Stage Manager on Mac: how to use it, and how to turn it off
Updated October 29, 2026
Stage Manager puts the app you're using in the middle of the screen and lines up your other windows on the left. Here's how to turn it on or off, how to group windows, and when something else works better.
How to turn Stage Manager on or off
- Click Control Center in the menu bar (the two switches icon).
- Click Stage Manager. Click it again to turn it off.
You can also go to System Settings › Desktop & Dock and turn Stage Manager on or off there.
Want a keyboard shortcut? Open System Settings › Keyboard › Keyboard Shortcuts, choose Mission Control and set one for Stage Manager.
How Stage Manager works
- The window you're using sits in the middle. Your other recent apps wait in a strip on the left.
- Click an app in the strip to bring it to the middle. The one you were using moves to the strip.
- Each display has its own Stage Manager, so a second monitor keeps its own set.
Group windows together
Need two apps side by side, like a browser and your notes? Drag a window from the strip onto the middle of the screen. Now they come and go together. To break up the group, drag a window back to the strip.
Stage Manager settings worth changing
Open System Settings › Desktop & Dock and look at the options next to Stage Manager:
- Show recent apps in Stage Manager: turn off to hide the strip on the left. Move the pointer to the left edge to show it again.
- Show Items: choose whether the files on your desktop show while Stage Manager is on.
- Show windows from an application: All at Once brings every window of that app to the middle; One at a Time brings only the last one.
Stage Manager or multiple desktops?
Stage Manager is good for switching between a handful of windows on one screen. It's less good when you want whole setups: work apps on one desktop, chat on another, a game with nothing else running. That's what multiple desktops (Spaces) are for, and you can use both at once.
What Stage Manager doesn't do
- It doesn't close or pause apps. Everything keeps running and using memory.
- It doesn't put your windows back where they were tomorrow, or after you quit an app.
- It doesn't switch your Focus, sound or browser tabs.
Switch your whole setup, not just windows
A MacModes mode opens the apps you want on the desktops you want, closes or pauses the rest, and sets Focus and more. Home puts every app, window and tab back where it was.
Try MacModes free for 7 days