BETTERSTAGE

Tutorials / Everyday Workflows

Beginner

Replace macOS Spaces with Stages

macOS Spaces are unnamed, reorder themselves, animate slowly, and lose track of which app lives where. Stages fix all of that: each one is a named workspace that spans every monitor and switches instantly with a keystroke. This tutorial walks through replacing your Spaces-based workflow with stages.

Step by step

  1. 1

    Turn off the Spaces switch animation

    Mission Control's slide animation is the main reason Spaces feels slow. In System Settings > Accessibility > Display, turn on Reduce Motion to remove the slide. You'll still use stages for the actual switching, but this makes any remaining native-Space transitions instant.

  2. 2

    Name your first three stages

    BetterStage seeds three stages on first launch — Work, Comms, and Personal. Open the Stages Bar (move your mouse to the top-center edge, or press Opt+Up) and rename them to match how you actually work, e.g. Code, Mail, and Browse. Names are the whole point: you always know where an app is.

  3. 3

    Assign your open apps to stages

    Switch to the stage where an app belongs (Opt+1, Opt+2, Opt+3) and open or move the app's windows there. To send the focused window to another stage, press Opt+Shift plus the stage number — e.g. Opt+Shift+2 sends it to stage 2. Windows you don't move stay on the current stage.

  4. 4

    Switch with the keyboard instead of Mission Control

    Replace the Control+Arrow Mission Control habit with Opt+1 through Opt+9. Switching is a single composited frame — no slide, no waiting. Opt+Tab and Opt+Shift+Tab cycle to the next and previous stage if you prefer that.

  5. 5

    Add more stages as you need them

    Press Opt+N or use the + button in the Stages Bar to create a new stage. The free tier supports up to three stages; Pro removes the limit so you can have a stage per project or context.

Tips

  • Keep a dedicated Comms stage (Slack, Mail, Messages) so notifications never interrupt a focused stage.
  • If an app's window appears on the wrong stage after a restart, BetterStage re-matches it by fingerprint — just send it back once with Opt+Shift and it sticks.

Frequently asked questions

Do stages replace macOS Spaces completely?

For most workflows, yes. Stages span all monitors, have names, switch instantly, and keep windows assigned across restarts. You can still use native Spaces alongside BetterStage if you want, but most people stop reaching for Mission Control.

Will my windows move around when I switch stages?

No. BetterStage hides windows that belong to other stages rather than rearranging them. When you switch back, every window is exactly where you left it.

Is switching really instant?

Switching uses a brief compositor freeze so the hide/show happens in a single frame — there's no slide animation like Mission Control. It feels instant even with many windows open.

Try it yourself

BetterStage is free for up to three stages with full snap zones, and includes a 10-day trial of every Pro feature — AI Staging, Bento Box auto-tiling, Tabbed Layouts, and Pinned Displays.

Download BetterStage

Related tutorials

Manage Windows Entirely from the Keyboard

Switch stages, snap, send, and tile windows with shortcuts — never touch the mouse.

Separate Work and Personal Apps with Stages

Keep work and personal apps in separate stages so you can switch off cleanly.

Organize Multiple Monitors into Focused Workspaces

Stages span every display, each monitor runs its own mode, and pinned screens stay put.