Raycast Window Layouts vs ShiftPlus (2026): Which One Actually Restores Your Workspace?

Raycast Pro's Window Layouts save window positions. ShiftPlus saves your entire working context — apps, browser profiles, terminal env, macOS Spaces. Here's exactly where one stops and the other starts.

Raycast Pro shipped Window Layouts in 2025 — the ability to save a named arrangement of app positions and restore it with one command. If you're already paying $8/month for Raycast Pro, you may wonder: do I still need a dedicated workspace manager like ShiftPlus?

Short answer: Raycast Window Layouts and ShiftPlus solve different problems. Raycast snapshots where your windows sit. ShiftPlus remembers which apps, profiles, and environments belong together — and brings them back even after a restart. Most power users end up using both.

Here's the honest breakdown of what each tool does, where each one stops, and when it makes sense to combine them.

At a glance

What Raycast Window Layouts does well

Raycast Window Layouts is the right tool if your problem is window geometry: you want editor-left, browser-right, terminal-bottom-right — and you want to snap back into that arrangement instantly from the keyboard.

The workflow is simple: arrange your open windows exactly how you want them, run "Create Window Layout" in Raycast, give it a name. Later, typing that name in Raycast restores every window to its saved position in one keystroke. No mouse drag, no manual resizing.

If you're already a Raycast user, this integrates into a workflow you already trust. The commands feel native. The keyboard-first approach matches how Raycast works everywhere else. For single-Mac, single-monitor setups where you regularly arrange the same apps in the same positions, Window Layouts handles the job well.

Raycast's window snapping is also excellent on the free tier. Halves, thirds, quarters, fullscreen, center, and multi-display movement are all available without a Pro subscription. If you only need to snap windows — not save named arrangements — Raycast free is already a complete solution and costs nothing.

Where Raycast Window Layouts stops

The limitation that matters most: Raycast Window Layouts save positions, not context. Three gaps expose this in practice.

1. They don't survive a restart (or even an app quit)

Raycast records the coordinates where your windows sit at save time. If you quit an app — or if your Mac restarts — those windows are gone. When you apply the layout later, Raycast repositions whatever windows happen to be open. If the app you want isn't running, the layout skips it silently.

This means Raycast Window Layouts are useful for rearranging an open session, not for restoring a session you closed.

2. They don't know about your context

A Raycast Window Layout has no concept of which Chrome profile belongs to that workspace, which .env file your terminal should load, or which macOS Space each app should live on. It moves a window to a pixel coordinate. Everything that makes a window meaningful to a specific project — environment, credentials, profile — lives outside Raycast's scope.

3. Stage Manager friction

With Stage Manager enabled, Raycast Window Layouts only see the frontmost window in each group. Apple's grouping layer sits between Raycast and individual windows. The Raycast manual suggests a workaround (holding ⇧ to group apps before applying), but it's friction that dedicated workspace managers handle transparently.

What ShiftPlus does differently

ShiftPlus operates one layer above window management. Instead of recording pixel coordinates, it records a workspace: the apps that belong to a project, the browser profiles associated with it, the terminal environment variables that should be active, and which macOS Space each app lives on.

Switch to a workspace — from a hotkey, from the menu bar, or via the ShiftPlus Raycast extension — and ShiftPlus:

1. Opens apps that aren't running yet
2. Switches to (or creates) the right macOS Space
3. Launches the correct Chrome/Firefox/Arc profile
4. Injects environment variables (AWS_PROFILE, .env contents) into your terminal
5. Restores window positions for apps that were already placed

This works after a restart. It works after you close every app. You can define a "Client A" workspace that opens VS Code, a Chrome window in the Client A Google account, Terminal with the right AWS profile, and Slack — all with one keypress, even on a fresh boot.

ShiftPlus is $24 one-time. Three months of Raycast Pro ($24) covers the same nominal cost, but the feature sets don't overlap — they're solving different problems at different layers.

The restart test

The most practical way to think about the difference:

• Raycast Window Layout: "Move these open windows back to where I had them."
• ShiftPlus workspace: "Bring back my entire working environment for this project, regardless of what's currently open."

Shut down your Mac tonight and try each one tomorrow morning. Raycast has nothing to restore because the windows don't exist yet. ShiftPlus opens every app, sets every profile, loads every environment variable, and places each window on the right Space — from a cold start.

Pricing reality

Raycast Pro is worth $8/month if you use its AI features, cloud sync, custom themes, and AI commands — the window layout feature is one of many reasons to subscribe, not the main one. If Window Layouts were the only Pro feature you wanted, the math doesn't hold up well against a $24 one-time tool.

The best setup: use both

Raycast and ShiftPlus are not competitors. ShiftPlus ships a native Raycast extension — free for every ShiftPlus user — with three commands:

• Switch Workspace — pick any saved ShiftPlus workspace from Raycast root search
• Open Quick Link — open any quick link from any workspace without switching context
• Activate Last Workspace — toggle back to the previously active workspace

This means you can trigger a full ShiftPlus workspace restore — apps launching, profiles switching, environments loading — entirely from the Raycast command bar. You stay keyboard-first. Raycast handles the launcher layer. ShiftPlus handles the context layer.

Many developers run this setup: Raycast free (or Pro for AI) for launching apps, searching, and running scripts; ShiftPlus for context-switching between the 3–5 projects that make up their actual work. The two tools don't step on each other.

When to use Raycast Window Layouts (and skip ShiftPlus)

• You only need to rearrange windows that are already open
• You work on one project at a time with no context-switching
• Your workflow doesn't involve multiple browser profiles or terminal environments
• You're a Raycast Pro subscriber getting value from AI and cloud sync, and window layouts are a convenient bonus

When to use ShiftPlus (and Raycast free tier is fine)

• You switch between 2+ distinct projects during the day
• You use multiple Chrome, Firefox, or Arc profiles for different clients or contexts
• You want your workspace back after a restart with zero manual setup
• You work across different terminal environments (AWS_PROFILE, project .env files)
• You use multiple macOS Spaces and want apps assigned to the right one automatically

When to use both

• You already use Raycast daily and want to trigger ShiftPlus workspace switches from the command bar
• You want Raycast's AI + launcher features and ShiftPlus's full workspace restoration
• You're a developer who switches between client projects, needs clean environment separation, and wants everything keyboard-driven

FAQ

Does Raycast Pro replace a workspace manager like ShiftPlus?

No. Raycast Pro's Window Layouts save window positions for currently open apps. They do not launch apps, switch browser profiles, inject terminal environment variables, assign apps to macOS Spaces, or survive a restart. ShiftPlus does all of these. They solve different problems at different layers, and many users run both with the official ShiftPlus Raycast extension.

Do Raycast Window Layouts survive a Mac restart?

No. Raycast Window Layouts record where open windows are positioned. If you restart your Mac, close the apps, or they crash, the layout has no windows to restore. When you re-apply the layout, Raycast repositions whatever is already open — it cannot relaunch apps that have quit. For post-restart workspace restoration, a dedicated workspace manager like ShiftPlus is needed.

Can I use Raycast to trigger ShiftPlus workspaces?

Yes. ShiftPlus ships a free Raycast extension available in the Raycast Store. It adds three commands: Switch Workspace, Open Quick Link, and Activate Last Workspace. You can switch your full ShiftPlus workspace context — apps, profiles, environments — entirely from the Raycast command bar without touching your mouse.

Is Raycast Pro worth $8/month for window management alone?

Probably not. Raycast free already includes all the window snapping most users need — halves, thirds, quarters, fullscreen, multi-display movement. The Pro-only Window Layouts feature adds saved arrangements, which is useful, but $96/year for that feature alone is expensive when Moom ($9.99) and Rectangle Pro ($9.99) do the same for a one-time fee. Raycast Pro's value comes from its AI integration, cloud sync, and custom themes, not from window management specifically.

What's the difference between Raycast Window Layouts and Moom's layout snapshots?

Both save named window arrangements. The key differences: Moom uses a custom grid editor for non-standard proportions; Raycast integrates with a launcher you may already use. Neither survives a restart or manages app context. Both are pure window-positioning tools. For a deeper comparison, see the Moom alternatives guide.

Does ShiftPlus work without Raycast?

Yes. ShiftPlus is a standalone macOS app with its own menu bar interface, global hotkey switcher, and direct keyboard shortcuts. Raycast integration is optional — it's a convenience layer for users who prefer to trigger everything from the Raycast command bar.

Bottom line

Raycast Window Layouts: snapshot tool for rearranging open windows. Best as a free-tier add-on for users already in the Raycast ecosystem. Does not restore app state after quitting or restarting.

ShiftPlus: workspace context manager. Remembers which apps, browser profiles, terminal environments, and macOS Spaces belong to a project — and restores all of it on demand, including after a cold boot.

The question isn't which one to pick. It's whether your problem is window positions (Raycast) or working environment (ShiftPlus). Most developers who context-switch between projects need both — and ShiftPlus's native Raycast extension means you don't have to choose an interface.

Try ShiftPlus free →