v1.5.0 - Snappy Window Positioning

What's New

Snappy Window Positioning (AeroSpace-inspired)

MacTile now uses techniques from AeroSpace for significantly faster window tiling:

• Animation disabling: Temporarily disables AXEnhancedUserInterface during frame changes to suppress macOS window animations — windows now snap into place instantly
• Size→Position→Size ordering: Uses AeroSpace's proven attribute-setting order to handle macOS AX quirks in a single pass, replacing the previous multi-step safe-zone strategy
• Zero-delay fire-and-forget: Removed all synchronous delays from the main positioning path — AX calls are issued back-to-back
• Cross-monitor moves: Still shrinks windows first (to bypass browser visibility protection), then applies the fast path on the target monitor
• Correction loop as safety net: The iterative correction loop is preserved but now only runs if the initial placement fails

Bug Fixes

• Fixed correction loop stuck detection off-by-one
• Correction loop now detects and bails when window closes mid-operation
• Consistent minimum-size acceptance logic across all code paths
• Cross-monitor shrink size uses min() to avoid temporarily growing small windows

Cleanup

• Removed unused setSizeWithRetry, setPositionWithRetry, and axErrorString dead code

MacTile v1.4.2

Per-Monitor Sketchybar Auto-Adjustment

Added

• Per-Monitor Sketchybar Auto-Adjustment: When sketchybar integration is enabled, MacTile now automatically queries sketchybar for its bar height and adjusts the overlay grid and window tiling per-monitor. Built-in displays (with notch) get minimal extra padding, while external displays get the full bar height offset — no manual inset configuration needed.

Fixed

• Overlay Grid Respects User Insets: The overlay grid now properly accounts for user-configured insets (e.g. for custom bars), so the grid visually matches the actual tiling area instead of drawing over reserved regions
• Overlay UI Label Positioning: Grid size indicator, monitor indicator, selection info, and help text are now positioned within the grid bounds, respecting all safe area insets
• Negative Inset Protection: EdgeInsets now clamps all values to non-negative, preventing invalid configurations from causing windows to tile off-screen

Improved

• Shared Sketchybar Binary Detection: Sketchybar executable path detection is now shared between the event notification system and bar info querying, eliminating duplicated code

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Installation

1. Download MacTile-1.4.2.dmg
2. Open the DMG and drag MacTile to Applications
3. On first launch, right-click → Open to bypass Gatekeeper (unsigned build)
4. Grant Accessibility permissions when prompted (System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility)

MacTile v1.4.1

What's Changed

Fixed

• Settings Apply Performance: Settings are now saved in a single atomic update instead of 15+ individual writes, eliminating redundant hotkey re-registration and intermediate state flicker
• Memory Leak in Preset Rows: Fixed retain cycle in tiling preset delete handler that prevented row views from being deallocated
• Event Monitor Cleanup: Recording keyboard shortcuts in preset/focus rows now properly cancels on row deletion, reset, and window close — prevents leaked NSEvent monitors
• Overlay Modifier Apply/Cancel Consistency: Overlay virtual space modifier changes now only persist when clicking Apply (previously saved immediately during recording)
• Reset Confirmation Dialogs: All per-tab reset buttons now show a confirmation dialog before reverting to defaults
• Safe Screen Access: Replaced unsafe NSScreen.screens[0] with safe .first access throughout, preventing potential crashes on headless/disconnected displays
• Settings Corruption Alert: If stored settings fail to decode, the user now sees an alert instead of silently falling back to defaults
• Async Window Tiling: Window frame operations in the overlay are now dispatched off the main thread, preventing brief UI freezes during tiling

Improved

• Settings Window Layout: Removed misaligned card backgrounds from all settings tabs for a cleaner appearance
• Spaces Tab Scrolling: Spaces tab content is now in a scroll view, ensuring all settings and usage instructions are accessible
• Presets Tab Layout: Help text and buttons no longer overlap; coordinates field is wider to show full cycle position strings
• Scroll View Resizing: Settings scroll views now properly resize when the window dimensions change

Installation

1. Download MacTile-1.4.1.dmg below
2. Open the DMG and drag MacTile.app to Applications
3. On first launch, macOS will block the app — go to System Settings > Privacy & Security, scroll to Security, and click Open Anyway
4. Grant Accessibility permission in System Settings > Privacy & Security > Accessibility

MacTile v1.4.0

Added

• Virtual Spaces mode toggle in Settings to choose shared across monitors vs per-monitor spaces.

Changed

• Workspace management panel trigger changed from Enter to pressing the overlay shortcut twice.
• In shared mode, clear and rename now apply consistently across all monitor entries in the selected space number.

Fixed

• Multi-monitor virtual space save/restore now correctly handles connected monitor sets.
• Restoring with fewer connected monitors now restores only connected layouts while preserving disconnected monitor layouts.
• Shared mode active-space tracking now updates all restored/saved monitor entries.

MacTile v1.3.0

What's New

Virtual Workspace Management Overlay

View and manage your saved virtual workspace contents directly from the overlay:

• Press Enter without modifying the grid selection to open the management panel
• Browse all non-empty workspaces with their saved windows listed per workspace
• Navigate with arrow keys or vim bindings (J/K) between workspaces and individual windows
• Remove individual windows from a workspace with Backspace/Delete or X
• Native macOS blur panel with floating HUD appearance

Redesigned Settings Window

• Modern dark vibrancy sidebar navigation replaces the previous tab-based layout
• SF Symbols icons for each settings section
• Transparent titlebar with animated sidebar highlight transitions

Bug Fixes

• Fixed potential event monitor leaks for clear modifier and overlay save/clear modifier monitors

Installation

1. Download MacTile-1.3.0.dmg
2. Open the DMG and drag MacTile to Applications
3. Launch MacTile and grant Accessibility permissions

Full Changelog: v1.2.0...v1.3.0

MacTile 1.2.0 - Sketchybar Integration

What's New

Sketchybar Integration

Display virtual space indicators in your menu bar with automatic setup:

• Deploys plugin scripts, helpers, and fonts when enabled
• Triggers mactile_space_change event for each space action
• Bundled resources: mactile.sh, mactile_click.sh, mactile_space_name.sh, icon_map.sh
• Automatically installs sketchybar-app-font.ttf for app icon ligatures
• IPC support via distributed notifications for restore/clear from sketchybar

Configurable Overlay Modifiers

Separate modifier keys for save/clear in the overlay:

• Save modifier (default: Shift) - hold while pressing number to save
• Clear modifier (default: Control) - hold while pressing number to clear
• Configurable in Settings → Virtual Spaces

Improvements

• Properly stops sketchybar when integration is disabled (instead of restarting)
• Space clear events now pass complete space information to sketchybar

Installation

1. Download MacTile-1.2.0.dmg below
2. Open the DMG and drag MacTile to Applications
3. Open MacTile and grant Accessibility permissions when prompted
4. To enable sketchybar integration, go to Settings → Virtual Spaces

See the Sketchybar Integration Guide for setup details.

MacTile 1.1.2

Fixed

• Reliable Window Matching for Multi-Window Apps: Fixed virtual space restore failing for apps like Zen browser with multiple windows

  • Now uses private _AXUIElementGetWindow API for direct window ID matching
  • Falls back to frame-based heuristics when private API unavailable
  • Eliminates ambiguity when multiple windows have similar frames

• Focus Restoration from Overlay: Fixed focus not returning correctly after save/restore

  • Save: Returns focus to the window that triggered the overlay
  • Restore: Returns focus to a window in the restored virtual space
  • Properly handles overlay dismissal timing to prevent focus race conditions

Improved

• Window Matching Strategy: More robust multi-strategy approach
  1. Direct window ID via private API (most reliable)
  2. AXWindowNumber attributes (when exposed by apps)
  3. Frame-based matching with tolerance (fallback)
  • Only matches when confident; returns nil for safety when ambiguous

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Full Changelog: v1.1.1...v1.1.2

MacTile 1.1.1

What's New

Added

• Virtual Space Overlay Triggers: Save and restore virtual spaces directly from the overlay

  • Number keys (0-9) restore virtual spaces
  • Shift+number saves current windows to a virtual space
  • Auto-closes overlay after save/restore

• Auto-Activate Matching Layouts: Virtual spaces automatically activate when window layout matches

  • Detects when you return to a saved window arrangement
  • Updates menu bar indicator without manual trigger

Fixed

• Focus Presets for Always-Running Apps: Fixed Finder and other system apps not opening new windows when "Open if not running" is enabled
• Virtual Space Window Restoration: Fixed full-screen windows requiring two triggers to restore
• Virtual Space Rename: Fixed rename not persisting in release builds
• Layout Detection Timing: Fixed layout matching requiring extra alt-tab to activate

Installation

1. Download MacTile-1.1.1.dmg
2. Open the DMG file
3. Drag MacTile.app to the Applications folder
4. Open MacTile from Applications
5. Grant Accessibility permissions when prompted (System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility)

MacTile 1.1.0

What's New

Virtual Spaces

Save and restore window arrangements per monitor:

• 10 virtual spaces (0-9) per monitor for organizing different workflows
• Save current window positions with customizable modifier keys + number
• Restore windows to saved positions with correct z-order (stacking)
• Rename spaces for easy identification (shown in menu bar)
• Only saves windows that are at least 40% visible (filters hidden windows)
• Persistent storage - spaces survive app restarts

Virtual Spaces Settings Tab

Full configuration in Settings > Spaces:

• Enable/disable virtual spaces feature
• Customizable save modifiers (default: Control+Option+Shift)
• Customizable restore modifiers (default: Control+Option)
• Record new modifiers by pressing modifier keys + Space

Default Tiling Presets

Quick window tiling without configuration:

• R - Right side (cycles: half → third → quarter)
• E - Left side (cycles: half → third → quarter)
• F - Full screen
• C - Center (cycles: third → half)
• All presets auto-confirm and have no modifiers (work in overlay)

Per-Tab Reset Buttons

Reset individual settings tabs to defaults:

• Each tab (General, Shortcuts, Appearance, Presets, Focus, Spaces) has its own reset button
• Replaces the global reset button for more granular control

Bug Fixes

• Cancel Button Now Discards Changes: Settings window properly reloads saved values when reopened after canceling
• Event Monitor Cleanup: Recording keyboard shortcuts no longer leaks event monitors when the settings window is closed
• Virtual Spaces Disable: Disabling virtual spaces now fully stops all background monitoring

Installation

1. Download MacTile-1.1.0.dmg
2. Open the DMG file
3. Drag MacTile.app to the Applications folder
4. Open MacTile from Applications
5. Grant Accessibility permissions when prompted (System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility)

MacTile v1.0.5

Bug Fix

• Finder Window Cycling: Fixed focus preset not cycling through Finder windows
  • Finder's Desktop was being included in the window list, preventing proper cycling
  • Now filters to only include windows with a close button, excluding the Desktop
  • This fix also benefits other apps that may have similar non-standard windows

Installation

1. Download MacTile-1.0.5.dmg below
2. Open the DMG and drag MacTile to Applications
3. Open MacTile and grant Accessibility permissions when prompted

See CHANGELOG.md for full details.