SmartGrid

SmartGrid gives you instant tiling, drag & drop snapping, swap mode, a Layout Manager, and workspaces per monitor — with a system tray UI and global hotkeys.

Features

• Dynamic layouts (1 → full, 2 → split, 3 → master/stack, 4+ → grid up to 5×3)
• Maximize-safe tiling: maximizing a tiled window won’t reshuffle other windows; restore returns to the original slot
• Drag & drop snap: drag a tiled window by the title bar, preview appears, drop to snap (supports cross-monitor)
• Swap Mode: red border + arrow keys to swap with adjacent windows
• Floating windows toggle: keep specific windows out of the grid (video/chat/reference)
• Workspaces per monitor: 3 workspaces per screen, instant switching, layout remembered
• Layout Manager (Ctrl+Alt+P): choose a target layout and assign windows/apps to slots visually
• Auto-Compact on minimize/close: hybrid compaction (fills empty slots, retile only when layout must change)
• System tray menu: toggle tiling, retile, swap mode, settings (including Auto-Compact options), hotkeys, quit
• Active border: green border follows the active tiled window

Hotkeys

Shortcut	Action
Ctrl + Alt + T	Toggle tiling (on/off)
Ctrl + Alt + R	Force re-tile all windows now
Ctrl + Alt + S	Enter Swap Mode (red border + arrows)
Ctrl + Alt + F	Toggle Floating Selected Window
Ctrl + Alt + P	Open Layout Manager (manual layout assignment)
Ctrl + Alt + 1/2/3	Switch to workspace 1/2/3 (current monitor)
Ctrl + Alt + Q	Quit SmartGrid

Install & Run

Option A — Download the latest release

https://github.com/C0sm0cats/SmartGrid/releases/latest

Option B — Run from source

Requirements:

• Windows 10 / 11 (64-bit)
• Python 3.9+
• Dependencies: pywin32, pystray, pillow (PIL)

git clone https://github.com/C0sm0cats/SmartGrid.git
cd SmartGrid
python -m pip install --upgrade pip
python -m pip install pywin32 pystray pillow
python smartgrid.py

Press Ctrl + Alt + T to enable tiling.

Usage

• Launch SmartGrid → nothing moves (you see the welcome message)
• Press Ctrl+Alt+T → instant tiling + auto-retile activated
• From now on: restore a window, minimize one, open whatever you want → layout updates automatically
• Press Ctrl+Alt+P any time to open Layout Manager and manually rebuild a layout by slot
• Press Ctrl+Alt+T again → free mode (move windows manually)
• Press Ctrl+Alt+T again → everything snaps back into perfect order
• Open Settings (tray menu) to toggle Auto-Compact on Minimize/Close if you want layouts to stay gap-free.

Layout Manager

Use Ctrl+Alt+P (or tray menu) to open the visual layout picker.

• Choose a target monitor, target workspace, and layout preset (Full, Side-by-side, Master/Stack, Grid variants)
• Assign visible windows/apps to target slots
• Apply with Apply Changes (current workspace) or Apply Changes & Switch (switch + apply)
• Use Reset Saved Slots (Persistent) to clear the saved profile for the selected target layout

Notes:

• Local slot edits are drafts until you apply.
• In AUTO strict mode, topology/profile persistence is handled automatically as layouts evolve.

Workspaces (per monitor)

SmartGrid gives you 3 independent workspaces per monitor — like having multiple virtual desktops, but better.

How it works:

1. Tile your windows on workspace 1 (default)
2. Press Ctrl+Alt+2 → workspace 1 windows hide instantly (no minimize animation)
3. Tile different windows on workspace 2
4. Press Ctrl+Alt+1 → back to your first context, pixel-perfect

Drag & Drop Snap

1. You have 6 windows tiled
2. You grab one by the title bar
3. A blue preview rectangle appears showing exactly where it will snap
4. You drop → BAM. It snaps perfectly to the previewed position. → On the same monitor: dropping on an occupied slot can swap → Across monitors: drop uses add + reflow (no swap), updating target and source monitor layouts → Works across monitors → No keys. No thinking. Pure flow.

Multi-Monitor Workflow

Move windows across screens (recommended):

1. Drag a tiled window by its title bar
2. Drop it on the target monitor (preview shows the target slot)
3. SmartGrid adds it on the target monitor and reflows both target and source monitor layouts automatically

For manual re-organization at scale, use Layout Manager (Ctrl+Alt+P) and pick:

• Target Monitor
• Target Workspace
• Target Layout

Notes

• Maximize behavior: while a window is maximized, SmartGrid intentionally avoids background reshuffles so other windows don’t move.
• Compact behavior: when enabled, closing or minimizing a tiled window fills the empty slot without a full retile unless the layout must change.
• Layout Manager behavior: slot assignment uses windows visible for the selected target monitor/workspace context.

Troubleshooting

• Hotkeys don’t work: another application may already be using the same global shortcut.
• Some windows don’t tile: SmartGrid filters overlays/toasts/taskbar/etc. You can tune the rules in is_useful_window() in smartgrid.py.
• Border colors: DWM border coloring works best on Windows 11; on some Windows 10 builds it may be ignored.

Contributing

Ideas, issues and PRs are welcome. For bug reports, please include:

• Windows version (10/11 + build)
• Monitor setup (count + resolution + scaling)
• App names involved (and whether they were maximized/minimized/restored)

Why This Script Exists

Many great tiling solutions exist for Windows, but a surprising number of modern applications resist standard window-management APIs. SmartGrid forces every window into perfect obedience using raw Win32 + DWM tricks. Plus, it adds workspace management that most Windows tiling tools don't have and a system tray icon with a context menu for quick access to all major features.

Author

Made with passion and pure determination by @C0sm0cats

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SmartGrid — Because sometimes you just want your windows to line up perfectly.

Press Ctrl + Alt + T and feel the difference.