Ryan Hanson

Mac indie developer behind Rectangle, Rectangle Pro, Superkey and Hyperkey

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About Ryan Hanson

Ryan Hanson is an independent macOS developer who builds small, sharp utilities for keyboard and trackpad power users. He is best known for Rectangle, the free and open-source window manager he started in 2019 as a successor to the discontinued Spectacle. Rectangle has become one of the most popular Mac utilities on GitHub, with around 30,000 stars.

Around the free app he built a sustainable paid business. Rectangle Pro (formerly Hookshot) is a feature-rich superset that adds window throwing with cursor movement, multi-window layouts and custom snap areas. He has followed it with a family of focused paid and free tools: Superkey for searching and clicking on-screen text from the keyboard, Hyperkey for an extra modifier key, Multitouch for custom trackpad and Magic Mouse gestures, Charmstone for spatial app switching, and more.

His model — a generous open-source flagship that drives awareness for paid power-user upgrades and a growing suite of companion apps — is a strong example of open source as an indie business on the Mac.

Products by Ryan Hanson

Rectangle

rectangleapp.com

Free, open-source window management app for macOS based on Spectacle.

Rectangle Pro

rectangleapp.com

Paid Rectangle superset with window throwing, multi-window commands and custom shortcuts (formerly Hookshot).

Superkey

superkey.app

Search and click text anywhere on screen from the keyboard, with built-in hyperkey and remapping.

Hyperkey

hyperkey.app

Adds an extra modifier key for keyboard shortcuts.

Multitouch

multitouch.app

Adds customizable trackpad and Magic Mouse gestures to the Mac.

Charmstone

charmstone.app

Uses spatial memory to switch to the app you want more quickly.

Middle

middleclick.app

Adds a middle click to Apple trackpads and the Magic Mouse.

KeyLimePie

keylimepie.app

Keystroke viewer for demoing keyboard shortcuts.

Space Capsule

spacecapsule.app

Organizes macOS Spaces in a grid for quicker access.

HighTop

hightop.app

Lightweight file browser for local and cloud files with deep macOS integration.

Ryan Hanson's journey, 2019–20262 milestones · self-reported

First product
Launch / milestone
Started 2019

2019First product: Started Rectangle as an open-source successor to the window…
2026Milestone: Rectangle passed roughly 30,000 GitHub stars

Timeline

2019 — Started Rectangle as an open-source successor to the window manager Spectacle.
2026 — Rectangle passed roughly 30,000 GitHub stars.

How Ryan builds

Give away a great open-source core and sell the power-user superset.
Build tiny single-purpose utilities that remove friction.
Optimize for keyboard and gesture speed on macOS.

Ryan Hanson FAQ

Who makes Rectangle for Mac?

Rectangle is made by indie developer Ryan Hanson, who started it in 2019 as a free, open-source window manager based on Spectacle.

What is the difference between Rectangle and Rectangle Pro?

Rectangle is free and open source; Rectangle Pro is Ryan Hanson's paid superset with extras like window throwing, multi-window commands and custom snap areas.