Installing and Setting Up Rectangle: Permissions, Privacy and a Sane First Configuration

Installing

Download the application from the official Rectangle website or install it with a package manager if you already use one. Move it to the Applications folder before first launch — running it from the Downloads folder is the cause of a specific and confusing failure mode, where the Accessibility permission is granted to a copy that later moves or is deleted.

• Download the archive and open it.
• Drag the application into Applications.
• Launch it from Applications, not from the disk image.
• Approve the first-run dialog asking for Accessibility access.
• Confirm the icon appears in the menu bar.

What the permission actually allows

Accessibility permission on macOS is broad by design, and it is reasonable to want to know what you are agreeing to. In this case it is used for one thing: reading the position and size of windows, and setting new ones. That is the entire mechanism by which any window manager on macOS works — there is no narrower permission available, and no tool of this kind can function without it.

It does not read window contents, does not log keystrokes beyond the shortcut combinations it registers, and does not require network access. Because Rectangle is open source, this is verifiable rather than merely asserted, which is a meaningful difference for a utility with this level of access.

If you are on a managed device, the permission may need to be approved by whoever administers it. This is common in corporate environments and is not a sign that anything is wrong; window managers appear on plenty of approved software lists precisely because they are inspectable and have no server component.

A first configuration worth using

• Launch at login — on. A window manager that is not running looks exactly like a broken one.
• Cycling — on. Fewer shortcuts to learn, more layouts reachable.
• Gaps — around eight pixels. Enough separation to read window boundaries.
• Snap areas — leave on initially; disable the top region if accidental maximising annoys you.
• Shortcuts — leave the defaults alone for two weeks.

That last point is the one people ignore and regret. The default Control-Option scheme was chosen because that key space is comparatively unclaimed on macOS; custom schemes invented on day one tend to collide with something and be forgotten by day three. Change bindings in response to an actual conflict, not in anticipation of one.

Your first week

Learn six commands and ignore the rest of the list until these are automatic.

After a week, add thirds if you have a display larger than a laptop panel. After a fortnight, add quarters if you regularly need four windows visible. Adding shortcuts in response to a felt need is how they stick; adding them from a list is how they are forgotten.

Uninstalling cleanly

If it turns out not to suit you, remove it properly rather than just deleting the app: quit it from the menu bar, remove its entry from the Accessibility list in Privacy & Security, then move the application to the Trash. Leaving a stale permission entry behind is harmless but confusing later, particularly if you try a different window manager afterwards.

It is worth saying plainly that not everyone needs this category of software. If you work in one maximised window most of the time, the built-in macOS tiling will serve you fine. The tools discussed here earn their place when three or more windows are genuinely in play at once — and since the free Rectangle app costs nothing, finding out which camp you are in is inexpensive.

Frequently asked questions