RibbonHow to resize and center a window with the keyboard on a Mac
On macOS 15 Sequoia and later, Fn⌃ plus an arrow resizes a window to a half, Fn⌃F fills the screen, Fn⌃C centers it and Fn⌃R undoes the last change. macOS has no shortcut for "a bit wider" or "a bit narrower"; for that you need an app.
The built-in shortcuts (macOS 15 and later)
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| Fn⌃F | Fill the screen |
| Fn⌃C | Center the window without changing its size |
| Fn⌃ + ← → ↑ ↓ | Left, right, top or bottom half |
| Fn⌃R | Return to the previous size and position |
Fn is the Globe key on recent Apple keyboards. The same commands are in the Window menu as Fill, Center and Move & Resize, so they work on keyboards without a Fn key too: press ⌃F2 (add Fn if your top row is set to media keys) to move to the menu bar, then type to pick a menu.
There's a longer list, including two- and three-window arrangements, in how to tile windows on a Mac.
What's missing
macOS gives you halves, quarters, fill and center. It doesn't give you:
- Thirds or two-thirds.
- "Wider" and "narrower" in small steps.
- A shortcut for a single corner.
macOS 14 Sonoma and earlier
None of the Fn-Control shortcuts exist. Window → Zoom grows a window, and you can give it a shortcut under System Settings → Keyboard → Keyboard Shortcuts → App Shortcuts. For anything more, use an app.
Precise resizing with the mouse
Two modifier keys make mouse resizing much less fiddly:
- Hold ⌥ while dragging an edge and the opposite edge moves too, so the window grows or shrinks around its centre.
- Hold ⇧ while dragging an edge or corner and the window keeps its proportions.
Apps that add keyboard resizing
- Raycast (free for personal use) has window commands for halves, thirds, quarters, centering and more. Give the ones you use hotkeys in its settings. See Raycast window management.
- Rectangle (free) adds thirds, two-thirds and shortcuts for growing and shrinking a window.
- A scrolling window manager handles width differently: windows sit side by side, so you only ever change width, and the neighbours move along instead of overlapping.
Width steps in Ribbon
In Ribbon, every window is a column on a horizontal strip. The resize shortcuts are:
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| ⌃⌥R | Cycle through preset widths, such as a third, a half and two thirds |
| ⌃⌥= / ⌃⌥- | A step wider or narrower |
| ⌃⌥F | Full width |
| ⌃⌥C | Center the column on screen |
| ⌃⌥⇧= / ⌃⌥⇧- | Taller or shorter, when windows are stacked in one column |
| ⌃⌥0 | Equal heights in a stack |
Because a wider window pushes its neighbours along the strip instead of covering them, you can make the window you're working in as wide as you like without losing the others. Every shortcut can be rebound in Settings. Try the width keys in the live demo; pricing starts at $9.99 once.
FAQ
How do I resize a window on a Mac with the keyboard?
On macOS 15 and later, Fn⌃ plus an arrow key for halves and Fn⌃F to fill. For other sizes you need an app such as Raycast, Rectangle or a window manager.
What's the shortcut to center a window on a Mac?
Fn⌃C, or Window → Center, on macOS 15 Sequoia and later.
How do I undo a window resize?
Fn⌃R returns the window to its previous size and position.
Why won't a window get any smaller?
The app has a minimum size. No shortcut or tool can make it smaller than that.