Tidy Screen help.

Let’s get your windows where they belong.

Getting started

Download Tidy Screen for Mac, unzip the download, and move Tidy Screen to Applications. Then open Tidy Screen from Applications. Requires macOS 13 or later on Apple Silicon or Intel.

1. Choose Enable Accessibility… in Tidy Screen.
2. Open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility and enable Tidy Screen. If it’s missing, use the + button to select the installed app.
3. Focus a window, then press Control + Option + Command + T.
4. Drag across grid cells and release to move the window.

The grid icon lives in your menu bar. Right-click it for Settings and Quit.

The window won’t move

Check Accessibility permission, then quit and reopen Tidy Screen. If you are switching from a development preview to the signed release, macOS may need you to remove the old Accessibility entry and add the new app. If you upgraded from mac-tile-app, choose Tidy Screen for the new permission.

Exit macOS full-screen mode first. Some apps and fixed-size dialogs enforce minimum window sizes or prevent resizing. Try a normal Finder window to narrow down the issue.

Keeping Tidy Screen up to date

Right-click the menu bar icon and choose Check for Updates…. Automatic update checks are enabled by default. In Settings → General → Updates, you can turn them off or allow automatic downloading and installation. Updates are signed and verified before installation.

The shortcut doesn’t work

Open Settings from the menu bar and choose a different activation shortcut. Another app may already use the same combination. Secure Keyboard Entry can temporarily prevent global shortcuts.

Layouts and more than one display

Open Settings → Shortcuts to save layouts and assign local or global shortcuts. A grid appears on each connected display. Use Tab to switch between them, or select a region on the display you want.

Undo, backup, and reset

Press Command + Z while the grid is open to undo a recent move. Export your settings before making big changes. Importing a settings file replaces your current layouts and preferences.

Preferences are stored locally in ~/Library/Application Support/tidy-screen/settings.json. To start fresh, quit the app and move this file somewhere safe before reopening.

Remove Tidy Screen

Disable Launch at Login in Settings, quit Tidy Screen, and move the app to Trash. Remove its entry in Accessibility. You can also remove its settings folder if you no longer need your layouts.

Sync settings between Macs

Account sync is in testing and is not included in the current public download, version 1.0.1. Use Export and Import to transfer settings in that version.

In versions with account sync, open Settings → Account and choose Sign in with Apple. Sign in with the same Apple account on your other Mac. If the settings differ, choose Use Cloud Settings to bring your existing setup to that Mac, or Use This Mac’s Settings to replace the cloud copy. A local backup is saved before cloud settings are applied.

Changes made offline are saved locally and sync when the connection returns. If both Macs change settings, Tidy Screen asks which copy to keep. Sign Out stops sync without removing your local settings. Delete Account and Cloud Settings removes the account and its cloud copy.