Snap your code editor to the left half and your browser to the right half with one keystroke each.
Cycle through half, one-third, and two-thirds window widths by pressing the same shortcut repeatedly.
Keep both hands on the keyboard and stop using the mouse to resize and reposition windows while coding.
| fikovnik/shiftit | schneiderandre/popping | robbiehanson/cocoahttpserver | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stars | 5,545 | 5,511 | 5,613 |
| Language | Objective-C | Objective-C | Objective-C |
| Setup difficulty | easy | moderate | moderate |
| Complexity | 1/5 | 2/5 | 3/5 |
| Audience | developer | developer | developer |
Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.
Binary is unsigned, open via right-click the first time, Accessibility permissions required in System Preferences.
ShiftIt is a macOS application that lets you move and resize windows using keyboard shortcuts. Instead of dragging window edges with the mouse, you press a key combination to snap a window to the left half of the screen, the right half, a corner, the full screen, or other preset positions. It runs in the menu bar in the background and can be hidden from the menu bar entirely if preferred. The shortcuts cover snapping windows to the left, right, top, and bottom halves of the screen, as well as to each of the four corners, and to the full screen. There is an optional cycling mode where pressing the same shortcut repeatedly rotates through half-screen, one-third, and two-thirds sizes. Most standard macOS windows work with ShiftIt, though a known compatibility list documents apps that have issues, mostly GTK-based applications. ShiftIt requires macOS 10.7 or later (64-bit) and needs Accessibility permissions turned on in System Preferences so it can control window positions on behalf of the user. The binary is unsigned, so the first time you open it you need to right-click and choose Open rather than double-clicking. The README notes that the project is looking for a new maintainer and that active development has paused in the meantime. A community-maintained alternative that replicates the same functionality using a different automation tool (Hammerspoon) is linked from the README for anyone who needs an actively developed option. ShiftIt is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3. Binaries are available from the releases page, and it can also be installed via Homebrew.
A macOS menu-bar app that snaps windows to preset screen positions, left half, right half, corners, full screen, using keyboard shortcuts so you never touch the mouse.
Mainly Objective-C. The stack also includes Objective-C, macOS.
GPL v3, free to use and modify, but any version you distribute must also be open-source under the same GPL v3 license.
Setup difficulty is rated easy, with roughly 5min to a first successful run.
Mainly developer.
This repo across BitVibe Labs
Verify against the repo before relying on details.