How to use Stage Manager on a Mac

2 min read · 6 steps · Updated 2 October 2026

Stage Manager keeps the app you are working in at the centre of the screen and lines up your other recent apps as small pictures on the left. It suits people who lose windows behind other windows.

These steps are for recent versions of macOS, where the settings app is called System Settings. The pictures are our own screenshots from macOS Tahoe 26 on a MacBook Pro.

Step by step

1. 

   Open System Settings and click Desktop & Dock

   Click the Apple menu in the top left corner, then System Settings. Desktop & Dock is in the sidebar. You may need to scroll down to see it.

   Done

2. 

   Turn on Stage Manager

   Go to the section called Desktop & Stage Manager and switch Stage Manager on. In the picture it is still off. Your open windows move aside straight away.

   Done

3. Switch between apps

   Click an app on the left side of the screen. It moves to the centre and the app you were using takes its place on the left.

   Done

4. Put two apps together

   Drag an app from the left into the centre. The two now form a group and come and go together. To split them, drag one back to the left.

   Done

5. Arrange the windows in the centre

   You can move, resize and overlap the windows in the centre as usual.

   Done

6. Turn it off the fast way

   Click Control Centre in the menu bar and click the Stage Manager button. The same button turns it on again.

   Done

Good to know

If the list on the left gets in the way, switch off Show recent apps in Stage Manager. The list then appears only when you move the pointer to the left edge of the screen.

The setting for showing windows from an app lets you choose All at Once or One at a Time.

If Stage Manager cannot be switched on, turn on Displays have separate Spaces. It is in the Mission Control section of the same Desktop & Dock page.

To keep the button in the menu bar, open Control Centre, click Edit Controls and add Stage Manager from the Desktop & Finder group.

For two windows side by side, see how to tile windows side by side on a Mac.

In short: System Settings, Desktop & Dock, Stage Manager on. Click an app on the left to switch.