Window Manager for Power Users

Every project gets its own stage — a workspace that arranges itself across every monitor, one keystroke away.

Download freeGet Pro License
Free to download · 10 days of Pro included
v1.3.4Changelog →
Install with Homebrew
brew tap terrytz/betterstage https://github.com/terrytz/BetterStage
brew install --cask betterstage
Live demo
“seems like it's exactly what I've been looking for”

u/yestimishere

“I’ve been using this since the beginning and love it. The developer has done a great job at fixing bugs. It’s truly unique.”

u/Latter_Pen2421

Read more user stories
macOS 14 Sonoma or later·Apple Silicon & Intel·10-day Pro trial — no card
BUILT FOR POWER USERS

Every stage arranges itself.

Every monitor in a stage gets its own Window Mode — Bento Box, Tabbed Layout, or Supercharged Native. Switch projects and the whole desk comes back arranged exactly as you left it, not a blank desktop like Spaces. Pick a stage:

⧉Supercharged Native Mode
Messages
Notes
▦Bento Box Mode
VS Code
Safari
Terminal
▤Tabbed Layout Mode
Terminal
Opt+123Switch instantly, no animation — each stage keeps its own Window Modes.
WINDOW MODES

3 ways to lay out every screen.

Give every monitor its own Window Mode. Every stage remembers it.

Supercharged Native Mode

FREE

Free-floating windows, with snapping and shortcuts on top. Best for screens you like to arrange by hand.

BetterStage Bento Box arranging three real application windows into a tidy adaptive gridREAL APP CAPTURE

Bento Box Mode

PRO

Auto-tiles every window into a tidy grid — best for keeping all of them in view at once.

BetterStage Tabbed Layout showing real application windows assigned to saved panes with tabsREAL APP CAPTURE

Tabbed Layout Mode

PRO

Stacks windows behind tabs in saved panes — best when one screen has more windows than fit.

Switch a monitor's mode from the Snap Wheel or the BetterStage menu bar.

WORKSPACES · NEW IN v1.3.0

Your whole desk comes back.

BetterStage remembers more than window positions. It protects your stages, every monitor's Window Mode, Bento Box tiles, and Tabbed Layout panes as one complete workspace.

Automatic Workspace Continuity
Free — recover after restarting BetterStage, waking your Mac, or reconnecting displays.
Save & Load Workspaces
Pro — keep named arrangements for your desk, travel setup, presentations, or different projects.
Offline Display Shelf
A disconnected display stays safely preserved until it returns or you move its workspace elsewhere.
See how Workspaces & Continuity work
Load Workspace
Choose a complete arrangement
PRO
Docked Development
3 displays · 6 stages
Travel Setup
1 display · 3 stages
↻
Workspace Continuity protected
Latest desk checkpoint stored locally
FREE
SNAP WHEEL

Every control, one flick away.

Flick the trackpad — or middle-click — and a radial menu blooms right under your cursor. Snap a window, switch a mode, jump to a stage, all without reaching for a shortcut.

Two rings, four submenus
Halves and quarters out front; layouts, modes, stages and retile a flick deeper.
Triggered the way you want
A trackpad gesture, a middle-click, or a hotkey — your call.
Yours to rearrange
Remap or hide any slot so the wheel holds exactly what you use.
The real BetterStage Snap Wheel open over a Safari windowREAL APP CAPTURE
KEYBOARD

Every action, a keystroke away.

Prefer the keyboard? Switch stages, send windows, snap, and retile without lifting your hands. Every shortcut is rebindable, with ANSI and European layout presets built in.

STAGES
Switch stageOpt+1–9
Send window to stageOpt+Shift+1–9
Cycle stagesOpt+Tab
New stageOpt+N
WINDOWS
Retile active screenOpt+↓
Cycle Window ModeOpt+B
Focus windowCmd+Opt+J/K/I/L
Toggle Stages BarOpt+↑
SNAPPING
Snap halvesCtrl+Opt+←/→
Snap thirdsCtrl+Opt+A/S/D
Snap quartersCtrl+Opt+U/I/J/K
MaximizeCtrl+Opt+Return
See every shortcut
AI STAGING PRO

Describe your workspace. AI builds it.

Write a plain-English Recipe, @-mention the apps and monitors you mean, and BetterStage previews the exact plan — the best Window Mode for every screen — before a single window moves.

Preview and approve the plan before anything moves
Save multiple Recipes for different workflows
Your own API key, a local model (Ollama, LM Studio), or managed BetterStage AI
Works with 25 providers — see the full list
BetterStage AI Staging panel: a plain-English Recipe organizing apps into named stages across three monitors, with per-monitor Window Modes and rules, ready to arrange windows.

Recipes are just plain text

A Recipe is Markdown you write in plain English. Headings group your work, @-mentions reference apps and monitors, and every line is an instruction BetterStage follows. Here’s the anatomy of one:

recipe.md
## Projects & Stages
- Dev — signals: vscode, terminal — @VS Code + @Terminal on @main monitor
- Comms — signals: slack, discord — @Slack on @side monitor
- Misc — anything else lands here
## Window modes
- @main monitor uses Tabbed Layout: Split View
- @side monitor uses Bento Box
## Rules
- @Chat windows always on @side monitor
  • ## Section
    Groups your Recipe — Projects & Stages, Window modes, or Rules.
  • - Stage
    One line per project. “signals:” lists app-name hints used to match windows.
  • @ mention
    Reference an app, window, monitor, or group — press @ in the app to insert one.
  • uses [Mode]
    Set a per-monitor Window Mode: Bento Box, Tabbed Layout, or Native.
  • Rules
    Standing instructions that re-apply every time you run the Recipe.
MORE FEATURES

The toolkit around Window Modes

The smaller touches that make BetterStage feel built for you.

Workspace Continuity

Recover stages and layouts after restart, wake, or reconnecting displays.

Learn more

Multi-Monitor Stages

One stage spans every display — switch and all screens change at once.

Learn more
16ms

Instant Switching

Swap projects with no animation, no matter how many windows are open.

Learn more

Layout Presets

Split, Four Corners, Focus + Stack — or save your own per stage.

Learn more
Opt+1–9

Custom Shortcuts

Rebind every action, with ANSI and European presets built in.

Learn more

Pinned Displays

Pin a monitor so Slack or docs stay put while the rest swap.

Learn more

Stages Bar

A visual overview — drag any window onto a stage to assign it.

Learn more
BS
3/7
▣ 12

Custom Menu Bar

Choose and reorder the logo, Stage index, window count, Stage name, and Window Modes.

Learn more
✦BetterStage AI
Hosted · no API key

BetterStage AI

Managed AI Staging, no API key — 200 credits/mo with a free trial.

Learn more
PERFORMANCE

Native. Light. Private.

No Electron, no SIP disable. Lighter than a browser tab.

<15MB

App bundle size

<80MB

Memory · 10 windows, 4 monitors

<1%

CPU at idle

<10%

Peak CPU during a switch

macOS Sonoma+

Built for macOS 14 and later

100% Native

Swift & AppKit, light on resources

One Permission

Just Accessibility — no Input Monitoring, no Screen Recording

Privacy-First

No telemetry, no data collection

Tested on M1 Max MacBook Pro

AT A GLANCE

BetterStage gives every project its own stage — a named workspace that snaps into place across every monitor the instant you switch.

BetterStage at a glance

What it is
Native macOS window & workspace manager (Swift/AppKit, not Electron)
Requirements
macOS 14 (Sonoma) or later · Accessibility permission only · no SIP disable
Switching speed
Under 16ms, with no animation
Workspaces
9 named stages, each spanning every connected monitor
Tiling
Bento Box auto-tiling, 15 snap zones, and a radial Snap Wheel
AI Staging
Arrange windows from a plain-language prompt — bring your own API key, or use managed BetterStage AI
Price
Free tier (3 stages) · Pro lifetime $19.99–$49.99, no subscription · optional BetterStage AI add-on
COMPARE

How it stacks up

What the built-in tools and tiling managers leave out.

Nine named stages instead of an unlabeled recent-app strip. No Spaces transition, no persistent screen-edge UI.

BetterStage
Stage Manager
Spaces
yabai
AeroSpace
Named workspaces
Yes
No
No
Yes
Yes
One workspace spans every monitor
Yes
Partial
Partial
Partial
Partial
Automatic workspace recovery
Yes
No
No
No
No
Save & load complete workspaces
Yes
No
No
Partial
Partial
Auto-tiling (Bento Box)
Yes
No
No
Yes
Yes
Tabbed window panes
Yes
Partial
No
No
No
Switch with no animation
Yes
No
No
Yes
Yes
Snap Wheel & mouse-first controls
Yes
No
No
No
No
Fully rebindable shortcuts
Yes
No
Partial
Yes
Yes
Works with SIP enabled
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
AI window staging
Yes
No
No
No
No
App routing (auto-assign apps to stages)
Yes
No
No
No
No
See more comparisonsFeature-by-feature, or read why it’s the best macOS window manager.
FROM THE COMMUNITY

Built for demanding Mac setups.

Real feedback from people who care about fast workflows, flexible layouts, and keeping a lot of windows under control.

REDDIT
“My new must have app an all my macs! Its soo smart! Love it and never want to miss it anymore ❤️”
u/FunPoet625

BetterStage user

View comment ↗
REDDIT
“As someone who developed a window manager app back in the day (Windownaut), this looks super awesome! Congrats!”

Hisham K.

Creator of Windownaut

View comment ↗
REDDIT
“I’ve been using this since the beginning and love it. The developer has done a great job at fixing bugs. It’s truly unique.”
u/Latter_Pen2421

BetterStage user since launch

View comment ↗
REDDIT
“I love it. I started to work on something similar but it's really hard without disabling SIP and you have to put a lot of work into it. Nice that you have keyboard navigation running as well.”
u/c0desurfer

macOS developer

View comment ↗
Try BetterStage free10 days of Pro included · no card required
PRICING

Pay once. Yours forever.

10 days of Pro free with every download. Keep the free tier forever, own Pro for life, or subscribe to add managed AI.

Free
$0forever

Everything you need to switch projects fast.

Download free
✓3 named stages, forever
✓Automatic Workspace Continuity
✓15 snap zones + Snap Wheel
✓Fully customizable shortcuts
✓Full multi-monitor support
✓Supercharged Native Mode
LIFETIME
Pro
$19.99one-time

Unlock everything. 10-day trial with every download.

✓Everything in Free
✓Save & load named Workspaces
✓All 9 named stages
✓App Routing — auto-assign apps to stages
✓Bento Box auto-tiling
✓Tabbed Layout Mode
✓AI Staging (your own API key)
✓Pinned Displays
✦
BetterStage AI
SUBSCRIPTION
Every Pro feature, plus managed AI Staging — no API key needed. 200 credits a month, runs on our servers, cancel anytime.
$4.99/mo · or $39/yr
FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Stages, SIP, monitors and AI — answered.

Yes. BetterStage replaces macOS Stage Manager with named workspaces (stages) that span every monitor, full keyboard shortcuts, and no forced animation or wasted screen space.

Stop managing windows. Start finishing work.

Download free, try Pro for 10 days, and give every project a desk of its own.

Download free for macOSGet Pro License

No credit card to try · 14-day money-back on Pro · macOS 14 (Sonoma) or later