Install and start
- 1
Download the disk image
Download LanesMac from lanesmac.com/download. It's signed with a Developer ID and notarized by Apple.
- 2
Drag it to Applications
Open the disk image and drag LanesMac onto the Applications folder. If you open it from somewhere else, LanesMac offers to move itself there.
- 3
Open LanesMac
Open it from Applications. It lives in the menu bar, not the Dock, and the welcome window opens.
- 4
Allow Accessibility
Click Request, then switch LanesMac on in System Settings › Privacy & Security › Accessibility. This is the only permission it needs.
- 5
Watch your windows line up
Within a second, your open windows become columns on the strip. Press ⌃⌥→ to move to the next one.
Check for conflicts
LanesMac's setup check (in the welcome window and Settings › General › Setup) tells you if something gets in the way, with a button to the right System Settings page.
- Quit other window managers such as Rectangle, Magnet, Amethyst, AeroSpace or yabai, or turn off their automatic layouts.
- Turn off Stage Manager in Control Center.
- If you turn on three- or four-finger swipes, set macOS's "Swipe between full-screen applications" to the other finger count in Trackpad › More Gestures.
- Optional: in Desktop & Dock › Windows, turn off "Drag windows to screen edges to tile" so macOS doesn't tile a window LanesMac is arranging.
Make it yours
- Take the guided tour in Settings › General › Take the Tour; it ticks off each shortcut as you try it.
- Turn on "Launch LanesMac at login" in Settings › General.
- Set your preferred widths and gaps in Settings › Layout.
- Change any shortcut, or add a second key, in Settings › Shortcuts.
- Press ⌃⌥/ any time to see every shortcut.
If something isn't working
- Permission switched on but nothing moves: remove LanesMac from the Accessibility list, add it again, and reopen LanesMac.
- Two copies running: LanesMac asks which one to keep, because two copies would fight over the same windows.
- Windows out of place after sleep: they're put back within a few seconds after waking or unlocking.
- Still stuck: Settings › General › Copy Diagnostics, then email it to support.