Raycast Window Management: Replace Rectangle on Your Mac (2026)

If you're still running Rectangle, Magnet, or another standalone window manager on your Mac, there's a good chance you don't need it anymore. Raycast ships with a built-in window management system that offers over 70 layout presets, custom keyboard shortcuts, and full multi-monitor support — and it's completely free. Here's everything you need to know about using Raycast as your only window manager in 2026.

Why Raycast's Window Management Matters

macOS has historically been weak on window management. Apple's native Split View is limited to two apps side by side, and resizing windows by dragging corners feels archaic in 2026. That gap spawned an entire category of third-party tools — Rectangle, Magnet, Moom, BetterSnapTool, and others.

The problem? Each of those apps is another process running in the background, another license to manage, and another set of keyboard shortcuts to memorize. Raycast collapses all of that into the launcher you're already using. If you've already set up Raycast as your macOS launcher, you already have a world-class window manager installed.

How to Use Raycast Window Management

Getting started takes about five seconds. Here's the workflow:

1. Open Raycast — hit your hotkey (default is Option + Space)
2. Type "window" — you'll see a list of all window management commands
3. Select a layout — press Enter and your frontmost window snaps into place

That's it. No configuration required, no preferences panel to dig through. But the real power comes when you assign custom hotkeys to your most-used layouts, which we'll cover below.

The Full Layout Library: 70+ Presets

Raycast's window management includes over 70 built-in layouts. Here's a breakdown of what's available:

Halves

• Left Half / Right Half — the classics, perfect for side-by-side coding and documentation
• Top Half / Bottom Half — useful for terminal-above, browser-below workflows

Thirds

• Left Third / Center Third / Right Third — great for ultrawide monitors
• First Two Thirds / Last Two Thirds — when one app needs more space than the other

Quarters

• Top Left / Top Right / Bottom Left / Bottom Right — four-way tiling for monitoring dashboards, chat, and reference materials

Sixths

• All six combinations for ultra-precise tiling on larger displays

Special Layouts

• Maximize — fills the screen without going full-screen (you keep the menu bar and dock)
• Almost Maximize — leaves a small margin around the window for aesthetics
• Reasonable Size — centers the window at a comfortable width for reading and writing
• Center — places the window in the middle of your screen at its current size
• Nearly Fullscreen — fills most of the screen with a slight inset
• Restore — returns a window to its previous size and position

This variety matters. When you're deep in a coding session and need your editor on the left two-thirds with a terminal on the right third, you shouldn't have to resize windows manually. One hotkey and you're there.

Setting Up Custom Keyboard Shortcuts

The fastest way to manage windows is direct hotkeys — no Raycast search needed. Here's how to set them up:

1. Open Raycast Settings (type "settings" in Raycast or press Cmd + ,)
2. Navigate to Extensions
3. Search for Window Management
4. Click the hotkey field next to any command and press your preferred shortcut

My personal setup, which I've used daily for over a year:

Once muscle memory kicks in, you stop thinking about window placement entirely. Your hands never leave the keyboard, and every app snaps exactly where it belongs.

Raycast vs Rectangle: A Direct Comparison

Rectangle is the most popular standalone window manager for macOS, and for good reason — it's free, open-source, and reliable. But how does it stack up against Raycast's built-in solution?

The one area where Rectangle wins is drag-to-snap — you can drag a window to the edge of your screen and it snaps into position. Raycast doesn't support mouse-based snapping; it's keyboard-driven only. If drag-to-snap is essential to your workflow, you might keep Rectangle installed alongside Raycast.

For everyone else, Raycast covers everything Rectangle does (and more) without requiring a separate app. That means one fewer menu bar icon, one fewer process in Activity Monitor, and one fewer app to update.

Raycast vs Magnet

Magnet ($9.99 on the Mac App Store) is another popular choice. It offers drag-to-snap and keyboard shortcuts, but its layout options are more limited than both Raycast and Rectangle. Magnet supports halves, thirds, quarters, and sixths — roughly 20 presets total.

Compared to Raycast's 70+ layouts, Magnet feels basic. And since Magnet is a paid app with no launcher functionality, there's little reason to choose it over Raycast's free window management unless you specifically need Mac App Store distribution for managed devices.

Multi-Monitor Support

If you work with an external display (or multiple externals), Raycast handles it seamlessly. Key commands for multi-monitor setups:

• Move to Next Display — shifts the current window to your next monitor, maintaining its relative position
• Move to Previous Display — shifts the window back
• Any layout command — applies to the monitor where the window currently lives

You can combine these commands with layout presets for a powerful flow: move a window to your external monitor, then snap it to the left half. Two keystrokes, done. I typically keep my code editor maximized on my main display and use the external monitor for browser, terminal, and Slack tiled in thirds.

Tiling Workflow Tips for Developers

After using Raycast's window management daily for coding, here are the workflows that have stuck:

The Two-Thirds / One-Third Split

Code editor at two-thirds width, terminal at one-third. This is my default. The editor gets enough room for 120-character lines, and the terminal is wide enough for build output, git operations, and test results. Assign hotkeys to "First Two Thirds" and "Last Third" for instant setup.

The Four-Corner Dashboard

During debugging sessions, I tile four windows into quarters: editor (top left), browser with the app (top right), terminal with logs (bottom left), and DevTools or a database client (bottom right). It takes four keystrokes to arrange from any starting state.

The Maximizer

For focused writing or reading, I use "Almost Maximize" instead of full-screen. It fills the screen but keeps the menu bar and dock visible, so I can still see notifications and switch apps quickly. Native macOS full-screen mode creates a separate space, which adds friction.

The "Reasonable Size" Reset

When a window is weirdly sized after connecting or disconnecting a monitor, "Reasonable Size" is a lifesaver. It centers the window at a sensible width — great for apps like System Preferences, Slack, or any dialog-style window that doesn't need to be tiled.

Why You Don't Need a Separate Window Manager Anymore

The argument is simple. If you're already using Raycast as your launcher (and if you're reading this, you probably are or are considering it), you already have window management built in. Here's what you gain by dropping your standalone window manager:

• One fewer app running — slightly less memory usage, one fewer process
• Unified keyboard shortcuts — everything lives in the same hotkey system
• Searchable commands — can't remember the hotkey for "Top Right Quarter"? Just type it
• More layouts — 70+ presets versus 20-40 in competing apps
• No cost — Raycast's window management is free, unlike Magnet ($9.99) or Rectangle Pro ($9.99)

If you haven't set up Raycast yet, our Raycast setup guide walks through the entire installation and configuration process. And if you're still deciding between Raycast and the built-in Spotlight, the Raycast vs Spotlight comparison covers why most developers make the switch.

Getting More from Raycast

Window management is just one piece of what Raycast offers. The free tier also includes clipboard history, snippets, quicklinks, a calculator, and access to thousands of extensions. If you want to take things further, Raycast Pro adds AI commands, cloud sync, custom themes, and unlimited clipboard history.

Check our homepage for the current best discount on Raycast Pro — right now it's 80% off with a free 14-day trial, no coupon code needed.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Raycast window management free?

Yes. Raycast's window management is completely free and included in the base Raycast app. You do not need Raycast Pro to use any of the 70+ window layouts, custom hotkeys, or multi-monitor support. Window management is a core feature available to all users.

Can Raycast replace Rectangle on Mac?

For most users, yes. Raycast offers over 70 built-in window layouts compared to Rectangle's approximately 40. It supports halves, thirds, quarters, sixths, maximize, center, reasonable size, and nearly fullscreen. The only feature Rectangle has that Raycast lacks is drag-to-snap (mouse-based window snapping to screen edges). If you rely on drag-to-snap, you may want to keep both; otherwise, Raycast fully replaces Rectangle.

Can I set custom keyboard shortcuts for Raycast window management?

Yes. Open Raycast Settings, go to Extensions, search for Window Management, and click the hotkey field next to any layout command. You can bind any key combination. Most users set up hotkeys for their 4-6 most-used layouts and access the rest through Raycast's search.

Does Raycast window management work with multiple monitors?

Absolutely. Raycast fully supports multi-monitor setups. You can move windows between displays using the "Move to Next Display" and "Move to Previous Display" commands, and all layout presets work on whichever monitor the window currently occupies. You can assign hotkeys to the display-move commands for fast cross-monitor workflows.