Compare · Checked on 30 September 2026
Thirteen capabilities, nine tools, checked against each product’s own documentation. Where a cell says “partly”, the notes below say why.
The table
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| Capability | Deskmap | macOS | Rectangle Pro | Moom | Stay | ShiftPlus | yabai | AeroSpace | Hammerspoon |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rules match the window title, not just the app | Built in | Not available | Built in | Partly, or with a limitation | Built in | Not available | Built in | Built in | Partly, or with a limitation |
| Sends a window to a chosen native desktop (Space) | Built in | Partly, or with a limitation | Not available | Not available | Not available | Partly, or with a limitation | Built in | Not available | Partly, or with a limitation |
| …with System Integrity Protection left on | Built in | Built in | Does not apply | Does not apply | Does not apply | Partly, or with a limitation | Built in | Does not apply | Partly, or with a limitation |
| Separate targets per display setup | Built in | Not available | Partly, or with a limitation | Built in | Built in | Not available | Not available | Not available | Partly, or with a limitation |
| Re-places windows when a display is plugged in or unplugged | Built in | Not available | Built in | Built in | Built in | Not available | Partly, or with a limitation | Partly, or with a limitation | Partly, or with a limitation |
| Routes new windows as they open | Built in | Partly, or with a limitation | Built in | Not available | Partly, or with a limitation | Not available | Built in | Built in | Partly, or with a limitation |
| Size and position per rule | Built in | Not available | Built in | Partly, or with a limitation | Built in | Partly, or with a limitation | Built in | Partly, or with a limitation | Partly, or with a limitation |
| Map of every display and desktop; drag a window to assign it | Built in | Partly, or with a limitation | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available |
| Temporary pin for one window | Built in | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available | Partly, or with a limitation | Not available | Partly, or with a limitation |
| Timed free move for a pinned window | Built in | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available | Partly, or with a limitation |
| Switchable profiles | Built in | Not available | Built in | Partly, or with a limitation | Partly, or with a limitation | Built in | Not available | Partly, or with a limitation | Partly, or with a limitation |
| Automation from outside (URL, AppleScript or CLI) | Built in | Partly, or with a limitation | Built in | Built in | Partly, or with a limitation | Partly, or with a limitation | Built in | Built in | Partly, or with a limitation |
| No config file or script to write | Built in | Built in | Built in | Built in | Built in | Built in | Not available | Not available | Not available |
In short
Rectangle Pro and Stay come closest, but neither moves a window to another desktop. yabai does, from a shell script. The map, temporary pins and timed free move are built into none of them.
Closest
Both match window titles and re-place windows when a display is plugged in or unplugged, but neither moves a window to another desktop.
With a script
It does send windows to another desktop, with System Integrity Protection on since 7.1.25 on recent macOS. Re-placing on display changes is a script you write, and everything is configured from the command line.
Only in Deskmap
None of the other eight tools has them built in.
Notes · Sources
Checked on 30 September 2026 against each product’s own documentation.
Dock › Options › Assign To pins a whole app, not a window, to the desktop you are on; you cannot choose a desktop by number, and a new window follows only its app's assignment. Mission Control shows one desktop's windows at a time and a drag there is a one-off move. Shortcuts has Move Window and Resize Window actions, but there are no rules to trigger.
Layout entries match by title and can apply when a window opens or when a chosen display connects or disconnects. Those are triggers per display event, not setups stored side by side. It does not move windows between desktops.
Sources
Saved layouts are snapshots: windows are matched by title only when a layout is applied, the geometry is the saved frame, and a window opened later is not routed. Layouts can trigger on a display configuration. Several named layouts exist, but no profiles that group rules.
Sources
Stores window frames per display combination and restores them when displays change; titles are matched with regular expressions. Windows are restored when their app launches, but a window opened later in a running app is not routed. The stored sets follow the display setup; there are no profiles you switch yourself. Automation is basic AppleScript and hot keys.
A workspace is restored by hotkey: apps are launched on their assigned Space, and an app already on the wrong Space is quit and relaunched after asking; open windows are not moved. Arrangement presets are per app, applied on restore. Automation is a Raycast extension.
Sources
Rules match titles by regular expression and send windows to a Space with a grid position. Moving windows between Spaces works with System Integrity Protection on since 7.1.25 (May 2026) on recent macOS; older systems need the scripting addition. Display signals fire, but re-placing is a script you write. --one-shot rules apply once to the next matching window; they are not tied to one window. Everything is configured from the command line.
Uses its own virtual workspaces instead of native desktops. on-window-detected rules match titles and run for every new window, in a TOML config. Workspaces are re-assigned to monitors on reconnect; single windows are not re-placed. Rules choose tiling or floating, not a size or position (#714). Binding modes switch key sets, not window rules.
A scripting framework: every “partly” mark means "possible if you write the Lua". Nothing here works out of the box, and moving windows between Spaces is reported unreliable on macOS 15 and later in released builds (#3889).
Products change. If something here is out of date, open an issue.
Deskmap