Rectangle Mac Keyboard Shortcuts: The Full Reference

Halves — The Core Six

Rectangle organizes its shortcuts logically: the most common positions use the most accessible key combinations. The halves — left, right, top, bottom — use the arrow keys with the ⌃⌥ modifier. These are the shortcuts every rectangle mac user uses daily, and they map intuitively to the direction you want the window to move.

The left and right half shortcuts are the workhorses of Rectangle app usage. In typical knowledge work, 60–70% of window management is the two-window split: main content on one half, reference or output on the other. The top and bottom halves are used less often but are valuable for tasks where vertical comparison matters — comparing two sections of the same document, or keeping a terminal output below a code editor on a tall display.

Full screen in Rectangle mac differs from macOS's native green-button full screen. Rectangle's full screen fills the entire display without creating a new Space — the window stays accessible via Cmd+Tab and can receive shortcut commands immediately. The native macOS full screen creates an isolated Space that interrupts the flow of Cmd+Tab switching. Most users find Rectangle's full screen more practical for work.

Quarters

The quarter shortcuts divide the screen into four equal sections. They're essential for managing three or four windows simultaneously on a large display, and for keeping utility windows (chat, documentation, timers) visible in a corner without consuming significant screen real estate.

A common rectangle app pattern for four-window work: the main document or code editor in the upper-left quarter, a terminal or output in the lower-left quarter, a browser window in the upper-right quarter, and a documentation page or notes in the lower-right quarter. This layout puts the most important content in the upper-left — where the eye naturally starts — and distributes supporting content in the remaining quarters.

Thirds and Two-Thirds

The thirds shortcuts divide the screen into three equal vertical columns. Two-thirds shortcuts give one window two-thirds of the screen and imply the other third for a companion window. These are the shortcuts Rectangle users reach for when two halves don't have the right proportions — when the main content needs more room than a half provides, or when three items need to be visible simultaneously.

The left two-thirds plus right one-third combination is one of the most productive layouts in Rectangle mac for coding and writing. The main content — code, draft, analysis — takes the two-thirds; a narrow reference panel — documentation, notes, terminal — takes the right third. This gives the primary task substantially more space than a half while keeping the reference visible.

Special Positions

Beyond the standard grid positions, Rectangle app provides several special shortcuts for less common but useful positions. These are worth knowing even if you don't use them daily.

"Almost maximize" fills the screen with a configurable margin on each side — useful when full screen feels too expansive but a half is too small. "Make larger" and "Make smaller" incrementally grow or shrink the window while maintaining its position anchor. "Restore" returns the window to its size and position before the last Rectangle action — effectively an undo for window operations.

Multi-Monitor Shortcuts

For users with multiple displays, Rectangle mac provides shortcuts to move windows between monitors. These work by sending the active window to the adjacent display while preserving its current position within the new display's coordinate space.

After moving a window to a different display, immediately press the position shortcut you want on that display — for example, ⌃⌥← to snap it to the left half of the new monitor. The combination of move-to-display and position shortcut takes about one second and requires no mouse interaction at all.

Remapping Shortcuts

Every default shortcut in Rectangle can be remapped. Open Preferences → Shortcuts, click any field and press the new combination. The rectangle app highlights conflicts in red if the new combination is already assigned. Common reasons to remap: the ⌃⌥ modifier is awkward on your keyboard; a particular shortcut conflicts with another application; or you want to use simpler combinations for your most-used positions.

Some users remap ⌃⌥ to ⌥⌘ (Option+Command), which may feel more natural. Others assign their most-used shortcuts to Function keys for one-key access. Whatever remapping works for your hands and habits is the right choice — consistency matters more than which specific keys you choose.