What you need
- macOS 26 or later.
- Accessibility permission. This is the only macOS permission BetterTile requests.
- To build from source: Xcode 26 / Swift 6.3 or later. See Development setup.
Install
- Download the latest beta.
Open the
BetterTile-*-beta.dmg and drag BetterTile into Applications.
- Launch BetterTile. The beta is signed with the stable, self-signed
BetterTile Beta certificate. It is not signed with an Apple Developer ID
and is not notarized. After the first launch attempt, open System Settings →
Privacy & Security and choose Open Anyway after confirming the download
came from this repository. You can check it against the
.sha256 file beside
the release download.
- Follow BetterTile's explanation to grant Accessibility permission.
BetterTile runs in the menu bar. Its Dock icon is optional and off by default.
Updates
BetterTile checks its GitHub-hosted update feed every four hours by default.
It shows release notes and asks before downloading or installing. Turn automatic
checks off in General Settings, or use Check for Updates… at any time.
Sparkle verifies each update's EdDSA signature against a public key built into
the app. This is separate from the beta's macOS code signature. Public betas
since 0.4.1 use the same self-signed certificate to preserve Accessibility
permission across normal updates. If that identity changes, the release notes
will explain the one-time permission steps.
Build from source
Follow Development setup to configure your free Personal
Team, open BetterTile.xcodeproj, and run the shared BetterTile scheme.
The Debug app has its own configuration and Accessibility grant, separate from
the public beta. Package.swift exposes supporting libraries only; the runnable
app comes from the Xcode project.
Keeping Accessibility permission across rebuilds
Use your Personal Team in the gitignored Config/LocalSigning.xcconfig and keep
the bundle identifier unchanged. Ad-hoc signing changes the app's identity on
each rebuild. See the signing guide
for setup and the one-time permission reset.
Private by default
Window geometry and configuration stay on your Mac. BetterTile has no
advertising, behavioral tracking, or sale of user data. It explains
Accessibility permission before requesting it.
Public Apple APIs move and resize windows. A small, documented set of reviewed,
read-only private observations improves window identity, minimum-size handling,
Spaces, and Stage Manager behavior. Each observation is validated and has a
public fallback. BetterTile uses no code injection or SIP workaround.
BetterTile observes limited pointer and keyboard input for snapping, resizing,
and the Layout Wheel. Update checks and downloads contact GitHub, which
receives ordinary connection metadata. These requests send no window data,
configuration, analytics, telemetry, crash reports, or system profile.
Send Feedback opens a GitHub form with the app version and build in its
suggested title; it submits no issue automatically.
Read Security and privacy for the input scope, network disclosure,
private observations, fallback behavior, and vulnerability reporting.
Known limits
- No cross-Space window movement. BetterTile does not move windows between
macOS desktops.
- Stage Manager groups stay single-window. A thumbnail drag selects one
validated frontmost member. BetterTile does not move or synchronize the other
windows in that Stage group.
- Tabbed needs Stage Manager off. Pane assignments and placement undo history
last for the current app session. Cross-display tab dragging is unavailable.
- Some apps restrict window sizes. Broader real-app stacking,
multi-display, and Space-switch behavior remains under validation. Read the
beta notes.
Documentation
- Development setup — build, sign, run, and test on your Mac.
- Contributing — branch, test, and pull-request workflow.
- Architecture — layers, coordinates, window mutations, and Bento.
- Domain glossary — shared BetterTile terms.
- Beta releases — version, validate, sign, and publish an update.
- Security and privacy — permissions, networking, and reporting policy.
- Third-party notices — upstream code, attribution, and terms.
- Agent instructions — build, test, and convention rules for coding agents.
Acknowledgements
- Vorssaint — BetterTile includes
adapted settings and menu-panel presentation code from Vorssaint. Its
demand-based service ownership shaped BetterTile's runtime lifecycle.
See Third-party notices for attribution and terms.
- Rectangle — a reference for
event-driven window management on macOS.
