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Getting Started

Use this page when GridLion is installed and permissions are in place. It covers the core workflow: see your Spaces as a grid, move by direction, jump directly, carry windows, and rearrange visually.

What GridLion does

macOS keeps Spaces in a horizontal Mission Control strip. GridLion lets you treat that strip as a 2-, 3-, or 4-column grid so you can build spatial memory around where each Space lives.

GridLion does not replace Mission Control. You still create, remove, and manage Desktops, full-screen apps, and tiled windows through macOS. GridLion adds the grid picker, hotkeys, direct jumps, and optional overlays on top.

Step 1: Choose a grid shape

Open GridLion settings from the menu bar.
Go to Display settings for the screen you want to configure.
Choose a 2-, 3-, or 4-column grid.

Left and right movement follows row-major order. Up and down movement use the configured columns.

Step 2: Learn directional switching

Assign shortcuts for left, right, up, and down. When you move, GridLion resolves the target visual cell back to the matching macOS Space and switches there.

If a move reaches an unavailable cell, GridLion can either block at the edge or wrap through rows, depending on your settings.

Step 3: Open the grid picker

The manual picker shows the current display's Spaces in a visual grid. Use arrow keys to move the highlight, Return to switch, Escape to dismiss, or click a cell with the mouse.

When Screen Recording is available, cells can show screenshots. Otherwise they show app icons or a neutral fallback.

Step 4: Arrange Spaces visually

Drag real Space cells inside the picker to create an app-owned visual order. This changes how GridLion renders and navigates the grid without forcing macOS Mission Control to expose a native grid.

If placeholders are enabled, GridLion can keep empty visual slots after a Space is removed so the rest of your grid does not collapse unexpectedly.

Step 5: Move a window as you switch

Start dragging a standard window by its title bar and keep holding the mouse button. While the drag is active, use one of your directional or direct Space keyboard shortcuts. GridLion carries the window to the selected Desktop and leaves the physical drag under your control.

In Keyboard settings, leave Switch spaces while navigating turned off for the shortcut scope you use. Dragging a window between Spaces does not work while this setting is enabled.

See Move Windows Between Spaces for supported targets, shortcut behavior, and troubleshooting.