In this guide
The six that matter
Adoption fails when people try to memorise everything at once. Learn these six, use them for a fortnight, and add more only when you feel the absence of one.
Restore is the one people skip and the one that changes behaviour most, because it makes everything else reversible. Once you know you can undo a snap exactly, you stop arranging cautiously and start using the shortcuts reflexively. Every command here ships enabled by default in Rectangle.
Halves and thirds
| Command | Shortcut | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| Left half | ⌃⌥← | Primary document |
| Right half | ⌃⌥→ | Reference or notes |
| Top half | ⌃⌥↑ | Stacked layouts |
| Bottom half | ⌃⌥↓ | Terminal or console |
| First third | ⌃⌥D | Left column |
| Centre third | ⌃⌥F | Main column |
| Last third | ⌃⌥G | Right column |
| First two thirds | ⌃⌥E | Wide working area |
| Last two thirds | ⌃⌥T | Wide working area, right |
Thirds are the layout most people underuse. On any display 24 inches or larger, three columns is usually a better fit for real work than two — a main working area of two thirds with a one-third companion beats an even split for almost everything that involves reading while writing.
Quarters and sixths
| Command | Shortcut | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| Upper left | ⌃⌥U | Primary panel |
| Upper right | ⌃⌥I | Reference |
| Lower left | ⌃⌥J | Secondary source |
| Lower right | ⌃⌥K | Chat, notes, monitoring |
| Sixths | via menu / custom | Dense dashboards |
Quarters earn their place on 27-inch displays and above. On a laptop screen a quarter is generally too small for reading and works best for glanceable content — a clock, a queue, a chat panel. Sixths are specialist; they exist for dashboards and trading desks and can be ignored by everyone else.
Sizing, moving and displays
| Command | Shortcut | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Almost maximise | ⌃⌥⌥↩ | Leaves a visible desktop margin |
| Make larger | ⌃⌥+ | Grows in steps |
| Make smaller | ⌃⌥− | Shrinks in steps |
| Next display | ⌃⌥⌥→ | Essential when docked |
| Previous display | ⌃⌥⌥← | Essential when docked |
| Restore | ⌃⌥⌫ | Undo the last snap |
Grow and shrink are the ones to reach for when a preset is nearly right. Snap to a half, then press shrink twice — faster than hunting for the exact fraction and more precise than dragging an edge.
Cycling, and why fewer keys can mean more layouts
With cycling enabled, pressing the same shortcut repeatedly advances through related sizes: half, then third, then two thirds. This means the two arrow shortcuts alone reach six different widths. For anyone who finds thirty commands intimidating, this is the single most useful setting in Rectangle app for Mac.
The trade-off is determinism. The result now depends on how many times you pressed, so a stray extra tap changes the width. If you value absolute predictability — and some people genuinely do — use the explicit letter shortcuts instead.
Customising without creating conflicts
The default scheme uses Control-Option because that space is comparatively unclaimed across macOS. Before rebinding anything, check what else uses your intended combination: launchers, screenshot tools, virtual desktop utilities and remote desktop clients are the usual sources of collision.
Two rules keep a custom scheme usable. Keep directional meaning consistent — arrows for direction, letters for fractions — and change as little as possible. Rebinding everything on day one is the most reliable way to end up with a scheme you cannot remember. Everything described here is available in the free Rectangle app, with no trial period.
Rectangle is free and open source
Halves, thirds, quarters and sixths from the keyboard, on any Mac. No trial, no account.
Download Rectangle for Mac →Frequently asked questions
Can I print this as a reference?
Use your browser's print function on this page — the tables are laid out to print cleanly on one or two sheets.
Do the shortcuts work on external keyboards?
Yes. Non-Apple keyboards may label Option as Alt and Control as Ctrl; the combinations are identical.
What if a shortcut is already taken by an app?
The application in the foreground usually wins. Rebind one side; there is no reliable way to have both.