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Window Layout management (save/restore) + kill(er) feat(ure)

Mr.Tweaks#0369OP
· Edited Mar 12, 2026, 02:04 AM UTC

I’ve searched but couldn’t find this feature, so I’m posting it here as I think it’s a logical extension of window snapping and auto‑arranging for a “WM deluxe XXL” app like this - The most wanted features against the lowest resource consumption.

  1. Layout‑bound app closing
    Saving and restoring window layouts (and even auto‑starting the associated apps) is fairly common. What’s rare—and what I’m requesting—is the ability to also close all apps associated with a specific saved layout.
    This fits the whole idea of layout management as a “clean desk(top) policy”: if I open layout A and then layout B, I end up with a mess of overlapping sessions. A “close all apps for this layout” function would restore order with a single action.

  2. Per‑monitor layouts / exclusion
    For multi‑monitor setups, most tools treat all monitors as one combined layout. I’d love the option to:

  • Save/restore layouts per monitor, and/or
  • Exclude specific monitors from layout management

Imagine: I have two large monitors. I might want one highly structured with named layouts, and keep the other as a permanent “free space” or “parking” area.
Better yet - i might want to combine layouts. For instance; My office admin w/ mail/outlook, reminders, notes etc. would be 1 screen, definitely not 2! On some days, I could and would combine it with a Dev layout#1, that holds Warp and VSC.
On serious Dev Days - I might lose the office admin altogether and use Dev Layout #1 and #2 which holds iTerm, Terminal and Xcode.
This combination - is great to have, but would not necessarily be used THAT much. #PraticalityParadox

This could (implicitly) promote layout-management as an optional 'modular' approach. Not just binary on/off, but dosed, splitted , combined - on (multi)monitor level. In a way this would be more aligned with Spaces than many current implementations.

Result; Instant or eventual favoured by anyone with a multimonitor setup, appreciative of 'choice',

#Practicality

Replies13

O
olzam
· Edited Apr 23, 2026, 09:25 AM UTC

I want to Plus 1 this... At the moment I have to resetup the windows.

H
hamham4575
· Edited Apr 24, 2026, 03:24 PM UTC

Would be amazing if it can take into account external monitors setups. And if it was in tabgroup state :D. Rectangle app has a layout feature where you can take a snapshot of your layout exactly as you set it, monitors and all. So i have one setup for work and another for home

But... I'll be happy with the basics first and just save the current setup

P
pasteley

@1050424691510222908 can't see this in roadmap, is it still planed?

WrapperDeveloper

Not sure yet. There are a few higher priority things right now, and I haven’t had time to think through the flow and UX properly. Once those are done, I’ll take another look and decide how to approach it.

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hamham4575
· Edited Apr 28, 2026, 01:45 PM UTC

Just FYI in case this doesn't get implemented, I am able to use it with Rectangle Pro for now (maybe free version has layouts feature also?). First, set your layout in Tangrid. Then use Rectangle Pro to save layout.

Tangrid is smart enough to group windows in proximity.

So start up order once set up should be Rectangle Pro -> Tangrid

CleanShot_2026-04-28_at_08.40.35.png
WrapperDeveloper

Aha, genius. Maybe Rectangle Pro’s settings can offer some inspiration.

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hamham4575

That would be ideal to have everything in Tangrid, but I know that might require rethinking a lot of existing code and cause weird side effects so I thought I'd share my solution until/if ever you decide to implement it :). But yes, I think their layout feature is a nice one to get inspired from.

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hamham4575
· Edited May 4, 2026, 07:03 PM UTC

@1050424691510222908 After the latest update, it seems to create one tab group per display even if windows are perfectly stacked and divided before starting Tangrid. I guess this is because of removal of mini-split option? I think it would be nice if there is a modifier checkbox to attempt honoring existing windows on startup, would that be difficult? Thank you

WrapperDeveloper
· Edited May 4, 2026, 05:18 PM UTC

Do you have your setting set to prefer tabbed or perfer split?

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hamham4575

Doh! You're right, I forgot to set that back. Ty!

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Philipp

Saving and restoring window layouts (and even auto‑starting the associated apps) is fairly common.
Is that already possible with Tangrid?

WrapperDeveloper

It hasn't been implemented yet. To support layout save and restore in the future, along with more layout modes, I'm currently refactoring the underlying architecture of the layout system.

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