Does Stage Manager save window layouts?
No. It keeps groups of windows together during a session, but there is no way to save a named layout and restore it later.
Stage Manager guide
Does Stage Manager save window layouts?
Not in a way you can save and restore. Stage Manager keeps groups of windows together while you work, but it has no named layouts, and its groups and positions can reset after a restart, an update or a monitor change. If you want a setup you can bring back on demand, you need something that saves it.
Short version: Stage Manager is for focusing on one group at a time. If what you want is the same windows back on the same screens every day, turn Stage Manager off and save a SnapState workspace instead.
What does Stage Manager remember?
Stage Manager keeps the current app or group in the center and recent ones in a strip at the side. Groups you build by dragging windows together stay together while you use the Mac. It does not offer a way to save a group under a name, and it does not promise to bring groups back after a restart or a display change.
Why do Stage Manager groups and windows get lost?
Groups live in the current session. A restart, a logout, or a monitor that disconnects during sleep can break them up, and windows can come back at different sizes. If your external monitor is involved, see why Mac windows move after sleep.
How do you get a layout you can restore?
SnapState is a Mac menu bar app that saves a named workspace: every window with its display, position and size, the apps to relaunch, the Space each app was on, full screen windows, and all open tabs in Safari, Chrome, Edge, Brave, Arc and Chromium. You restore it from the menu bar, with a Control-Command-1 to 6 shortcut, or automatically on wake, when a monitor connects or disconnects, or when a matching display layout appears.
SnapState works with the regular desktop and Spaces. We have not tested it with Stage Manager turned on, so we suggest turning Stage Manager off in Control Center or System Settings, Desktop & Dock before you save and restore. Then arrange your windows, save the workspace, and restore it whenever you want that setup back. See how to save a window layout on Mac.
Save a layout once, restore it any time. The 40 second demo shows a workspace saved from the SnapState menu bar and restored with one click: apps relaunch and windows go back to their saved displays, positions and sizes.
Stage Manager or Spaces?
If you like switching between groups, Spaces does a similar job and SnapState restores apps to their Spaces. Put each project on its own desktop, save it once, and every app goes back to its Space after a restart. See restore windows on multiple Spaces.
What are the practical details?
SnapState 2.7.2 costs $9.99 once, with a license for up to three Macs and a 14-day refund. It needs macOS 15.7 or later and runs natively on Apple Silicon and Intel. It needs Accessibility permission to move windows, and Automation permission if you want browser tabs reopened. Workspace data stays on your Mac. Workspaces saved in older versions need one re-save to pick up Spaces and full screen. See SnapState.
What are the honest limits?
SnapState is not a tiling or snapping tool. It does not save browser tab groups, history or form data, Firefox is not supported, and it does not change the display arrangement, main display, menu bar or Dock. It restores app windows.
Frequently asked questions
Do Stage Manager groups survive a restart?
Not reliably. Groups and window sizes can reset after a restart, a logout or a monitor change.
Does SnapState work with Stage Manager?
We have not tested SnapState with Stage Manager on, so we recommend turning Stage Manager off and using Spaces with SnapState instead.
Is SnapState a tiling tool?
No. It saves and restores window layouts, apps, Spaces and browser tabs. It does not snap or tile windows.
How much is SnapState?
$9.99 once, for up to three Macs, with a 14-day refund. It needs macOS 15.7 or later.
Get SnapState for $9.99One-time purchase · up to three Macs · 14-day refund