AeroSpace vs Rectangle

AeroSpace

• Developers and advanced users who want i3-style tiling on a Mac
• Keyboard-driven work with configuration kept in dotfiles
• Multi-monitor setups that assign workspaces to particular displays

Rectangle

• Mac users who want window snapping by shortcut or drag at no cost
• Former Spectacle users who want to keep the same shortcuts
• People who prefer open-source utilities

AeroSpace

• macOS only: the released binary runs on macOS 13 or later.
• Still a public beta; the README says to expect breaking changes until version 1.0.
• There is no settings window. Configuration is a TOML text file, and the project says it will never add a GUI for it.
• The app is not notarized by Apple, so a manual install can show a macOS security warning; the Homebrew install avoids it.

Rectangle

• macOS only. The website lists macOS 10.15 or later, while the GitHub README says the newest release needs macOS 14.
• Window throwing, custom sizes and positions, saved workspaces, window stashing and iCloud sync are only in Rectangle Pro, a separate paid app.
• Rectangle Pro's price is not shown as readable text on the site. It has a 10-day free trial, and one license can be active on 3 devices.

AeroSpace

Tree-based tiling

Each workspace holds its windows in a tree of containers, a model taken from i3. Focus moves in four directions, and the move and join-with commands reshape the tree.

Tiles and accordion layouts

Four layouts: horizontal and vertical tiles, plus horizontal and vertical accordions that stack windows and leave a padded edge to show the others.

Emulated workspaces

AeroSpace uses its own workspaces instead of macOS Spaces, moving inactive windows off screen so switching has no animation. It does not need System Integrity Protection disabled.

Plain-text configuration

Settings and key bindings live in a TOML file such as ~/.aerospace.toml. Binding modes swap in a different set of shortcuts, as in i3.

Command-line client

The aerospace CLI runs the same commands as key bindings and can query state. Man pages and bash, fish and zsh completion are included.

Callbacks and monitor assignment

An on-window-detected callback runs commands for each new window, for example to send an app to a set workspace. Workspaces can be assigned to particular monitors.

Rectangle

Keyboard shortcuts

Move and resize the active window with a shortcut. Repeating a shortcut cycles through window sizes.

Snap areas

Drag a window to a screen edge or corner to snap it, and choose which window action each snap area triggers.

Preset sizes and positions

Commands for halves, quarters, thirds, fourths and sixths, plus maximize, almost maximize, maximize height, smaller, larger, center and restore.

Multiple displays

Next and previous display commands send a window to another screen, and layouts for displays in portrait orientation are supported.

Todo Mode

Keeps one app that you specify visible while you snap and resize other windows. The equivalent in Rectangle Pro is called Pin Mode.

Spectacle-compatible shortcuts

Rectangle is described as nearly a complete drop-in replacement for the Spectacle app, and Spectacle's default shortcuts can be chosen on first run.

AeroSpace

• AeroSpace$0

  Tree-based tiling, emulated workspaces, TOML configuration, the aerospace command-line client and multi-monitor support. MIT licensed.

Rectangle

• Rectangle$0

  Keyboard shortcuts, drag-to-snap areas, menu bar commands, halves to sixths, display switching and Todo Mode. Free and open source.