ShiftIt

Managing window size and position in macOS

About

ShiftIt is an application for macOS that allows you to quickly manipulate window position and size using keyboard shortcuts. It is a full featured window organizer for macOS.

This is a modernized fork of the original ShiftIt by Filip Krikava, updated with:

• Sparkle 2.8 for secure auto-updates (EdDSA signing)
• Swift 6 modernization
• macOS 14.6+ (Sonoma) support
• Ultrawide monitor support - divide screen by 3 or 6
• Modern keyboard shortcut recording

License: GNU General Public License v3

Download

A binary build for macOS 14.6+ is available in releases.

Requirements

• macOS 14.6 (Sonoma) or later
• Apple Silicon or Intel Mac

Installation

1. Download the latest release from the releases page
2. Unzip and drag ShiftIt.app to your Applications folder
3. On first launch, right-click the app and select "Open" to bypass Gatekeeper
4. Grant Accessibility permissions when prompted (required for window management)

User Guide

ShiftIt installs itself in the menu bar (optionally it can be completely hidden). It provides a set of actions that manipulate window positions and sizes.

Available Actions

Action	Default Shortcut	Description
Left	⌃⌥⌘ ←	Move window to left half
Right	⌃⌥⌘ →	Move window to right half
Top	⌃⌥⌘ ↑	Move window to top half
Bottom	⌃⌥⌘ ↓	Move window to bottom half
Top Left	⌃⌥⌘ 1	Move window to top-left quarter
Top Right	⌃⌥⌘ 2	Move window to top-right quarter
Bottom Left	⌃⌥⌘ 3	Move window to bottom-left quarter
Bottom Right	⌃⌥⌘ 4	Move window to bottom-right quarter
Maximize	⌃⌥⌘ M	Maximize window
Center	⌃⌥⌘ C	Center window
Full Screen	⌃⌥⌘ F	Toggle full screen

Ultrawide Monitor Support

ShiftIt includes special actions for ultrawide monitors:

• Divide by 3 - Split screen into thirds
• Divide by 6 - Split screen into sixths

FAQ

How do I turn on/off window size cycling with multiple hotkey presses?

If this feature is on, snapping to the left side of the screen (and top, bottom, and right sides) will resize the window to half of the screen. If the window is then snapped to the same side of the screen, it will resize to one third of the screen, and then two thirds of the screen.

To turn the feature on:

defaults write org.shiftitapp.ShiftIt multipleActionsCycleWindowSizes YES

To turn it off:

defaults write org.shiftitapp.ShiftIt multipleActionsCycleWindowSizes NO

I disabled the "Show Icon in Menu Bar" in the preferences, how can I get it back?

Launch the application again. It will open the preference dialog.

I pressed a shortcut, but nothing happened, why?

Make sure ShiftIt has Accessibility permissions. Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility and ensure ShiftIt is enabled.

How to repair Accessibility API permissions?

Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility, find ShiftIt in the list, and toggle it off then on again. If ShiftIt is not in the list, click the + button and add it from your Applications folder.

Development

Local Build

To build ShiftIt locally, clone the repository and run:

cd ShiftIt
xcodebuild -target ShiftIt -configuration Release

The built app will be at ShiftIt/build/Release/ShiftIt.app.

Making a Release

A release script is provided that handles building, signing, and updating the appcast:

./release/build-release.sh

This script will:

1. Build ShiftIt in Release configuration
2. Create a zip archive
3. Sign with EdDSA (reads key from macOS Keychain)
4. Update release/appcast.xml with the signature and file size

Prerequisites

• EdDSA signing key in macOS Keychain (generated with Sparkle's generate_keys tool)
• Xcode command line tools

Environment Variables (for fabfile.py)

If using the legacy fabric-based release system:

export SHIFTIT_GITHUB_USER=citadelgrad
export SHIFTIT_GITHUB_REPO=ShiftIt
export SHIFTIT_GITHUB_TOKEN=~/.shiftit/github.token  # your personal access token

Project Structure

ShiftIt/
├── ShiftIt/                 # Main application source
│   ├── ShiftIt.xcodeproj   # Xcode project
│   ├── bin/                # Sparkle signing tools
│   └── Sparkle.framework/  # Auto-update framework
├── release/                # Release assets
│   ├── appcast.xml        # Sparkle update feed
│   ├── release-notes-*.html
│   └── build-release.sh   # Release build script
└── artwork/               # Icons and graphics

Credits

• Original ShiftIt by Aravindkumar Rajendiran
• Rewritten by Filip Krikava
• Modernized by citadelgrad

Alternatives

If you prefer a more customizable solution, consider Hammerspoon with the ShiftIt Spoon.