Rectangle vs. AeroSpace: Manual Snapping vs. i3-Style Tiling Without SIP
AeroSpace, built by developer Nikita Bobko, occupies a specific spot in the macOS window manager landscape: it brings the automatic tiling model of Linux’s i3 window manager to macOS, but — unlike yabai — it does this without requiring System Integrity Protection to be disabled. That single design decision is the most important thing to understand before comparing it to Rectangle app.
What AeroSpace actually is
Per its own GitHub README, AeroSpace is explicitly i3-inspired: windows are tiled automatically into a tree-based layout rather than snapped individually on command, the way Rectangle mac works. Key documented characteristics:
- A tree-paradigm tiling engine, following the same conceptual model as i3 on Linux.
- Its own emulation of virtual workspaces, rather than using native macOS Spaces — the README states this is a deliberate choice due to what it calls Spaces’ “considerable limitations.”
- Plain text configuration in TOML format (
default-config.toml), explicitly aimed at people comfortable with dotfiles rather than a settings GUI. - CLI-first, with manpages and shell completion included, and a stated design principle that AeroSpace will never provide a GUI for configuration — the README argues that editing a text file is easier for advanced users than navigating checkboxes.
- Proper multi-monitor support following the same i3-like paradigm used for single monitors.
Install via Homebrew (the preferred method, since it enables auto-updates):
brew install --cask nikitabobko/tap/aerospaceThe SIP difference: the most important distinction from yabai
AeroSpace’s README states directly that it doesn’t require disabling System Integrity Protection, in explicit contrast to yabai, which needs SIP partially disabled for its deeper features. This is the single biggest practical difference between the two Linux-style tiling options on macOS: AeroSpace deliberately traded away some of yabai’s window-server-level capabilities (shadow removal, opacity control, and similar) in exchange for working entirely within Apple’s standard security model.
An honest note about notarization, from the project itself
AeroSpace’s README includes an unusually direct disclosure: “By using AeroSpace, you acknowledge that it’s not notarized.” The maintainer’s own explanation, included in the README, is that notarization is Apple’s process for verifying a binary and that the project doesn’t object to notarization as a concept, but hasn’t gone through it. This is worth weighing against Rectangle app, whose official builds are notarized — for a tool with Accessibility-level access to your windows, this is a meaningful difference in what’s verifiable about a given download, on top of both being open source.
Where AeroSpace differs from Rectangle app in practice
Always-on tiling versus on-demand snapping. Exactly like the Amethyst/yabai comparison, this is the core divide: AeroSpace continuously manages every window’s position once it’s running, recalculating the tiling tree whenever windows open, close, or move. Rectangle app only acts when you trigger a shortcut or drag to an edge; everything else is left alone.
Configuration philosophy. AeroSpace’s README states a specific position — that a GUI for configuration will never be added — as a deliberate design stance, not a missing feature waiting to be built. Rectangle’s preferences window is minimal but does exist, and everyday shortcut customization happens through clicking, not editing TOML.
Development stage. AeroSpace’s own README describes it as being in public beta as of its current documentation, explicitly warning that breaking changes should be expected until a 1.0 release, and lists specific unresolved architecture work (a rewrite of its core tree data structure, a known issue where windows can randomly jump to the focused workspace) as blockers to that release. Rectangle, by contrast, has been stable and versioned incrementally for years without a comparable “not yet 1.0” framing.
CLI and scripting depth. AeroSpace ships with its own command-line interface, manpages, and shell completion out of the box, aimed at people who want to script window behavior extensively. Rectangle’s equivalent is its rectangle:// URL scheme — functional for triggering actions from other tools, but not a full CLI with its own command language the way AeroSpace’s is.
Who AeroSpace is actually for
Per the project’s own framing, AeroSpace is aimed squarely at people who already think in i3’s terms — workspace-per-project tiling, keyboard-driven window management, plain-text config over GUI settings — and who specifically don’t want to disable SIP to get there. That’s a narrower audience than Rectangle’s: if “i3-like tiling window manager” doesn’t already mean something to you from prior Linux experience, AeroSpace’s entire design philosophy is solving a problem you may not have.
Quick reference
| Rectangle | AeroSpace | |
|---|---|---|
| Model | Manual snapping on command | Automatic i3-style tiling, always on |
| Requires disabling SIP | No | No |
| Notarized official builds | Yes | No (disclosed directly in its own README) |
| Configuration | GUI preferences window | Plain-text TOML config, no GUI planned |
| Development stage | Stable, versioned for years | Public beta, breaking changes expected pre-1.0 |
| Best for | Fixed positions on demand, minimal learning curve | i3/Linux-tiling users who want that model on macOS without touching SIP |