Docs / Monitors
Monitor Management
BetterStage treats your entire multi-monitor setup as a single workspace. Stages span all connected displays, so switching a stage hides and shows windows on every monitor simultaneously.
Multi-Monitor Behavior
A stage is not tied to a single display. When you switch stages with Opt+1 through Opt+9, BetterStage hides every window belonging to the outgoing stage and reveals every window belonging to the incoming stage — across all monitors at once.
- Windows stay on the monitor where you placed them. Switching stages never moves a window to a different display.
- Tiling layouts (Bento Box) are computed per-monitor, so each display gets its own independent grid.
- Snap zones work on every connected monitor. Drag a window to the edge of any display to trigger a snap zone.
Pinning a Monitor
Sometimes you want a monitor to stay untouched — a dedicated reference screen, a video call display, or a monitoring dashboard. You can pin individual monitors so they remain visible across all stages.
- Open Settings > Pin Monitor.
- Toggle on any monitor you want to pin.
- Windows on pinned monitors remain visible regardless of which stage is active.
Pinned monitors are not affected by stage switches. Bento Box auto-tiling works independently on pinned monitors — you can enable it for a pinned display without affecting your staged monitors.
Display ID Persistence
BetterStage identifies monitors by their macOS display ID, a unique identifier assigned by the system. This means your monitor configurations — including exclusion settings and tiling layouts — are remembered even when a monitor is disconnected and reconnected later.
- Unplug a monitor, reconnect it, and your settings are restored automatically.
- Display IDs are stable across reboots for physically connected monitors.
- If macOS assigns a new display ID (rare, but possible after driver updates), you may need to re-configure that monitor in Settings.
Hot-Plugging
BetterStage detects monitor connect and disconnect events in real time. There is no need to restart the app when you plug in or remove a display.
- Monitor connected: BetterStage picks up the new display, restores any saved settings for its display ID, and begins managing windows on it.
- Monitor disconnected: Windows that were on the removed display are reassigned to remaining monitors by macOS. BetterStage updates its internal state and continues managing the active displays.
- Tiling layouts are recalculated automatically when the monitor configuration changes.