Press one key.
Every window in its place.

Tessera is a small menu bar app for macOS. Save your layouts, press ⌃⌥1, and your windows tile. Drag one window onto another to swap them. Try it below.

$ curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Asm3r96/tessera/main/install.sh | bash
Free and open source · macOS 14 or later · Apple silicon and Intel
DesktopFileEditView

This is a simulation in your browser. Shortcuts work here too: ⌃⌥1 to ⌃⌥5.

How it works

Set up your screen once. Get it back with one key.

⌃⌥1

Pick a mode

Click a layout in the menu bar or press ⌃⌥ and its number. The front window gets the biggest zone.

See it first

Hover a mode and the screen shows which app lands in each zone before anything moves.

Swap and replace

Drag a window onto another zone to swap places. Drag a new app onto a zone to take that spot.

Resize together

Drag the line between two windows. Every window on that line follows, so nothing overlaps.

Install

One command. About ten seconds.

Free and open source. No account, no subscription, no network access after install.

$ curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Asm3r96/tessera/main/install.sh | bash
  1. Run the commandTessera goes to ~/Applications and starts in your menu bar.
  2. Allow AccessibilitySystem Settings › Privacy & Security › Accessibility. macOS asks once.
  3. Press ⌃⌥1To update later, run the same command again.

Prefer to build it yourself? The README shows how, with only the Command Line Tools. Tessera saves no window contents.