How to Snap Windows on Mac Without an Extra App

Step by step

1. 20 sec

   Check the tiling setting is on

   Open System Settings, choose Desktop and Dock, and scroll to the Windows section. Confirm that the option for dragging windows to screen edges to tile is switched on. A separate option controls whether tiled windows keep a margin between them.

   Note: It ships on. Check anyway. Settings carry over during migration and not always the way you expect.
2. 15 sec

   Drag a window to a screen edge

   Grab a window by its title bar and push it against the left or right edge of the display. A translucent outline shows where it will land. Release the pointer and the window fills that half. Drag into a corner for a quarter instead.

   Note: Push all the way. A near miss does nothing, which is how most people conclude the feature is broken.
3. 20 sec

   Use the Window menu instead

   With a window focused, open the Window menu in the menu bar and look for Move and Resize. It lists Left, Right, Top, Bottom, the four quadrants, Fill and Center. Choose one and the window moves without any dragging at all.

   Note: Any keyboard shortcut that exists is printed beside the menu item. Read it there rather than trusting one you found on a forum.
4. 20 sec

   Arrange two windows at once

   The Window menu also offers Fill and Arrange, which places the current window alongside others in a preset layout. Use it when you want two or three windows positioned together rather than moving each one into place separately.

   Note: The names are not intuitive. Move and Resize acts on one window. Fill and Arrange acts on the set.
5. 10 sec

   Undo a tile and get the size back

   Drag the tiled window away from the edge by its title bar and it returns to its previous size. The Window menu also carries a Return to Previous Size item under Move and Resize. Tiled windows are ordinary windows, not a special mode.

   Note: No mode to exit and no session to save. That restraint is the best part of the whole feature.