How to center a window on Mac: the shortcut, and how to center it at a useful size
To center a window on a Mac, press Fn-Control-C (Globe-Control-C on newer keyboards), or choose Window → Move & Resize → Center. It has been built in since macOS Sequoia 15 and is still there in Tahoe and macOS 27. That's the one-line answer. The longer one is that Center only moves the window — it keeps whatever size it already had — and a too-small or too-wide window in the middle of a big display is rarely what you were after. Here's the shortcut, the ways to change it, and how to get a centered window at a size you'd actually want to read.
How to center a window on Mac with the built-in command
Apple lists three routes to the same command:
- Keyboard: Fn-Control-C acts on the frontmost window.
- Menu bar: Window → Move & Resize → Center, in any app that uses the standard Window menu.
- Green button: hover over the green button in the window's top-left corner and pick the Center icon from the tiling menu.
Three things surprise people the first time:
- Size is preserved. A 900-pixel-wide window stays 900 pixels wide; it just lands in the middle.
- It centers on the display the window is already on. On two monitors, move the window first, then center it.
- It's Sequoia and later. On macOS Sonoma 14 or earlier there is no Center command at all — you need a utility or a script (below).
If you want the window back where it was, Fn-Control-R returns it to its previous size and position — the same undo the rest of macOS tiling uses.
Why a centered window is worth having
On a laptop, a centered window is barely different from a maximized one. On a 27-inch display or an ultrawide it is a different way of working: one window in front of your eyes, with nothing pinned to the far edges where you have to turn your head to read. Writers, reviewers and anyone reading long documents tend to land here on their own — a maximized browser on a wide display gives you lines of text too long to follow comfortably.
The catch is that this only works if the width is right. Which is where the built-in command runs out.
Centering at a specific size
Center keeps the size, so the native way to get a centered window at a useful width is two steps:
- Fn-Control-F (Fill) to maximize, then shrink it by hand, or
- resize the window first, then Fn-Control-C.
The resize step has a trick most people never find: hold Option while dragging a window edge and the opposite edge moves too, so the window grows or shrinks symmetrically around its middle. Option-dragging a corner resizes all four sides at once. Start from a centered window and it stays centered while you size it.
It's still mouse work, and it's still a size you eyeball every time. If you want the same centered width on demand, you need something that knows about sizes, not just positions. We cover exact pixel sizes (for screen recordings and the like) in how to resize a window to an exact size.
Rebind the Center shortcut
Fn-Control-C is a three-key chord with the Fn key in it, which some external keyboards don't send. You can give Center any shortcut you like:
- Open System Settings → Keyboard → Keyboard Shortcuts → App Shortcuts and click +.
- Leave Application on All Applications.
- For the menu title, type
Window->Move & Resize->Center. - Click the shortcut field, press your combination, and click Done.
Use the full path rather than just "Center". Text editors like TextEdit and
Pages have their own Center menu item (text alignment), and a bare title
can fire that instead. The -> syntax and the other rules that make App
Shortcuts work are in
how to create a keyboard shortcut for any menu command.
If Fn-Control-C does nothing at all, the usual suspects are covered in
window tiling shortcuts not working.
Every way to center a window, compared
| Method | macOS | Keeps size? | Mouse needed? | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fn-Control-C / Window → Move & Resize → Center | 15 and later | Yes — moves only | No | Built in |
| Option-drag an edge to resize around the center | Any | No — you pick the size | Yes | Built in |
| Shortcuts or AppleScript "move window" script | Any | Your choice | No, once built | Built in, but fiddly on multiple displays |
| Rectangle (Center, Center Half) | 14 and later (older builds for 10.13+) | Center yes; Center Half no | No | Free, open source |
| Let's Tile middle-column layout | 14 and later | No — snaps to a grid width | No | Free (3 × 2 grid); Pro $9.99 once |
Center at a known width with Let's Tile
This is the gap Let's Tile fills. Rather than a shortcut per position, Tile has one: press ⌘↵ and a grid drops over the focused window. You steer a highlight with the arrow keys, grow it with Shift-arrows, and press Return to snap the window into it.
A centered window is just the middle of that grid:
- Free (3 × 2 grid): move to the middle cell and Shift-↓ to span the full height — a centered third, top to bottom. On a 27-inch or wider display that's a comfortable reading column with room either side.
- Pro (any grid): switch to a 4-column grid and the middle two columns give you a centered half; five columns and the middle three give you a centered 60%. Pro remembers a different grid per display, so the ultrawide can have its wide centered column and the laptop screen can stay on halves. More on that in tiling windows on an ultrawide.
Unlike Center, this does set the size — that's the point. You get the same centered width every time without eyeballing a drag. The honest trade: if you want to keep a window exactly the size it is and just nudge it to the middle, Apple's Fn-Control-C is already perfect for that, and on macOS 15 and later there's no reason to replace it. Rectangle is the better pick if you want a free, open-source app with a dedicated "center" key. Tile's case is that centering stops being a separate command to learn — it's one of the layouts on the grid you already use for halves and thirds. The free tier is a complete tiler, not a trial, and Pro is a one-time $9.99 with no account and up to 20 Macs per key.
Frequently asked questions
What is the keyboard shortcut to center a window on Mac?
Fn-Control-C (Globe-Control-C) on macOS Sequoia 15 and later. It's also at Window → Move & Resize → Center.
Why doesn't Center make my window bigger?
By design: Center only changes position. Use Fn-Control-F to fill the screen, or Option-drag an edge to resize the window symmetrically around its middle.
How do I center a window on macOS Sonoma or older?
There's no built-in command before Sequoia. Use a window manager such as Rectangle or Let's Tile (which runs on Sonoma 14), or a Shortcuts or AppleScript script that computes the position.
Can I make windows open centered automatically?
Not system-wide. Apps decide where new windows open, and most reopen where you last left them — so center a window once and many apps will remember it.
How do I center a window on my second monitor?
Move it to that display first (drag it, or use these shortcuts), then press Fn-Control-C. Center works on whichever display the window is on.