GridSnap is a small macOS menu-bar app for arranging an editor, terminal, browser, and other windows without repeatedly dragging their edges. Press Control–Option–D, select a rectangle on a grid, and the target window moves into it. Save common regions as presets with their own shortcuts.
The meaningful recent change is version 0.1.6, released October 1: the overlay now shows dim blocks for windows you have already snapped, making it easier to place the next one alongside them. Minimized, hidden, and other-Space windows are excluded. This is a recent update, not a claim that the project launched with today’s HN submission.
- Setup: Install with
brew install --cask konieczkow/tap/gridsnap, or download the release ZIP and move the app to Applications. Grant Accessibility permission so it can move other apps’ windows. - Interface: Configure grid dimensions, gaps, and whether to target the focused window or the one under the cursor. Live previews, undo/redo, and per-preset global shortcuts cover repeatable layouts.
- Multiple monitors: The interactive grid opens on the display under the cursor and moves the target window there. Presets instead use the window’s current display.
- Access and cost: Free to download, with MIT-licensed source. The README states no accounts, analytics, or network access. It supports Intel and Apple Silicon Macs running macOS 14 or later; building from source requires the macOS 26 SDK.
- Limits: macOS full-screen windows ignore snapping. Apps with minimum window sizes may overlap neighboring grid cells rather than fit the selected rectangle. The maintainer reports testing on macOS 26, not a comprehensive compatibility matrix.
A useful fit if you want more flexible rectangles than a fixed half-screen layout without managing a tiling-window configuration. This is a source-and-release-note assessment, not a hands-on test.