Installation & Permissions

This page explains the setup requirements for Tangrid, the onboarding flow, and the permissions that affect core functionality.

System requirements

• macOS 14 or later is recommended.
• Tangrid is most useful in multi-window and multi-display workflows.
• Screen Recording Permission is strongly recommended if you want window thumbnails to work correctly.

Installing Tangrid

If you receive Tangrid as an app bundle, the normal installation flow is:

1. Get Tangrid.app.
2. Extract or mount the package if needed.
3. Move the app into Applications.
4. Launch Tangrid.

After launch, Tangrid takes you through onboarding instead of expecting you to configure everything manually from scratch.

What onboarding covers

The onboarding flow usually walks through:

1. welcome screen
2. Permissions Required
3. Window Management Mode
4. Drag Modifier Key
5. Window Switcher shortcut modifier choice
6. Window Switcher style choice
7. Dock Preview introduction
8. completion

If you want to go through it again later, use Show Onboarding from the status bar menu.

The three permission and system checks that matter most

Accessibility Access

This is the core permission Tangrid needs for:

• moving windows
• resizing windows
• focusing and manipulating windows
• tiling, snapping, centering, minimizing, and related actions

Without Accessibility Access, most Window Manager features will not work properly.

Screen Recording Permission

Screen Recording Permission mainly affects preview-based features such as:

• thumbnails in Window Switcher
• thumbnails in Dock Preview

The onboarding copy makes it clear that Tangrid uses this for previews only and does not record or save your screen contents.

Disable Stage Manager

Tangrid recommends Disable Stage Manager because it usually reduces conflicts between macOS window organization and Tangrid’s own management behavior.

This is especially relevant in:

• multi-window workspaces
• multi-screen setups
• multiple desktop spaces

It is not the same as a hard blocker, but it is strongly recommended.

If permissions do not seem to apply

If you have already granted access but Tangrid still does not recognize it, try Repair Permissions from the onboarding permission screen.

The current implementation resets Tangrid’s Accessibility and Screen Capture permission records, opens the correct System Settings panes, and asks for permission again.

Why using Option may trigger a conflict warning

Tangrid allows Option to be used as the Drag Modifier Key, but it checks for conflicts with macOS built-in tiling behavior.

The reason is simple:

• macOS may already use Option for built-in window tiling behavior
• Tangrid may also use Option to trigger snapping or tiling/floating actions

When this conflict exists, Tangrid warns you and suggests disabling the system-side behavior.

Quick post-install checklist

After onboarding, it is worth checking these four things:

• Tangrid appears in the status bar
• ⌘Tab opens Window Switcher
• hovering a Dock icon shows Dock Preview
• dragging windows triggers the behavior you selected in Window Management Mode

Next, read Window Layouts & Snapping.