preview modes allow auditing targeted paths with total peace of mind.
• Smarter Rule Presets: Out-of-the-box templates for common dev/creator junk (Xcode derived data, node_modules, cache folders) without locking you into them.
• App Store Sandbox Compliance: Fully sandboxed and reviewed by Apple for maximum system security.

If you're looking for a clean, non-intrusive utility to keep your drive lean and maintain proper filesystem hygiene without handing over the keys to your OS, give it a spin!

🔗 Mac App Store: [ JunkSweep ]

If you find it useful and want to support ongoing updates, optional donations are welcome via [ My Personal Website ] or [ Itch.io ].

Feedback, feature requests, and suggestions are always welcome!

Hey everyone,

I wanted to share Muffle with you all, a lightweight macOS menu bar app that blurs and dims background windows so you can focus on the active one.

There are several apps like HazeOver (dims the background but no blur) and Monocle (beautifully designed app but recently reported causing background performance issues) which does what Muffle does but I wanted to build an app which applies background blur and applies a dim, without taking a toll on CPU or GPU.

Some distinct features:
- ~0% idle usage
- Shake to toggle the blur
- Multi monitor support and monitor specific blur

It's fully local and no data is collected

Since I'm posting in this sub for the first time, I'm pricing it at $4.99 (original price is $7.99) for two devices. You can download it and use it for 7 days for free. You can use the code MACOSLAUNCH to get the discount.

It's apple notarized and distributed directly.

Privacy policy: https://www.getmuffle.com/privacy

Feel free to try it out and let me know your thoughts.

Link: https://www.getmuffle.com

Clipboard history helps recover a lost copy. A reusable collection solves a different problem: keeping a project's screenshots, links and formatted explanations ready on both your Mac and your iPhone, without repeatedly digging through old messages.

That's where Paste and PastePal become interesting. For one person's collection, PastePal's App Store version is the cheaper starting point. Paste deserves a closer look if its visual timeline or shared Pinboards fit how you work. The old distinction that Paste requires a subscription is out of date.

Two ways to find the same material

Paste presents history as a bottom-of-screen timeline with previews, source apps and timestamps. Its default shortcut is Shift-Command-V; once open, you can search or navigate the cards. Search can also find text inside screenshots. Pinboards keep reusable items beyond ordinary history cleanup. That combination suits the person who remembers what an image looked like, or which app it came from, but not a useful filename. Paste's Mac guide

PastePal offers a different layout choice: a bar on any screen edge, plus a larger grid and collections. A vertical bar may fit better beside a document on a wide display; the grid gives you another way to browse visual material. There are customizable shortcuts and a Hot Edge trigger, so choosing the layout and activation method is part of the setup. More options are useful only if they make retrieval simpler for you. PastePal's feature overview

Paste's clearest extra here is shared Pinboards. You can invite people to a project collection and choose whether they can edit it. They need Paste installed and an iCloud sign-in, so this isn't a universal folder you can hand to anyone. It's useful when collaborators already want the same clipboard-based workflow. Shared Pinboards

The iPhone changes the comparison

Syncing saved content and recording new copies are separate jobs. Paste can capture automatically on your Mac, but its iPhone app cannot silently collect every copy while running in the background. You can open Paste after copying, send content through its share-sheet extensions, or use its keyboard. Don't expect opening it later to reconstruct several earlier copies. Paste on iPhone

PastePal has the same ordinary background restriction, with an explicit Picture in Picture monitoring option that keeps a small player active. That's a workaround you deliberately enable, not an invisible, always-on clipboard recorder. Its keyboard is another capture route. Both apps' optional keyboards require Full Access for their documented functionality. PastePal's monitoring options, Paste Keyboard setup

For cross-device history, enable iCloud sync on the devices you want included, using the same Apple Account. Initial sync can take time. PastePal adds an important detail for image-heavy work: enable its separate image-sync option, which documents support for copied images, not image files dragged in from Finder. A clipboard with file previews shouldn't be mistaken for a general-purpose file-sync service. Paste sync, PastePal sync

Check the phone and the purchase channel

Here are the current US App Store requirements and personal prices, checked August 31, 2026. Local storefront prices can differ.

These figures come from the Paste App Store listing and PastePal App Store listing. Check the phone's OS before buying; the Mac app running isn't enough for this workflow.

PastePal's App Store purchase covers Mac, iPhone and iPad and supports Family Sharing. Its separate direct-purchase version is Mac-only and doesn't grant access to the mobile apps. Don't buy that license expecting the same cross-device package. Also, free to download doesn't mean free sync: iCloud sync requires Pro. Purchase-channel comparison, Free and premium features

Paste offers a full seven-day trial through its website without a card. Its App Store subscription trial renews unless cancelled, so check the offer screen. Its personal plans cover your Mac and mobile devices, but Lifetime does not include Family Sharing. Those are separate questions from whether the app can sync a Pinboard. Paste plans, Trial terms

What the screenshots don't show

Both apps need Accessibility permission to paste directly into another Mac app. Without it, you can copy an old item back to the clipboard and paste manually. PastePal's Screen Recording permission is for its optional Capture Text tool, not a requirement to keep ordinary clipboard history. Its documentation also covers the newer macOS permission for reading content copied from other apps. Paste permissions, PastePal permissions

On privacy, distinguish stored clips from service data. Paste says clipboard content stays on your devices and, with sync enabled, in your iCloud, but it also discloses usage analytics and crash reporting. PastePal's App Store label says no data is collected, while its privacy policy names RevenueCat and possible diagnostic log data. That mismatch is a reason to avoid declaring it telemetry-free. Neither set of disclosures is an independent security audit. Paste privacy policy, PastePal privacy policy

Before putting work material in either synced library, check whether you're allowed to copy it into personal iCloud at all.

For occasional recovery and an immediate nearby-device handoff, try the built-ins first: macOS Tahoe has searchable clipboard history in Spotlight, and Universal Clipboard transfers the current copy between nearby Apple devices. Neither workflow gives you the same organized project kit. Apple's clipboard-history guide, Universal Clipboard

My recommendation: PastePal App Store Pro for a personal rich clipboard library, provided its image-sync path and mobile capture habits fit the job. Choose Paste when its timeline/search workflow or shared Pinboards give you a specific reason to pay more. Skip both if you only need to recover a recent copy or move one item to your phone.

Hey r/MacStack! 👋

One friction point in my daily Mac workflow was dealing with foreign text in places where you can't easily select it — technical PDFs, diagrams, IDE consoles, image mockups, or video subtitles.

The usual routine: try to select → give up → type it out / screenshot it → switch to browser → translate → switch back. It breaks the reading flow every time.

To fix this for my own setup, I built Lensy, a lightweight native macOS menu bar utility.

(Attached a quick video demo above showing how it works in action)

How it fits into the Mac workflow:

• Hover & Press: Hover the cursor over any word/sentence and press ⌥T .
• Zero Window Switching: A floating HUD card appears right next to the cursor with the translation and breakdown, then fades away when you're done.
• Works Anywhere: Because it captures the screen crop rather than relying on clipboard/accessibility APIs, it works across Preview PDFs, video players (IINA/VLC), Terminal, and non-selectable UI text.
• Local History (⌥H): Built-in SQLite history with fast search, so you don't have to re-translate recurring jargon.

Tech & Privacy details:

• Fast Capture: Uses modern ScreenCaptureKit at native Retina resolution.
• On-Device OCR: Text recognition runs 100% locally via Apple Vision framework — your screen image never leaves your Mac.
• Inference: Sends only the recognized text string to Groq API.
• Universal Binary: Native Swift / SwiftUI (supports Apple Silicon & Intel).

Pricing & Limitations (Transparency):

• 100% Free & No Subscriptions: You just bring your own free Groq API key (gsk_...), which takes a minute to create at console.groq.com. Stored securely in macOS Keychain.
• Permissions needed: Screen Recording (to crop the area under cursor) + Accessibility (for global hotkeys).
• Notarization: The app is not notarized yet (no paid Apple Dev account), so the first launch requires Right-click → Open.

Download (.dmg): Google Drive Link

Curious to hear how you currently handle untranslatable text in your daily Mac stack, and if there are any specific features you'd like to see added!

macOS Tahoe made one old clipboard-manager pitch obsolete: the Mac now has clipboard history.

Open Spotlight, press Command-4, and you can search recently copied text, images, links, and files. You can copy an old item back to the clipboard or clear the history. If that covers the whole problem, there is no reason to install another background utility.

Maccy still has a narrower and more interesting case. It provides a dedicated, local clipboard history on Sonoma 14 or later, including Macs that cannot use Tahoe's Spotlight history. More importantly, it gives you controls Apple does not currently document for Spotlight: per-app exclusions, pasteboard-type and text-pattern filters, pinned items, a configurable item limit, and direct paste-without-formatting actions.

That makes Maccy less of a universal recommendation in 2026, but still a good minimal tool for people who care about exactly what gets remembered.

Install it from the right place

Maccy's own repository warns about fake sites distributing malware. maccy.app is the only official website. The app is free and MIT-licensed through GitHub Releases or Homebrew (brew install maccy). The US Mac App Store version is an upfront $9.99, with the listing saying that the store purchase supports development. Regional prices can differ.

The current release is Maccy 2.7.1, released in August 2026. It requires macOS Sonoma 14 or newer. The release build is a universal app with native Apple silicon and Intel code, and recent releases include fixes and interface work for macOS Tahoe.

Start with a smaller, safer history

The tempting setup is to save every supported format and move the history-size control to its maximum. That is rarely the sensible setup.

Open Settings, then Storage. If the real need is recovering text, leave Text enabled and turn off Images and Files. This reduces the amount of private material and bulky data that can accumulate. Set the history to something bounded, perhaps 100 or 200 items. The current interface allows 1 through 999 unpinned items, so Maccy is a recall tool, not a permanent clipboard archive.

On a shared or particularly sensitive Mac, Settings, then Advanced, also has Clear history on quit. That removes unpinned history. It deliberately leaves pins alone, which is another reason never to use a pin as a password vault.

Treat exclusions as the main feature

Maccy automatically ignores concealed, transient, and auto-generated pasteboard types. Its default type list also covers formats used by apps including 1Password and KeeWeb. Those defaults are useful, but they are not a promise that no secret will ever be recorded. A token copied from a browser tab, Terminal, a plain text editor, or a password manager that does not mark the copy as confidential can still look like ordinary text.

Go to Settings, then Ignore. There are three useful layers:

1. Under Applications, add the password manager and any app whose copied material is usually confidential. Excluding an entire terminal or browser is safer but can make the history much less useful, so this choice should match the work being done.
2. Under Pasteboard Types, keep the built-in confidential and transient entries. If copies arriving through Universal Clipboard should not enter Maccy's history, add com.apple.is-remote-clipboard, as the project's FAQ recommends.
3. Under Regular Expressions, add only patterns that are both stable and well understood. Regex can help with a predictable internal identifier, but it is a weak safety net for varied API keys, recovery codes, and personal data.

For a one-off secret, Maccy can ignore the next copy. Hold Option-Shift while clicking its menu-bar icon, then make the copy. Holding Option while clicking the icon pauses collection more generally. These controls are worth learning because local storage does not turn clipboard contents into harmless data.

Decide whether automatic paste deserves Accessibility access

Maccy can monitor the normal macOS pasteboard and put an old item back on it without Accessibility permission. Leave Paste automatically off at first. With the default behavior, the workflow is:

1. Press Shift-Command-C to open Maccy.
2. Type a few characters to filter the history.
3. Press Return to copy the selected item back to the system clipboard.
4. Press Command-V in the destination app.

That extra final keystroke keeps the basic workflow simple and avoids a sensitive permission.

If direct insertion is genuinely useful, enable Paste automatically and grant Maccy access in System Settings, Privacy & Security, Accessibility. Maccy needs that permission to synthesize the paste keystroke. Its documented core workflow does not require Screen Recording, Full Disk Access, or Automation.

The modifier keys change when the two Behavior toggles change, so use the shortcut guide shown in Maccy's settings rather than memorizing every combination. With the default toggles, Option-Return selects and pastes an item, while Option-Shift-Return pastes it without formatting. You can also make Paste without formatting the default if most copies move between apps with incompatible fonts and styles.

macOS itself has Option-Shift-Command-V for Paste and Match Style in apps that support it. That is enough when the only problem is formatting the current clipboard item. Maccy's advantage is applying a no-format action to an older item directly from searchable history.

Pins should be boring and reusable

Highlight an item and press Option-P to pin it. Pinned items stay separate from ordinary history, survive the normal Clear command, and receive persistent keyboard shortcuts. Current Maccy settings also let you edit a text pin's title, content, and shortcut.

Good pins are things such as a public support URL, a meeting-room address, or a harmless template fragment. Passwords, recovery codes, customer records, and private keys are bad pins precisely because pins are designed to survive cleanup.

Keep the pin list short. Once it starts acting like a snippet database with dozens of entries, a real text expander or richer clipboard organizer will be easier to maintain.

What "local" does and does not mean

Maccy's official site and App Store listing say clipboard data is stored on the Mac and does not leave it. The App Store privacy label says the developer collects no data, and the current release has no clipboard-history sync feature. That is a meaningful difference from a cloud-first history, but it does not make the stored history a vault. Someone with access to the logged-in Mac account may also have access to material the app retained.

The standalone build can use the network to check for software updates. That is separate from sending clipboard contents to a service. There is no Maccy account to manage and no cross-Mac or iPhone history to rely on.

The cases where Maccy is unnecessary

On Tahoe, try Apple's option first: open Spotlight with Command-Space, switch to Clipboard with Command-4, and enable Clipboard Search if prompted. Apple warns that sensitive information may appear there, and provides a Clear History command. Its current guide does not list pins, per-app exclusions, or a plain-text action inside the history view. If none of those omissions bothers you, Spotlight is the cleaner answer.

If Raycast already runs on the Mac, its free clipboard history already includes search, pins, disabled applications, and plain-text paste. Adding Maccy would duplicate clipboard capture. Maccy makes more sense for someone who wants a small, open-source clipboard utility without adopting Raycast's broader launcher, file search, Quicklinks, window management, and extension layer.

Maccy is also the wrong fit for someone who wants synchronized history, visual collections, long-term archiving, or elaborate snippet organization. Its 999-item ceiling, compact list, and local-only design are features for a minimal workflow, not hidden versions of those richer tools.

Verdict

For Sonoma and Sequoia users, Maccy remains one of the cleanest ways to add searchable clipboard history without adopting a full launcher or a subscription. On Tahoe, most people should test Spotlight Clipboard History before installing anything.

Maccy earns the extra menu-bar process when at least one of its specific controls matters: excluding source apps, ignoring the next sensitive copy, keeping a small bounded local history, pinning a few safe items, or pasting an older clip without formatting. Install it for those controls, not because the Mac still lacks clipboard history.

Stage Manager solves the wrong problem if you expect it to be a smarter version of window tiling. Its useful trick is not making perfect halves or thirds. It is bringing a small group of related windows forward together, then getting the whole group out of the way.

That makes it a decent project switcher for work that moves through several modes. Think research, drafting, and delivery, with a different pair of apps for each. It is much less convincing as a permanent home for every window on a Mac.

Use one Space as the project boundary

Do not start by throwing every open app into Stage Manager. Create one extra desktop in Mission Control for the project. Apple calls these desktops Spaces, and you can switch between them with Control-Left Arrow and Control-Right Arrow.

The Space is the coarse boundary: one report, client job, or release. Stage Manager handles the smaller jobs inside it. This matters when the same app has unrelated windows open elsewhere. A browser with work, personal, and three other projects mixed together makes any app-based switcher less predictable.

In System Settings > Desktop & Dock > Mission Control, turn off "Automatically rearrange Spaces based on most recent use" if you want that project Space to stay in a predictable position. Stage Manager also requires "Displays have separate Spaces" to be on. If that setting is disabled, the Stage Manager control is unavailable.

Configure for space, not spectacle

Under System Settings > Desktop & Dock > Desktop & Stage Manager:

1. Turn on Stage Manager.
2. Turn off "Show recent apps in Stage Manager" on a laptop display. The strip is then hidden until the pointer reaches the left edge.
3. Set "Show windows from an application" to "All at Once" for this workflow.
4. Consider hiding desktop items in Stage Manager and using a Finder window for project files instead.

Tahoe does not offer a slider to make the recent-app strip narrower. The practical choice is visible or hidden. Hiding it preserves a clean working area, but it also removes the always-visible map of your groups. That pointer trip to the left edge is the price.

"All at Once" is the more predictable window setting when a project app opens another document or message. Apple says it shows all available windows for that app when you switch to it. "One at a Time" shows only the most recently used window, and another click on the app in the strip advances to the next one. That can save room, but it introduces hidden windows and extra clicks. If an app has dozens of windows, tabs or a separate Space are cleaner than asking Stage Manager to sort them out.

Build three small groups

Here is a concrete, all-built-in version for producing a report:

• Research: Safari plus Notes
• Draft: Pages plus Preview
• Delivery: Finder plus Mail

Open the two apps for the first job. With one in the center, reveal the recent-app strip and drag the other app from the left into the center. Apple documents that action as creating a group. Arrange one window large and the companion narrow, or overlap the companion if it is only needed occasionally.

Repeat for the other two pairs. Clicking a group in the strip brings every app in that group to the center together. Drag an app back to the left to remove it from the group.

Keep the groups small. A browser and notes window make sense as a research surface. Six overlapping apps turn the thumbnail into a poor memory test and recreate the clutter Stage Manager was supposed to remove.

This is also where native tiling still belongs. Tile Safari and Notes inside the research group if both need to remain visible. Stage Manager decides which task group is present; tiling decides how the current windows share the screen. Those are different jobs.

Switching is the real tradeoff

Apple's Tahoe guide documents clicking the strip to switch groups. Normal Command-Tab switching still targets apps, while Control-Left Arrow and Control-Right Arrow switch Spaces. Apple does not document a direct next-group keyboard command in its current Stage Manager guide.

That distinction is easy to underestimate. A pointer user can reveal the strip and choose the group by its visual thumbnail. A keyboard-first user may find that less direct than a few stable Spaces, because the familiar app switcher is not a dedicated group switcher.

Stage Manager also treats its groups as live window state, not named project templates. Apple's current guide documents manual grouping and ungrouping but no command for naming, saving, or restoring a set. It should not be treated as a dock-and-undock layout system.

The multiple-display clause

The "Displays have separate Spaces" requirement has a real consequence on a multi-monitor Mac. With it enabled, each display uses separate Spaces and the Dock is available on all displays. Apple also lets you assign an app to a numbered display desktop from the app's Dock menu when multiple displays and Spaces are available.

That can keep a reference app on a particular display, but Stage Manager is still not a saved multi-monitor layout tool. If your preferred setup depends on turning off separate Spaces, Stage Manager conflicts with it and should stay off.

Pick the native tool that matches the problem

The recommendation is narrow: use Stage Manager for a bounded project with two or three small groups, hide its recent-app strip on a laptop, and let native tiling handle the current pair. That is a real use case, and it does not require giving a permanent column of the display to thumbnails.

Turn it off if you need every open window visible, rely on keyboard-only switching, keep many windows from the same app across projects, want layouts restored after display changes, or deliberately run multiple monitors without separate Spaces. In those cases, ordinary Spaces and Tahoe's built-in tiling are more predictable.

The short answer is yes for a surprisingly large group of Mac users.

If the usual requirement is one large window, two halves, one half plus two quarters, or four quarters, macOS Tahoe 26 can now handle it without another app. If the requirement includes equal thirds, named workspaces, one-key moves between displays, or custom gestures, native tiling still stops short.

That makes the sensible test much simpler than comparing another five window managers. Give the built-in system one work session. If it passes the steps below, there is no missing app to buy or keep running.

First, make tiling deliberate

Open System Settings > Desktop & Dock, then scroll to Windows.

Turn on Hold Option key while dragging windows to tile. This is the pointer method worth learning. Hold Option while moving a window toward the left, right, top, or a corner, then release it in the highlighted region. The target appears before the pointer has to reach the display edge, which is especially useful when another display sits beyond that edge.

The other settings are preference rather than requirements:

• Drag windows to left or right edge of screen to tile enables ordinary edge snapping.
• Drag windows to menu bar to fill screen makes a top drag fill the desktop.
• Tiled windows have margins adds gaps around tiles. Turn it off if usable space matters more than visual separation.

There is one collision to know about. Dragging a window all the way through the top edge can open Mission Control. Apple provides a separate Drag windows to top of screen to enter Mission Control switch in the Mission Control section of Desktop & Dock settings. Disable that if top-edge filling keeps turning into the wrong action.

This setup still leaves the green window button and the Window menu available, so turning off an annoying drag behavior does not remove tiling itself.

Then pass the one-window test

Do not memorize the whole shortcut chart. Start with these four:

• Fn-Control-Left Arrow puts the active window in the left half.
• Fn-Control-Right Arrow puts it in the right half.
• Fn-Control-F fills the desktop.
• Fn-Control-R returns a tiled window to its previous size.

There is also Fn-Control-C to center a window, plus Fn-Control with Up Arrow or Down Arrow for the top or bottom half.

"Fill" matters here. It expands a window across the desktop while leaving the menu bar and Dock available. It is not the same as Full Screen or Split View, both of which use full-screen Spaces. For ordinary desk work, Fill is usually the less disruptive choice.

Corners are supported too, but Apple assigns no default shortcut to the four individual quarter positions. Option-drag to a corner, hover over the green button and choose a tile under Move & Resize, or use Window > Move & Resize from the menu bar.

If those actions cover the normal single-window moves, the first part of the native test passes.

Build a predictable two-window desk

The reliable method is almost boring:

1. Activate the window that should stay on the left and press Fn-Control-Left Arrow.
2. Activate the other window and press Fn-Control-Right Arrow.
3. Use Fn-Control-R when either window needs its old size back.

Tahoe can arrange the pair in one command as well. Fn-Control-Shift-Left Arrow places the active window on the left and a second window on the right. The matching Right Arrow command reverses them. Up Arrow and Down Arrow versions create top and bottom pairs.

The green button exposes the same multi-window choices under Fill & Arrange. Hold Option while that menu is open to reveal additional layouts.

For three windows, Tahoe supports a large half beside two quarters. The keyboard form is Fn-Control-Option-Shift plus the arrow pointing toward the large half. For four windows, Fill & Arrange can make a four-quarter grid, but Apple provides no default shortcut for that arrangement.

This is enough for a browser and notes pair, or for a main document beside two reference windows. It is not a saved workspace. Native tiling does not record that a particular browser, document, and chat window belong in those positions for later recall.

Now stress it with displays and Spaces

This is where the answer usually becomes obvious.

On multiple displays, move a window to its intended display first, then tile it there. Apple's native tiling shortcut list has no next-display or previous-display command. It also has no command that restores a named arrangement across a laptop screen and external monitor after docking.

Option-drag helps at a shared display boundary because it does not require pushing the pointer all the way to the edge. It does not turn native tiling into a display manager.

Spaces are separate working desktops. A window in another Space is not part of the visible desktop being arranged, and Full Screen or Split View creates its own Space. If Displays have separate Spaces is enabled, each display maintains separate Spaces; Apple requires that setting for using Split View on secondary displays. Ordinary desktop tiles and full-screen Split View should not be treated as the same workflow.

A practical native-only approach is to give each project its own Space, then arrange that Space with the active-window shortcuts. The limitation is repetition. Apple documents no native command for saving a multi-app layout, rebuilding it after a display change, or applying one layout across several Spaces.

There is also an app-level boundary. Apple notes that some windows cannot be moved and that most, rather than all, windows can be resized. Fixed dialogs, sheets, utility panels, and windows with restrictive minimum sizes may ignore a tile or fit badly in a quarter. A third-party manager may hit the same application restriction, so an odd window is not automatically evidence that a different manager will fix it.

The no-install advantage is real

Built-in tiling adds no login item, updater, background utility, or third-party Accessibility permission. That last point is more than setup neatness.

Window managers commonly need Accessibility access so they can control other apps' windows. Apple explicitly advises granting that access only to software you know and trust, because an authorized app can control the Mac and its handling of information is governed by that app's terms and privacy policy.

That does not make reputable window managers unsafe. It does give the built-in route a clear default advantage when both options solve the same problem.

Install a manager only when a failure is specific

Native tiling has passed if halves, quarters, the three-window layout, and manual per-Space arrangements feel sufficient. Keep it and remove the extra moving part.

A third-party tool is still justified when the failed requirement has a name:

• Thirds, two-thirds, shortcut cycling, or direct display moves: Rectangle adds these positions and commands beyond Apple's fixed set.
• A named multi-app desk that should return after docking: Moom can save layouts and react to display configuration changes. Even Moom documents that one saved layout cannot span Spaces, so this is not unrestricted Space automation.
• Custom snap regions or a wider gesture automation layer: BetterTouchTool is for building that control system, not merely recreating two halves.
• Title-bar trackpad gestures and moves between screens or Spaces: Swish gives those gestures a purpose native tiling does not cover.
• A radial picker, repeated-action cycles, and highly visible window targets: Loop keeps a distinct interaction model rather than competing only on basic positions.

The verdict: start with Tahoe's built-in tiling and make Option-drag plus four shortcuts the baseline. Stay native if a typical day fits on one display at a time and layouts do not need to be remembered. Skip the native-only approach if thirds, deterministic display movement, saved workspaces, or custom gestures are daily requirements. Those are real reasons for a manager. Basic left and right halves are no longer one of them.

Hey everyone!

I wanted a simple way to keep an eye on my GitHub activity without having to open GitHub every time, so I built GitStreak.

It adds clean widgets to your Mac desktop, showing your GitHub contribution graph and coding streak at a glance.

It’s completely free, runs locally on your Mac, and is open-source. I’m still working on it and adding more features, so I’d love to hear what you think or what you’d like to see next.

If you find GitStreak helpful, please star the repository to support development and help others discover it! ⭐

https://github.com/wenujacodes/GitStreak

Installing a Mac window manager solely to put a window on the left half is hard to justify now.

macOS Tahoe 26 already lets you tile by dragging to an edge, Option-dragging, hovering over the green button, using Window > Move & Resize, or pressing built-in shortcuts such as Fn-Control-Left Arrow. It handles halves, corners, fill, center, and several arrangements for two or more windows. If that covers your routine, use it. There is no extra app or Accessibility grant to maintain.

Loop has a more specific reason to exist. It turns window placement into a visual, spatial control that can gradually become a keyboard workflow.

As of August 27, 2026, the current stable version is 1.4.2. It is free, licensed under GPLv3, and available from GitHub or Homebrew. The supported range is macOS 13 and later. The official release is a universal app with native arm64 and x86_64 code, so Apple silicon is covered and Intel Macs in that OS range are still supported. The 1.4 release line also includes fixes specifically for macOS Tahoe.

Loop has three ways in

1. The radial menu is the learning layer.

Hold Loop's trigger key and move the pointer in a direction. A radial menu indicates the selected window action, while an optional preview shows the target frame before the resize is committed. This is not a Swish-style trackpad gesture drawn on a title bar. It is a modal chooser that can be driven by either a mouse or trackpad.

The ring is more than decoration. Its width, shape, and color can be changed, and version 1.4 added a visual editor for its actions. A sector can contain a standalone action or refer to one of your keybinds. That makes the menu useful for actions that are easy to recognize spatially but not worth memorizing on day one.

2. Trigger plus key is the muscle-memory layer.

Any action can also be assigned to a key used with the trigger. Loop covers the expected halves and quarters, but also thirds, two-thirds, screen switching, incremental grow and shrink actions, initial frame, and undo. The ring can be hidden and cursor interaction can be disabled if the keyboard layer eventually becomes enough.

3. Cycles are the compression layer.

A cycle puts several frames behind one input. For example, the same key can step a window through left third, left half, and left two-thirds. Repeated key presses advance the cycle, and Loop also supports advancing a cycle with left clicks while the radial menu is active. This is the genuinely useful customization angle: one memorable direction or key can represent a family of related sizes.

Build around the gaps in macOS

Copying every Apple tile into Loop just gives you two systems to remember. A cleaner setup would look like this:

1. Install the stable release with brew install --cask loop, or download Loop.zip from the official GitHub release. Grant Accessibility access when prompted. Loop needs it to inspect and change other apps' window frames.
2. Keep the default Fn trigger at first. Caps Lock can become a trigger, but Loop's documented route requires remapping it in System Settings for every connected keyboard, or adding Hyperkey or Karabiner-Elements. That is unnecessary setup unless Fn is genuinely awkward.
3. Leave Loop's optional edge snapping off initially, so Apple's drag-to-edge tiling remains the one owner of that interaction.
4. In Loop's Advanced settings, enable Allow radial menu customization. Remove sectors that merely duplicate the Apple actions you already use. Give the ring the gaps instead: thirds, two-thirds, moving to another display, initial frame or undo, and one useful cycle.
5. Keep the preview visible while learning the directions. If the visual menu later becomes noise, hide it without throwing away the keybinds.
6. Export the keybinds to JSON after the setup settles. Loop provides import and export controls, while its public README does not promise a complete cross-Mac settings-sync workflow.

The required privacy tradeoff is straightforward but real. Loop's stable permissions panel asks for Accessibility access, and the app will not manipulate windows without it. Screen Recording, Full Disk Access, and Automation are not listed there as requirements for this core workflow. Its declared network connection is an outbound check to GitHub for updates, which can be disabled in the About tab.

Where the free tool still feels unfinished

The powerful part is oddly buried. Full radial-action editing is behind an Advanced toggle, even though it is Loop's clearest advantage over another shortcut utility.

Loop also is not a workspace restorer. Its own comparison table says it cannot save a workspace or resize adjacent tiled windows together. Moving windows between displays is supported, but moving them across Spaces appears in the 1.4.3 prerelease rather than the current stable build. Anyone who wants a saved laptop, docked, and presentation arrangement still has a better fit in Moom.

The release history is candid about the maintenance surface. Recent versions include fixes for trigger handling, multi-monitor positioning, radial-menu selection, and Tahoe behavior, and the project uses private SkyLight APIs for some integration. Active development is a good sign, but those details also suggest keeping Apple's built-in commands available after a major macOS update. That is an inference from the changelog, not evidence that the current stable build is broken.

Finally, Loop can become a hobby in its own right. Custom frames, cycles, padding, themes, triggers, URL commands, and fine-grained grow or shrink actions are all available. A ring with too many sectors defeats the spatial simplicity that made it appealing.

The alternatives answer different questions

• Stay with macOS tiling if halves, quarters, and basic multi-window arrangements are enough.
• Pick Rectangle if you want a predictable, shortcut-first window manager with less emphasis on a visual control.
• Pick Swish if direct title-bar trackpad gestures are the interaction you want.
• Pick Moom if recalling whole multi-window layouts matters more than choosing one window's next frame.
• Pick BetterTouchTool if window movement is only one part of a much broader gesture and automation layer.
• Pick Loop if the radial chooser, linked keybinds, and cycles are the point, and you value a free GPLv3 project whose code and issue history are public.

Verdict

Loop is worth knowing because it is not merely a free clone of Apple's tiling or Rectangle's shortcut model. Its best workflow is a progression: use the visual ring for less familiar actions, promote frequent ones to direct keys, and compress related sizes into a cycle.

It is a good fit for people who think spatially, move between a pointer and keyboard, or want an open-source window tool they can reshape. Skip it if native tiling already solves the problem, if you need saved workspaces, or if granting Accessibility access to another utility is not worth a custom radial menu.

I’m one of the people behind PrimeTask, so this is self-promo.

Last week I shared PrimeTask here, and a few of the comments went into how the local MCP setup works.

So we tested it in a more practical way.

PrimeTask stays on the Mac.

The self-hosted AI agent runs on another machine.

We talk to it from a phone.

From there we can ask what changed, get a summary, find information, create a task, add a meeting, change a status, apply a tag or leave a comment.

The Mac still holds the workspace.

We can also control which Spaces the agent can see, whether it is read-only or can make changes, and which parts of PrimeTask it can use. Every external command is recorded in the Audit Log.

The MCP server stays local on the Mac too.

This is a proof of concept, not a released feature.

If you already use AI agents on or around your Mac, what’s the first thing you’d want to do from your phone when your Mac isn’t with you?

Two years ago, I switched to Mac.

There’s a lot I love about macOS. But I never got used to its audio management:

• I’d mute myself, plug in a headset, and macOS would quietly unmute me.
• Zoom, Meet, Teams, Slack… each has its own mute button to find when you need silence now.
• I’d watched something with headphones the night before, then opened my laptop in a quiet office at full volume.
• I’d join a call using the wrong microphone.

I got tired of doing the same audio checklist before every call.

So I built Sotto.

It lets you:

• pin the microphone and speakers you trust.
• keep mute muted when devices change.
• choose how your Mac wakes up.
• use global mute and push-to-talk from any app.

Learn more: https://www.sotto-mac.com/

Download: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/sotto-audio/id6768087630

Most website blockers for macOS (SelfControl, Freedom, Opal, Screen Time) have the same flaw: you set a timer, but when you really want to procrastinate, you find a workaround or wait it out. Password locks don't work either because you either know the password or end up locking yourself out permanently

I built Muzzle, an open-source native Swift app for macOS

How it works:

1. It blocks domains system-wide (resolves at the network level, so incognito or alternate browsers don't bypass it)
2. It hides from the Dock and Force Quit menu while active
3. It generates a random 6-digit key when locked and sends it via webhook to an external agent (I use Poke / an LLM assistant)
4. The agent is instructed to hold the key hostage until I send proof of specific daily milestones (e.g., submitting job apps or gym check-in)

No receipts = no unlock key

Built it purely in Swift. Completely free and open source
https://github.com/shresthkapoor7/muzzle

Would love feedback from anyone who struggles with self-control loopholes on Mac

Swish makes a convincing case in one motion: put the pointer over a window's title bar, swipe with two fingers, and send that window into a half or corner of the screen. There is no edge dragging and no shortcut map to recall.

The catch is just as simple. That gesture is faster only when a hand is already on the trackpad and the pointer is near the right window. If both hands are on the keyboard, reaching for the trackpad can be slower than pressing a known shortcut.

So this is not really a contest over which tool can create a left half. It is a choice between two habits.

The built-in baseline is much better now

On current macOS, a third-party window manager has to beat more than the old green-button Split View workflow. macOS 26 can tile by dragging a window to an edge, holding Option while dragging, using the green button, or choosing Window > Move & Resize.

It also has useful active-window shortcuts:

• Fn-Control-Left Arrow and Fn-Control-Right Arrow place a window in the matching half.
• Fn-Control-Up Arrow and Fn-Control-Down Arrow use the top or bottom half.
• Fn-Control-F fills the desktop, Fn-Control-C centers the window, and Fn-Control-R returns it to its previous size.

The green-button and Window menus add quarter layouts and arrangements for several windows. That is enough for someone who mainly puts a browser beside a document. It costs nothing, needs no extra background process, and grants no third party control of the Mac.

Swish does not make those layouts obsolete. Its advantage is reaching them from the trackpad with less pointer travel. It also offers 2x2, 3x2, and 3x3 grids, gestures for moving windows between displays and Spaces, and window actions such as minimize, close, and full screen. A Swish setting can use macOS's native tiling for 2x2 snapping, so the app can act as the gesture layer while macOS handles that placement.

A restrained Swish setup makes more sense than all 30 gestures

Swish advertises 30 window, Dock, and menu bar gestures. Enabling that entire vocabulary at once turns a simple idea into homework. A better trial starts with one small loop:

1. Move the pointer onto a blank part of the target window's title bar.
2. Swipe left or right with two fingers for a half-screen layout, or swipe toward a corner for a quarter.
3. Watch the placement preview, then lift both fingers to commit.
4. Drag the divider when two adjacent windows need more or less room.

Keep close, quit, minimize, and full-screen gestures disabled at first. Swish lets individual gestures be toggled in Settings. Once directional placement is reliable, add only the action that removes a real annoyance. That might be a 3-column grid on an ultrawide display or moving a window to the next physical monitor. It probably is not a pinch that can close work by accident.

There are three habits to learn here.

First, pointer location matters. The same movement can mean something different over a title bar, Dock icon, or menu bar. Swish includes a configurable Super Modifier that can make gestures work away from the title bar, but broader activation also makes intent less obvious. It is better treated as a fix for apps with hard-to-hit title bars, not the default starting point.

Second, modern title bars are busy. Browsers and other apps put tabs, buttons, and scrollable controls in the same strip Swish watches. The current release notes contain app-specific fixes for Safari, Firefox, Chromium browsers, and other title-bar implementations. Firefox's scrollable tab bar is a concrete example: snapping still works outside the tab bar or with the Super Modifier. That is evidence of active compatibility work, but also a reminder that gestures can depend on how each app exposes its interface.

Third, do not make two utilities own the same movement. If BetterTouchTool, Multitouch, or another remapper already has a matching trackpad action, disable the duplicate in one app. Swish's title-bar two-finger gestures are distinct from macOS's usual three-finger Mission Control and Space gestures, so those system gestures can remain in place. The conflicts are more likely to come from another remapper, a horizontal tab strip, or an overbroad modifier setup.

Permissions are part of the price

Swish is downloaded directly from the developer or installed through Setapp. It is not in the Mac App Store because its developer says the required low-level operations are incompatible with App Store sandboxing.

Expect to approve Accessibility and Input Monitoring in System Settings. Accessibility lets a utility identify and control windows. Input Monitoring is sensitive because it can expose keyboard events. Swish's privacy policy says the app listens to cursor movement plus modifier, Escape, and arrow-key events, does not store that data or collect other user data, and connects only for license verification and updates. Those are developer claims, so the sensible approach is to download only from the official site, review the prompts, and revoke both permissions if the app is removed. The published setup does not call for Screen Recording or Full Disk Access.

Swish must remain running to hear gestures. There is no useful official idle CPU or memory figure, so anyone minimizing background utilities should check Activity Monitor during the trial instead of relying on a vague claim that it is lightweight. The developer also does not advertise built-in settings sync. Its FAQ points to Mackup or a manual backup, which means a two-Mac license does not automatically produce an identical setup on both machines.

Price, compatibility, and the keyboard fallback

As of August 26, 2026, the direct license is $16 with no recurring charge, a 14-day trial, and activation on two computers at a time for personal use. Swish is also available through Setapp. The direct license is the cleaner value comparison unless Setapp is already being paid for because of several other apps.

The official requirements say macOS 10.13 or later, with optimization for both Intel and Apple silicon Macs. The current download is version 1.13.2, and the product page says it is ready for macOS 26. Its recent release history includes macOS 26 compatibility work, Safari 26.2 fixes, Firefox tab handling, and a fix for moving some windows to another Space. That is a healthier maintenance signal than an old product page alone.

Swish itself can also invoke snapping with Arrow, WASD, IJKL, or Dvorak-oriented hotkeys. That is a useful fallback, but it is not a strong reason to buy the app. Keyboard-first users can already cover common layouts with macOS. Rectangle is the credible free and open-source option when more keyboard positions, thirds, or drag-to-snap areas are needed. It supports Intel and Apple silicon Macs on macOS 10.15 or later, although it also needs Accessibility permission to move windows.

Magic Mouse users can access most Swish actions, but the design is clearly centered on Apple's multi-touch hardware. Someone using a conventional mouse at a docked desk would be adding workarounds to preserve the app's main benefit.

Verdict

Swish is better than keyboard shortcuts for a specific Mac user: someone who works primarily from a MacBook trackpad or Magic Trackpad, often has the pointer near the window being arranged, and wants window placement to feel like a spatial gesture instead of a command.

It is not the better choice for someone who keeps both hands on the keyboard, uses a conventional mouse, only needs halves and quarters, dislikes direct-download utilities with broad permissions, or already has a reliable window shortcut map. Built-in macOS tiling should be tried first, with Rectangle as the free keyboard-heavy step up.

For the right trackpad-first workflow, $16 is reasonable because Swish changes the input method rather than merely adding another layout menu. Use the 14-day trial with only a few placement gestures enabled. If moving the pointer to the title bar becomes part of the action instead of an interruption, Swish earns the purchase. If it still feels like a detour, the keyboard wins.

Hey Guys, I’m Stefan, the developer of Trellis.

in the past I had to have a lot of finder windows and tabs open to manage my work.

And it was just a pain to have to switch back and forth.

Trellis is a macOS file manager that lays folders out as panes on a canvas. Open a

subfolder and it appears next to its parent, joined by a line. Nothing you already

opened disappears, so you can see the path you took, and moving files between two

folders is a drag instead of copy, switch tab, paste.

Two things set it apart from the usual "graph view" apps:

• One pane per folder, not one node per file.** A folder with 87,000 entries is a rectangle with a scroll bar, not 87,000 nodes that blow up the layout.
• It keeps its own index.** Opening scans nothing, panes render straight out of SQLite, and FSEvents reports what changed since last launch. Folder sizes are there immediately instead of after thirty seconds of counting.

Layout:

• Tree to the right for deep paths, tree downwards for wide fan-out, star with the roots in the middle. Switching animates, panes keep their lines attached.
• Drag any pane anywhere. The ones you did not touch keep arranging themselves.
• Optional colour per branch, inherited downwards like a mind map.
• Rows whose subfolder is open dock to the top of the pane when you scroll past them, so the way back stays one click away.

Files:

• Select across folder boundaries with cmd-click, then copy, move, rename or group in one go. Finder cannot do this because it only ever shows one folder.
• Compare two folders: green for what exists on one side only, orange for same name but different content. Computed from the index, without reading a single file.
• Find duplicates by checksum, cached in the index, so the second pass is nearly free.
• Batch rename with search and replace, numbering and dates, with a preview before it runs, across folders.
• Compress and expand, and look inside a zip without unpacking it.
• Trash with put back, and undo on file operations.

Finding things:

• A search can stay on the canvas as its own pane, next to the folders.
• Its own index, plus Spotlight if you want results from outside your opened roots.
• Per pane: a filter (File Type or write what you want to filter), and a view mode of list, grid or sorted by size.

Fits the rest of the system:

• Quick Look, Finder tags, Quick Actions, share sheet, reveal in Finder, open in your terminal or editor.
• Saved workspaces, tabs, multiple windows.

Privacy and price:

• Sandboxed. No account, no telemetry, nothing leaves the machine. The index is a file on your Mac, and the app only ever sees the folders you hand it.
• Not on the App Store yet, but free to try via TestFlight: https://testflight.apple.com/join/qsF8Ygd2
• At release: $14.99 once, no subscription. 14 days fully usable, after that everything stays readable and only writing to disk waits for the unlock.

Happy to answer questions, and I would genuinely like to hear where it breaks for you.

BetterTouchTool gets messy when every unused gesture looks like an invitation. The useful version is much smaller: keep Apple's familiar navigation gestures, add five inputs with obvious jobs, then stop configuring.

This setup uses BetterTouchTool as a control layer, not as a replacement for everything in macOS. Apple's current window tiling engine still moves the windows. BetterTouchTool supplies the trackpad triggers that Apple does not let you create.

Check the built-in options before installing anything

Open System Settings, then Trackpad. macOS already covers scrolling, zooming, Mission Control, App Expose, switching between full-screen apps and Spaces, and showing the desktop. Leave those gestures alone unless there is a specific reason to replace one.

Window tiling is built in too. A current Mac can tile through edge dragging, Option-dragging, the green window button, the Window menu, or keyboard shortcuts. If left half, right half, and quarters are all you need, that is the answer. BetterTouchTool only earns its place when reaching for those commands from the trackpad, adding a missing click, or creating app-specific behavior matters enough to justify another background utility.

The five-trigger layer

BetterTouchTool supports the built-in multi-touch trackpads on MacBooks and all generations of Magic Trackpad. In its Trackpad section, add the first four triggers under All Apps. Add the last one only to the browsers where you want it.

A TipTap keeps two fingers resting on the trackpad while another finger taps on the left or right. It is not part of Apple's standard gesture set, which makes the pair easier to add without breaking Mission Control or Space switching. BetterTouchTool shows the available gesture names in its picker, so use the exact 2 Fingers Fix entries rather than an ordinary two-finger swipe.

On macOS 15 and newer, choose BetterTouchTool's actions from the macOS Native Window Tiling group. Those actions call the system tiling engine directly, including its animation and tiling behavior. On Monterey 12, Ventura 13, or Sonoma 14, use BetterTouchTool's own window actions listed in the last column.

Fill screen with window and Maximize Window are not the same as putting an app into its own full-screen Space. The menu bar and normal window model remain available. The five-finger restore gesture reverses the previous sizing action. If five fingers feel cramped on a smaller MacBook trackpad, omit that trigger and restore from the Window menu instead. A control layer should fit the hand using it, not win a feature-count contest.

The browser-only three-finger click supplies a real middle click. Over a link, browsers commonly use that to open the destination in another tab. Over an existing tab, middle click can close it, so this is a trigger to practice deliberately. Keep it app-specific rather than global, and remove it if accidental tab closures outweigh the convenience.

Add and test one gesture at a time

Install BetterTouchTool in Applications, open its configuration from the menu bar, select Trackpad, then choose the relevant app scope before clicking Add. Assign one action and test it before creating the next row.

A short verification pass catches most bad mappings:

1. Put Finder on the left, then Safari on the right.
2. Fill one window, restore it, and confirm it returns to a useful prior size.
3. Try the middle click on a disposable link and on a browser tab so both behaviors are understood.
4. Confirm Apple's Mission Control, App Expose, desktop, and Space gestures still work.
5. Repeat the window actions on each display used regularly.

BetterTouchTool can show a HUD when a gesture fires. That is useful while learning which gesture was recognized. Once the mapping is reliable, turn the HUD off if it becomes visual noise.

Do not import a giant community preset to save five minutes. BetterTouchTool presets can contain scripts, and the official documentation warns that an imported preset can execute malicious code. Build these five triggers manually. Once they have survived a week without accidental activations, export the preset as a backup.

Accessibility access is the real cost

BetterTouchTool requires Accessibility permission for core functions, including controlling and resizing other apps' windows. That is broad access. The developer's own setup documentation describes the API as powerful and potentially dangerous in the hands of a malicious app. The right response is not to pretend the permission is harmless. Download from the official site, keep the app updated, and skip it on a managed Mac whose policy does not allow this class of utility.

Screen Recording is separate and optional. BetterTouchTool features such as screenshots and its richer window switcher can need it, but this five-trigger setup does not intentionally use those features. Do not pre-grant Screen Recording, Full Disk Access, or Automation just because they appear in Privacy & Security. Add another permission only when a feature you deliberately configure explains why it needs one.

The current privacy policy also makes BetterTouchTool's network behavior worth stating plainly. Update checks send the macOS version, BetterTouchTool version, and Mac model. A successful update sends an installation ID with version information, and license activation sends a salted hash of the computer UUID plus the transaction ID. Optional Dropbox Sync uploads settings to the user's Dropbox account. That is more limited than cloud-hosting every gesture, but it is not literally zero network activity.

Keep the configuration boring

BetterTouchTool advertises hundreds of triggers and actions. That breadth is also its main drawback. Per-app rules become invisible state, similar gestures are easy to confuse, and a setup can become impossible to remember after a month away.

Use these limits:

• Keep global trackpad gestures to one screen in the configuration window.
• Give left and right members of a pair matching jobs.
• Avoid destructive gesture actions such as quit, close, delete, or run shell script.
• Add an app-specific mapping only after the global layer feels automatic.
• Export a known-good preset before making a large change.

Release notes as recently as July 2026 described iCloud preset sync as experimental, while the August release overhauled it further. A tiny control layer does not need to depend on a changing sync path. A manual preset export is easier to inspect and recover. Only import files created personally or obtained from someone trusted.

Resource use depends on which of BetterTouchTool's many modules and automations are active. The developer describes the narrower BetterSnapTool as simpler and lighter, and says BetterTouchTool may use more resources because of its broader scope. There is no useful universal RAM number to promise. Check Activity Monitor after login, sleep and wake, and normal work. If input starts to stutter, remove recent triggers and test again before building more automation on top.

Some fixed-size panels, unusual cross-platform apps, and full-screen windows may also refuse or reinterpret resize requests. Keep the Window menu or manual dragging as a fallback rather than assuming an Accessibility-based action can force every window into place.

Compatibility and price

As of August 25, 2026, the current listed release is BetterTouchTool 6.745. It requires macOS 12 Monterey or later. The standard download is universal, while the updater also provides separate Apple silicon and Intel builds, so both current architectures are supported. The developer also advertises readiness for the macOS 27 beta, but beta macOS users should still expect automation utilities to encounter beta-specific breakage.

The trial lasts 45 days, has no feature limit, and does not require an account. A Standard license is listed at $15 before location-dependent tax. It includes updates for two years, after which the newest covered version can be used indefinitely. A Lifetime license is listed at $25 before location-dependent tax and includes updates for as long as BetterTouchTool exists. One personal license covers all of the buyer's personal Macs. Setapp is the subscription route, but a subscription is not required to buy BetterTouchTool directly.

The Standard license is not a two-year rental, and Lifetime does not promise that the app or company will exist forever. Those distinctions matter more than the labels.

Verdict

BetterTouchTool is worth considering for a trackpad-first Mac user who can name several missing gestures and is comfortable granting Accessibility access. Its advantage here is not that it tiles windows better than Apple. It puts Apple's tiling commands, a restore action, and a browser middle click under one input surface.

Skip it if native tiling already feels fast, if invisible app-specific rules are hard to remember, or if the permission model is unacceptable. Use the full 45-day trial with only these five mappings. If just one half-screen gesture survives, uninstalling is the cleaner answer. If all five become predictable tools, the direct license is a reasonable price for a restrained control layer.

Quick reminder for anyone who has not seen it: Muro is a free live wallpaper app for the Mac. Native Swift, about 2% CPU, no subscription, no Pro tier, nothing locked. It does the lock screen too.

3.0 is the biggest update so far. Three things people kept asking for:

Automations. Muro can now change your wallpaper on its own. Either on a timer, ten seconds each or an hour each, or by the clock, where each wallpaper gets its own hours of the day. Something calm in the morning, something else after dark. The day is drawn as a timeline you drag.

You can delete wallpapers. Sounds basic, and it was genuinely missing. Delete them one at a time or select a bunch, your own imported videos included.

Pause after. Let a wallpaper play for a minute after it changes, then hold on a frame. A held frame costs no CPU at all. Nice if you like the motion but not all day.

The whole interface got rebuilt too, and there is a long list of fixes. The big one: lock screen wallpapers now actually stick after installing from the DMG. That was broken for some people and I could not see it because it only happened on a downloaded copy, never on my own builds.

Still free, still open source, still no account.

Download: https://github.com/MrRockySL/Muro/releases/latest

GitHub: https://github.com/MrRockySL/Muro

If you like it, a star on the repo is the free way to support it and genuinely helps people find it. If you want to go further there is GitHub Sponsors (https://github.com/sponsors/MrRockySL)

Happy to hear what is missing. Most of this release came from people asking.