Automatic window management for Mac
Take control
of your Mac.
Your layout. Your way.
tessera automatically moves and resizes your Mac windows into a layout that fits. Choose where your apps belong. Get back to work.
Free to download and use · macOS 14 or later · Universal app
tessera Work zoneReady to arrangeAuto-arranged ✓
Less dragging. More doing.Your open windows, arranged to fit.
✓
MacLives in your menu bar
Your choiceArrange automatically or on command
Each screenIts own window groups
PrivateNo screen recording
How it works
Choose what goes where.
tessera does the arranging.
A zone is simply a named group of windows you use together. You might put your browser and notes in Work, and your messaging apps in Chat. You open the apps; tessera helps arrange their windows.
Choose your group
Create a zone with a name like Work. From tessera’s menu, choose which apps belong in it.
Choose how apps fit
Pick a side or a shape for an app, let tessera choose, or select Float to place that app yourself.
Let tessera arrange them
After setup, Automatic tiling moves and resizes open windows to fit together. Minimized windows stay out of the layout. Restore one and tessera fits it back in, following your app choices and the space available.
SSafariPosition: LeftShape: Vertical (column)Tile first
XXcodePosition: Any positionShape: Horizontal (row)Tile first
TTerminalPosition: RightShape: Any shapeAuto tile
NNotesPosition: Any positionShape: Any shapeAuto tile
CCalendarPosition: Any positionShape: Any shapeAuto tile
iMessagesYou move and resize itLeft out of the layout by choiceFloat
Work zone5 tiled · 1 floatingPosition is where you prefer an app. Shape is how you want it to fit: a tall column or a wide row. “Any” lets tessera choose.
Tile first gives an app a place before apps set to Auto tile, which join when there is room. Float leaves placement to you. Here, five apps tile together. Messages is set to Float, so you can move and resize it freely over the layout.
You stay in control
A place for every app.
More space to focus.
Start with a few apps and one zone. Change your choices from tessera’s menu bar or Preferences whenever you need to.
Tell each app where to go
Prefer your browser on the left? Want another app in a wide row? Set those choices for each app. tessera tries to fit them together with the space and window sizes available.
Choose when windows move
With Automatic tiling on, opening or closing a window can rearrange the group. Turn it off to stop those automatic changes. Choose Tile Active Zone when you want to arrange the group yourself.
Switch groups, keep apps open
Choose Work or Chat from the menu bar to bring that zone’s windows forward. Your other windows stay open behind them. Zones use your current desktop; they do not create extra Mac desktops.
Room for different app sizes
Some apps cannot shrink past a certain size. tessera takes those limits into account when arranging the group, so your chosen positions and shapes may need to adjust.
Made for the Mac
Right there in the menu bar.
After setup, look for tessera at the top of your screen. Use its menu to switch zones, change app choices, or open Preferences. Nothing moves during setup; you decide when to start.
Multiple monitors
A setup for every screen.
Use different groups and app choices on your laptop screen and your larger monitor. Both screens appear in tessera’s menu, so you can choose which one to manage.
Different screens, different choices
Keep chat on your laptop and work on your larger screen. If you drag a window between screens, tessera uses the destination screen’s choices after you let go.
Copy a familiar setup
In Preferences → Monitors, choose a display and copy settings from another connected monitor. Save when ready; each monitor stays independently editable.
Works on the desktop you can see
Use several Mac desktops? tessera arranges windows on the one you are viewing. It uses the same choices for each desktop on that screen and does not send windows to another desktop.
Remembers your screens
Unplug your monitor when you leave. tessera keeps its saved zones and app choices ready for when you connect it again.
Your desktop stays yours
It moves windows.
It doesn’t record your screen.
During setup, macOS asks you to give tessera Accessibility permission. This lets it find, move, and resize windows. It does not need Screen Recording permission or take pictures of your screen.
No Screen RecordingPublic macOS APIs only
What’s new
Changelog
A simple, human-readable history of tessera.
Optionally launch assigned apps whenever their Zone becomes active—including when you choose an app from the Dock—while leaving running or minimized apps alone. A faster setup puts Zone assignment directly beside every running app, shows live capacity and overflow counts, warns before crowding five or more windows into Main, and summarizes every monitor before the first layout.
Give apps or individual windows a Small, Automatic, or Large share of their Zone. Lock Zones against automatic assignment while keeping manual placement available, configure the focused app with Control + Shift + C, and use the flatter onboarding rule menus. Fixed windows are reserved first while flexible and grid-snapping windows use all remaining space. Upgrading from 1.2.3 or earlier requires one manual DMG installation; automatic updates resume afterward.
Configure a complete app rule without repeatedly reopening the menu bar. Choose an app from one short list, edit Zone, Tiling, Shape, Position, and Priority together, or switch to temporary overrides for one detected window. Apply the whole draft with one reflow.
Choose app rules during setup, with independent Zones and preferences for every monitor. Copy settings from saved disconnected displays, see correctly styled monitor headings on the first menu opening, and use Zone commands even while a newly discovered window is still resolving. The refreshed website now explains automatic arrangement and floating windows more clearly.
Switch zones without repeatedly cycling through windows from the same app. Floating windows stay behind the tiled group unless you choose them. Start tessera when you log in, remove zones you no longer need, and give apps Low, Medium, or High priority when space is tight. A clearer welcome screen explains zones and why windows move.
Independent Zones, app rules, and layout settings for every monitor. A grouped menu, copyable monitor preferences, visible-Desktop tiling, and automatic migration of your existing setup. Window changes reflow the affected Zones, and disconnected monitors retain their profiles. Improved window tracking and frame verification. Animations now default to off for new installations; saved choices are preserved.
Windows resize once and glide into position, with animations enabled by default for new installations. Aligned Zone counts show total, active tiled, and floating windows. Improved intent-driven layouts, constrained window sizing, Zone switching, diagnostics, and Preferences.
First release!
Make room for your best work
Put your windows in order.
Get your focus back.
Free to download and use
- macOS 14+
- Apple silicon or Intel
- Accessibility permission