Snap windows on Mac, then put them back exactly
Snapping windows is easy. Getting your exact layout back the next morning is the hard part. This page is for Mac power users who tile windows all day and want to save an arrangement and restore it in one keypress. Here is how window snapping works on macOS, how Spud snaps and saves layouts, and how it compares to the built-in tools.
Key takeaways
- Window snapping on a Mac means dragging a window to a screen edge or corner, or pressing a shortcut, so it resizes to a preset region like a half or a quarter.
- macOS 26 Tahoe has built-in tiling that snaps windows into halves and quarters, but it forgets the arrangement the moment you move or close a window.
- Spud snaps windows to halves, quarters, and thirds with keyboard shortcuts, then saves the whole arrangement as a named workspace you restore with one keypress.
- When Spud restores a workspace it puts every window back at its exact position, size, and z-order, relaunches closed apps, and reopens closed browser tabs without duplicates.
Download Spud. Free 10-day Pro trial, no card, no sign-up.
What is window snapping on a Mac?
Window snapping is dragging a window to a screen edge or corner, or pressing a shortcut, so it resizes to a preset region like a half or a quarter. Instead of hand-resizing every window, you drop it against an edge and macOS fills the space for you.
macOS 26 Tahoe ships with this built in. Apple's own guide says the window snaps into position when the pointer reaches the edge of the screen. The built-in feature covers halves, quarters, or a mix, and it works well for a quick two-pane split. What it does not do is remember the layout you built. Spud adds saved, restorable layouts on top of the snapping you already know.
Snap with the keyboard or the edges
Spud snaps windows two ways: drag them to an edge or corner, or press a shortcut to cycle sizes. Your hands never have to leave the keyboard.
- Drag a window to the left or right edge for a clean half, or into a corner for a quarter.
- Snap to thirds for a three-app row, which the built-in Tahoe tiling cannot do since it covers only halves and quarters.
- Press a repeatable keyboard shortcut to snap the active window and press it again to cycle through half, third, and quarter sizes.
- Keep both hands on the keyboard the whole time, so snapping fits into the flow of typing instead of interrupting it.
The point is speed. You arrange three or four windows in a couple of seconds without dragging corners by hand.
How to snap windows on Mac with Spud
Snapping with Spud takes four steps, and the last one is the part the built-in tools skip. You save the arrangement so you never rebuild it again.
- Install Spud from eatspud.com and open it from the menu bar.
- Grant Accessibility permission so Spud can read and move other apps' windows.
- Drag a window to an edge or corner to snap it, or press the snap shortcut to place it without touching the mouse.
- Save the finished arrangement as a named workspace, then restore it later with a number key.
Once a layout is saved, getting back into it is a single keypress instead of a minute of dragging.
Save and restore your snapped layout
Here is the differentiator the built-in tools and most snappers lack: Spud remembers the whole arrangement, not just where one window sits. When you save a workspace, it records each window's position, size, and z-order, so restoring it rebuilds the exact scene you left.
Restore does more than move windows around. Spud relaunches apps you had closed and reopens closed browser tabs without creating duplicates, so a workspace named Deep Work comes back complete instead of half empty. Apps that belong to your other contexts get hidden, so the layout you called up comes forward clean.
It also handles displays. Unplug your external monitor and Spud remaps the layout proportionally onto the laptop screen. Dock again and every window returns to where it was. This is what snapping turns into once you can save it: not a one-time tidy-up, but a layout you summon by name in about a second.
macOS 26 Tahoe's built-in tiling snaps windows but forgets the arrangement as soon as you close or move a window. Spud is built to remember it.
Spud vs built-in macOS, Rectangle, and Magnet
The short version: the built-in tools and dedicated snappers are good at snapping, and Spud is the one that saves and restores the whole context. Credit where it is due. macOS tiling is free and built in, Rectangle is free and open source and excellent at snapping, and Magnet is a low-cost snapper on the App Store.
| Capability | Built-in macOS | Rectangle | Magnet | Spud |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edge and corner snapping | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Keyboard shortcuts | Limited | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Thirds | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Saved and restorable layouts | No | No | No | Yes |
| Reopen closed browser tabs | No | No | No | Yes |
| Multi-display proportional remapping | Basic | No | Limited | Yes |
| Price | Free | Free | Low-cost (App Store) | Free tier, Pro $4.99/mo |
| Distribution | Built in | Direct / App Store | App Store | Direct from eatspud.com |
If all you need is a left/right split, the free options do that well. If you want to snap a layout once and get the whole thing back tomorrow, that is where Spud is different.
Trust and requirements
Spud is signed and notarized by Blastoise, LLC, and you download it directly from eatspud.com. Direct download is a plus here: Spud is not sandboxed by the App Store, so it has full access to manage other apps' windows.
It runs on macOS 26 Tahoe on both Apple silicon and Intel. The one thing it needs is Accessibility permission, so it can read and move the windows you want to snap and save. That is the honest requirement, and you grant it once during setup.
Pricing
Spud has a free tier that lasts forever and a Pro plan at $4.99/month. The free tier gives you up to 2 workspaces, your last 10 clipboard items, 5 snippets, screenshots, and the switcher.
Spud Pro unlocks unlimited workspaces, full clipboard history, unlimited snippets, and Talk, which reads copied text aloud. The 10-day trial needs no card and no sign-up, upgrades happen in-app, and nothing you make during the trial is ever taken away.
Frequently asked questions
Does macOS have built-in window snapping?
Yes. macOS 26 Tahoe has built-in tiling, and Apple's guide confirms a window snaps into position when you drag it to the edge of the screen. It handles halves and quarters well but does not remember a layout once you move or close a window.
How do I snap windows side by side on a Mac?
Drag one window to the left edge until the highlight appears, release it, then pick a second window for the other half. You can also hover the green traffic-light button to choose a tile side. With Spud you press a shortcut to snap both windows without touching the mouse.
How do I snap a window to a quarter or a third?
Drag a window into a screen corner to snap it to a quarter. The built-in Tahoe tiling stops there, so for thirds you press Spud's snap shortcut and cycle to the one-third size, which is what you want for a three-app row.
Is Spud better than Rectangle or Magnet?
It depends on what you need. Rectangle is free and open source and great at snapping, and Magnet is a solid low-cost App Store snapper. Spud does the same snapping and adds the part they skip: saving a full layout and restoring every window, closed app, and browser tab in one keypress.
Do I need Accessibility permission, and why?
Yes. Spud needs Accessibility permission because macOS only lets an app read and move other apps' windows once you grant it. You approve it once during setup, and without it Spud cannot snap or restore your windows.
Get your desktop under control
Snap your windows, save the layout, and get back into it in under a minute. Runs on macOS 26 Tahoe on Apple silicon and Intel, with a free 10-day trial, no card, no sign-up.