Swift Shift Is the Window Management Tool Apple Should Have Created
Resizing and moving windows on a Mac isn’t impossible or even difficult, but I do spend more time trying to precisely position the mouse in the corners than I’d like. Swift Shift is a free, open-source app that simplifies your work by allowing you to move or resize a window from anywhere by simply holding down a key and moving the mouse.
You can download it for free from Github (and optionally pay what you want for it if you want to support the developers). Once installed, it will be in the menu bar, but you will need to set keyboard shortcuts and, if necessary, decide whether mouse clicks are required before you can start using the application.
You can choose between any modifier key or combination of modifier keys for a keyboard shortcut, including Command, Control, Option, and Shift. Simply hold down the selected modifier and hover over the window and it will either move or resize. By default, you don’t even have to click the mouse, although you can change this in the settings; this will allow you to do things like press one key combination and use the left and right mouse buttons to move and resize. It’s all very flexible.
By default, resizing occurs from the bottom right corner, no matter where your mouse is. Or check the Use Quadrants box and the window size will change depending on which corner your cursor is in. Personally, I find it much easier to manage. , so I’m glad that this opportunity exists. You can also decide whether the window you are moving or resizing should become active. It’s nice to see such a simple app with such detailed controls.
There are more sophisticated Mac window management apps : Loop gives you much more control, including keyboard shortcuts , and macOS Sequoia offers basic window snapping . But what makes Swift stand out is how smooth it feels to use and how freely it allows you to work with your window layout. Check this out if the other options aren’t quite right for you.