QuiltSet up Quilt
Quilt runs on macOS 14 or later and lives in your menu bar. Open Quilt and follow its welcome screens.
- Allow Accessibility. In System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility, turn on Quilt. macOS requires this permission before Quilt can move or resize another app’s windows.
- Choose a layout. Pick an arrangement in the welcome screen, then choose Start tiling. You can change it later from the Quilt menu.
- Take the tour. Try opening two windows, resizing the divider, swapping windows, undoing, and resuming. Use ordinary app windows for these steps.
The permission has a specific job. Quilt reads window position, size, and the owning app. It does not read window contents. You can turn off its Accessibility permission in System Settings.
Choose a layout
Open the Quilt menu to change the arrangement on a display. The windows already open rearrange to match.
- Grid divides the space into tiles across and down the screen.
- Columns places windows side by side.
- Rows places windows above and below one another.
- Main + side gives one window the larger area and places the others beside it.
The number and shape of the tiles depend on the layout, display, window count, and the minimum sizes your apps accept. An app that cannot fit may share a tile or float.
Open, close, and keep going
Open an app window and Quilt gives it a place. Close a window and the remaining windows rearrange into the space. Drag the divider between tiles when one part of your work needs more room.
When the tiles are full
With stacking enabled, extra windows share a tile instead of adding another small tile. Press ⌃⌥` to cycle to the next window in the active stack. Hold Shift with those keys to go backwards.
A stack is several windows sharing one tile. It is separate from an app’s own document tabs.
Keep control of the exceptions
Float a window with ⌃⌥F when you want to place it yourself. Press the same shortcut to tile it again. To leave an entire app alone, turn off its Tile switch in Quilt’s app list.
Pause from the menu or press ⌃⌥P. Quilt stops arranging windows. Use the same control to resume.
Undo tiling with ⌃⌥⌘Z. Windows return to their positions from before Quilt first moved them, and tiling pauses. Resume when you want Quilt to arrange them again.
A quieter screen
Focus gives the active window the display. Dim quiets the other windows. Clean screen hides other apps and covers desktop icons and widgets with a plain backdrop. Each is a toggle: use its shortcut again to return.
The everyday keys
These are the default bindings. If you have changed them, check Settings → Keyboard for your current shortcuts.
| Action | Default shortcut |
|---|---|
| Open the Quilt menu | ⌃⌥Q |
| Next window in a stack | ⌃⌥`Control + Option + backtick |
| Previous window in a stack | ⌃⌥⇧` |
| Float or tile the active window | ⌃⌥F |
| Focus mode | ⌃⌥Z |
| Dim other windows | ⌃⌥B |
| Clean screen | ⌃⌥C |
| Pause or resume tiling | ⌃⌥P |
| Undo tiling and pause | ⌃⌥⌘Z |
| Send to the next display | ⌃⌥Tab |
If a window stays put
- Check Accessibility. Quilt cannot move windows while its permission is off. After allowing access, quit and reopen Quilt if it has not noticed the change.
- Check Pause and the app’s Tile switch. A paused display, floating window, or excluded app is intentionally left alone.
- Check Stage Manager. Quilt pauses while Stage Manager is on.
- Try an ordinary window. Full-screen windows, dialogs, sheets, and system panels are not tiled.
- Look in the Quilt menu. It can explain why a window needs more room or is being left alone.
About this guide. It describes the controls in the current Quilt source. Builds can differ as the app develops; the Quilt menu and Settings show the controls available in your installed version.
Watch the full walkthrough or read the frequently asked questions.