✨ Desktop Utility

Measure anything on your screen with
pixel-perfect precision.

A powerful glassmorphic desktop utility for pixel-accurate on-screen measurements. Our ruler overlay tool is designed for designers, developers, and creators who demand exact alignments and precise proportions. Whether you're working with a digital screen ruler or need professional display calibration tools, Ruler Overlay delivers professional-grade measurement capabilities.

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macOS Mac App Store Windows Microsoft Store Linux Linux (Coming Soon)

Watch the Introduction

Short walkthrough to get started with Ruler Overlay.

Getting Started

Have Ruler Overlay up and running in seconds.

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1. Installation

Download Ruler Overlay from the Store. Native distribution ensures seamless updates and a secure installation process.

macOS Mac App Store
Windows Microsoft Store
Linux Linux (Coming Soon)
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2. Precision Calibration

For real-world accuracy (centimeters, inch), click Calibrate and use one of three methods: measure two known points on the ruler, click a quick-fill chip (credit card, A4 paper) to pre-fill the distance instantly, or enter your display's diagonal size (e.g. 27″) to let the app derive the exact PPI — ideal for external monitors with incorrect OS DPI. For standard digital work, pixel measurements (px) work perfectly out of the box.

Need a new baseline? In Linear Mode, hover near the delimiter/tick edge and drag horizontally (or use your mouse wheel) to shift the zero point instantly. Delimiters can be scrolled and will automatically snap to the ruler edges and the center when the green guide line is visible.

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3. Compact Mode

Enable Compact Mode for a slimmer, less distracting ruler with clearer ticks and a compact floating toolbar that reduces visual chrome while you work.

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4. Measurement Shortcuts

Open the measurement shortcut hint overlay to learn quick keys for starting/stopping measurements and nudging points. Arrow keys move points precisely; hold Shift for larger steps or Alt/Option for finer steps. Note: in px mode each arrow press is 1 pixel.

Core Features & Usage

Everything you need for precise digital measurements.

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Measurement Modes

Switch between powerful tools tailored for different layout needs. Our screen ruler offers multiple modes to suit any workflow:

  • Linear Mode: Standard absolute measurement with resizable ruler edges for quick dimension checks.
  • Linear Zero-Point Adjustment: Drag or scroll near the tick/delimiter area to move where measurement starts without resizing. Perfect for measuring from custom reference points on your screen.
  • EKE Mode: An advanced Set Square mode featuring orthogonal alignment guides, x/y coordinate readouts, and vertical guide lines for complex geometric layouts.
  • Grid Mode: A visual spacing guide with adaptive grid spacing for layout rhythm checks, proportional alignment verification, and pixel-grid snapping workflows.
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Precision Calibration

Achieve real-world accuracy with three professional calibration methods for any monitor setup:

  • Two-point: Click two points on the ruler and enter the known distance — our intelligent algorithm computes the exact scale factor automatically.
  • Known-object quick-fill: Select a common object chip (credit card: 85.6mm, A4 paper: 210mm, etc.) to instantly pre-fill reference distance. No physical ruler required for calibration.
  • Display diagonal: Enter your monitor's exact diagonal size (e.g., 27" or 68.6cm). Ruler derives accurate PPI from your screen resolution, automatically fixing incorrect DPI on external monitors with unreliable EDID data.
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Smooth 360° Rotation

Grab the rotation handle to spin your ruler freely. Features buttery smooth mouse gestures, magnetic snapping around common angle increments (15°), and fine control between snap points for precise diagonal alignment work.

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Two-Point Distance Measurement Tool

Place two measurement points anywhere on the ruler overlay to measure straight-line distance with your current unit (px, cm, or inch). Works seamlessly in both normal and Compact Mode. A third click instantly starts a new measurement. Built-in keyboard control lets you nudge points with arrow keys (1 px per press in px mode or 0.01 unit in other units), hold Shift for ×10 steps, or Alt/Option for finer ×0.1 adjustments.

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Instant Patch Updates via Shorebird

When a new patch is available, an update button appears in the toolbar — tap to download in the background, then tap again to restart and apply. No App Store wait times, no manual reinstall required (only applies to minor patches). Built with Shorebird code push for rapid, secure OTA updates.

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Keyboard Shortcuts & Gesture Hints

Discover common actions via the built-in shortcut hint overlay (toggleable). Use keyboard shortcuts to start measurements, cancel with Esc, and precisely nudge measurement points. Full gesture support for mouse and trackpad interactions.

Tailored to your aesthetic and workflow

Ruler Overlay isn't just functional; it's beautifully designed to blend seamlessly with your existing workflow. The glassmorphic UI adapts to any desktop environment while maintaining always-on-top visibility above all your design tools.

  • Glassmorphic UI Design: Beautiful frosted glass effects, subtle gradients, and smooth animations that won't distract from your work. The modern aesthetic complements popular IDE themes including VS Code Dark+, IntelliJ Darcula, and Xcode Default.
  • Always on Top (Above All Other Windows): Maintains Z-order priority across applications. Your measurements stay visible whether you're working in Figma, Adobe XD, Sketch, Blender, Unity, or any other creative software.
  • Adjustable Appearance: Fine-tune the ruler's visual presence with opacity control (1% steps) plus combined color controls for both ruler foreground lines and background blur. Keyboard shortcuts [ and ] provide quick adjustments without leaving your workflow.
  • Smart Persistence: Automatically saves your exact window size, rotation angle, linear zero-point offset, and all UI preferences to local storage. The window recenters on reopen instead of restoring potentially problematic last positions. Calibration data persists per-display for multi-monitor setups.

Changelog

Release notes & fixes.

Fixed

  • Tapping the rotation handle without dragging no longer moves the ruler.
  • Smoother rotation drags with reduced lag.

Added

  • Added a copy button beside the distance label during measurement to quickly copy the current value.

Improved

  • Improved website discoverability for search engines and AI assistants with richer structured data, expanded sitemap entries, and dedicated LLM-readable index files.

Added

  • Move the setting items on the toolbar to the new area (toggle with the setting button).

Fixed

  • Angle visualization now displays only positive values without negative signs.

Highlights

  • Improve performances.

Highlights

  • Added a single appearance control beside the opacity button that adjusts both ruler foreground and background colors.

Fixes

  • Stabilized EKE corner rotation.

Fixes

  • Ruler now opens centered on launch instead of restoring the previous window position from the last session.

Highlights

  • Improved macOS multi-display runtime scaling by blending active-display and primary-display PPI estimates when same-scale displays report sharply different physical sizes, reducing inaccurate external ruler sizing from bad metadata.

Fixes

  • Fixed multi-display calibration restoration so switching away and then back to a display now reapplies the saved calibration immediately in-session instead of only after restarting the app.
  • Fixed linear-mode fit resizing so Fit to Screen and Fit to Toolbar now preserve zero-point intent consistently: snapped zero points stay on left/center/right slots, and unsnapped zero points stay on their side of center while remaining in bounds when the ruler is fit.

Notes

  • v1.2.2 and v1.2.3 have been skipped.

Highlights

  • EKE measurement guides now show clearer x/y coordinate readouts from measurement points when the set square is at 90°.
  • Change from Reset Size to Fit to Toolbar for better clarity.

Improvements

  • In Linear Mode, when resizing the ruler while the zero point is snapped (to the left edge, center, or right edge), the delimiter stays locked to that snapped position for the entire resize gesture. Unsnapped zero points continue to follow proportional behavior.
  • Toolbar Fit to Screen and Fit to Toolbar buttons are now context-aware — each only appears when its action is meaningful, and both appear together when the ruler is at a custom intermediate size.
  • Fit to Toolbar now snaps the ruler to the exact minimum width needed to display the full toolbar, eliminating wasted space.
  • Safety confirmations: Added confirmation dialogs for Reset Scale (calibration reset) and closing while a calibration or measurement is active.
  • In Linear Mode, the zero delimiter and zero label now switch to a highlight color while dragging, making the zero point much easier to track.
  • Removed the Reset Rotation toolbar button — rotation now resets automatically when switching modes.

Fixes

  • Reduced intermittent delay when dragging the left resize handle in Linear Mode.
  • In EKE mode, Fit to Screen now applies extra safety padding to avoid clipping near screen edges.
  • EKE grid lines now anchor to the pivot zero point so the grid stays aligned with the ruler origin.
  • Fit to Screen now centers using visible screen bounds (including display offsets), so the ruler appears at the true screen center.
  • Linear ruler labels no longer show minus signs on the left side of zero, reducing visual clutter and keeping delimiter labels consistent while dragging the zero point.
  • Fixed Windows app exit behavior so toolbar Close and update Restart actions now close the desktop window reliably.

Highlights

  • Simpler, adaptive toolbar — actions are easier to find and the toolbar adapts to small widths.
  • Clearer measurement overlays and labels for faster, less error-prone readings.
  • Three calibration methods: classic two-point, known-object quick-fill chips (credit card, A4), and display diagonal entry for reliable inch/cm on any external monitor.
  • Better multi‑display handling and improved unit accuracy across monitors.
  • Easier EKE (set‑square) measurements with improved layout and alignment guides.
  • Finer opacity control (1% steps) so you can tune visibility precisely while working.
  • More reliable zero‑point and snapping behavior in linear mode.
  • The calibrated physical unit is now labeled cm (Centimeters) throughout the app, replacing the previous u label for clarity.

Improvements

  • Cleaner visuals and more readable labels across the app.
  • Smoother button and hover interactions for faster workflows.
  • Opacity adjustments now behave consistently across UI components.
  • Compact mode and rotation feel smoother and more predictable.

Fixes

  • Fixed toolbar sizing to avoid hidden buttons on narrow rulers.
  • Fixed rotation initialization issues that could cause misalignment.
  • Multiple layout fixes to prevent clipping and improve text visibility.
  • Updated privacy wording for clarity.

Highlights

  • Compact Mode: slimmer, low‑chrome ruler with clearer ticks and a compact floating toolbar.
  • Two‑Point Distance Measurement: place two points to measure straight‑line distance; supports keyboard nudging.
  • Measurement shortcut hint overlay and keyboard shortcut handling, with a visibility toggle.
  • Vertical guide line support in EKE mode for improved orthogonal alignment.
  • Adaptive grid spacing and aligned grid lines to the ruler zero point for better accuracy across units and scales.
  • Opacity control: toolbar popover slider (auto-dismisses when clicking outside) and keyboard shortcuts (`[` / `]`) to quickly adjust ruler transparency; persisted across restarts.
  • Extended unit button visibility in EKE mode and a refreshed compact mode toggle icon.

Improvements

  • Zero‑point snapping: refined snapping behavior and sticky magnet handling to reduce accidental snaps.
  • Rotation & EKE: improved anchor logic, angle‑snapping tweaks, rotation persistence, and more stable pointer/gesture behavior.
  • Rendering & layout: updated ruler dimensions, grid drawing, padding/margins, and text positioning for better readability and usability.

Fixes

  • Keyboard shortcuts: more reliable handling and consistent behavior across modes.
  • Selected angle initialization and reset logic.
  • Various rendering and test fixes (grid alpha, sticky snap target handling).

Highlights

Improvements

  • The rotation of the vertical ruler in EKE mode is now smoother.
  • The ruler can now be moved beyond the top edge of the screen.

Highlights

  • Initial release

Improvements