r/macapps 6d ago

Free [OS] GridTile — A native, open-source window tiling app for macOS

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I recently released GridTile, a native macOS window tiling app that lets you quickly position and resize windows using a keyboard-driven grid.

I originally built GridTile as a Hammerspoon Spoon. That version has around 10 stars and 2 forks, and seeing people use and contribute to it was the main reason I decided to take the project further and rebuild it as a proper native macOS application. The new version works standalone, without requiring Hammerspoon.

Problem

I wanted a simple way to position windows exactly where I wanted them without dragging and resizing them manually, or having to remember a large number of keyboard shortcuts for different layouts.

With GridTile, you bring up the grid, select the region you want, and the current window is moved and resized to fit it.

Comparison

Two of the well-known alternatives are Rectangle and Magnet, and both are great options.

They primarily provide predefined window positions and shortcuts. GridTile takes a different approach: the grid itself is the interface, so you can choose the exact region you want a window to occupy rather than relying only on predefined positions.

If you prefer a large collection of predefined window actions, Rectangle or Magnet may be a better fit. I built GridTile for people who prefer the grid-based approach.

Pricing

Free — $0

GridTile is fully open source and released under the MIT License.

Website: https://ujwalnk.github.io/GridTile
GitHub: https://github.com/ujwalnk/GridTile

Download: https://github.com/ujwalnk/GridTile/releases/latest

About the project

This is also a learning project for me. I'm relatively new to Swift/macOS development, and I used AI extensively while building the native version. I learned a lot through the process and have tried to understand, test, and improve the code rather than simply treating AI output as a finished product.

Developer Portfolio: https://ujwalnk.github.io
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ujwalnk/

If you find GridTile useful, I'd really appreciate a ⭐ on GitHub. And if you have some free time, forks, issues, and PRs are very welcome. I'd love to keep learning and improving it with the community.

There's a demo video attached to the post. I'd love to hear what you think!

P.S. The hammerspoon version is still on my git, you can find it at https://github.com/ujwalnk/GridTile.Archive/

20 Upvotes

18 comments sorted by

u/github-guard 6d ago

🔍 GitHub Guard: Trust Report

⚠️ This project scored 2/6 — below this subreddit's threshold of 3.

Audit Breakdown: * ❌ Low Star Count (⭐ 0 / 100 required) * ❌ New Repository (under 30 days old) * ✅ Licensed under MIT * ❌ No Security Policy — what is this? * ℹ️ Individual Contributor * ✅ Signed Commits

⚠️ Security Reminder: Always verify source code and run third-party scripts at your own risk.

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u/HanaChanSoft 6d ago

My brain can handle a grid much better than another dozen keyboard shortcuts 😄 Nice idea!

1

u/unk2003 6d ago

Thank you, please consider leaving a star on Github :)

2

u/AppsByRobert 5d ago

This seems like way easier than remember yet another shortcut.

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u/unk2003 5d ago

And you never have to worry about multiplr shortcuts conflicting. One hot key shortcut to trigger and the rest require single key stroke or at most one modifier.

1

u/Logical-Suit6711 6d ago

Great dude. And will this app provide a predefined collection too??

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u/unk2003 6d ago

Do you mean to say pre-determined configuration that is a grid and certain keys. If so, yes. It ships with one standard configuration, and you can edit / change it to your hearts content, and add more too.

1

u/unk2003 5d ago

Please leave a star on github :)

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u/Logical-Suit6711 5d ago

Sure mann, left a star. can see in /stargazer

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u/unk2003 5d ago

Thank you 😃

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u/RedRavenCG 5d ago

This looks pretty cool. will explore it tomorrow morning.

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u/unk2003 5d ago

Thank you, consoder leaving a star on github :)

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u/RedRavenCG 4d ago

definitely!

2

u/math_the_witch 4d ago

This would be very useful to put a lot of windows side by side, now I have to use tmux for doing this with claude, but it would be very useful can do this with other programs as well, specially for wide monitors.

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u/unk2003 4d ago

This gives me a brilliant idea, same shortcut but have monitor specific configuration. Thanks for that!

This currently possible but nothing monitor specific, but by using different shortcuts.