How to save and restore your Mac workspace
OrbDesk saves the apps and windows in your workspace, including their sizes and which screen and macOS Desktop they belong to. To bring them back, choose the saved setup and select Restore. The app is currently free and requires macOS 26.4 or later.
Start with a real piece of work
Say you are building a website. You keep your editor and API documentation on your external display, with project notes on your MacBook. Later, you need a different setup for planning the week. Saving each arrangement gives you a way to return to that work without assigning every window to its Desktop again.
A setup remembers app and window identities, window width and height, screen assignments, and native Desktop groups. Exact window positions within a Desktop, files, documents, and browser tabs are not captured.
Save your first setup
On first launch, OrbDesk walks you through window access and your first setup. Accessibility permission is needed to read and manage windows; Screen Recording and Full Disk Access are not required.
- Open the apps and windows you want to include. Use ordinary windows rather than fullscreen windows or windows assigned to All Desktops.
- Move your windows to the screens and Desktops you want, and resize them. Mission Control can help you see your Desktop groups.
- In OrbDesk, choose New setup, or press Command-N. Give it a useful name such as Website build, Client project, or Weekly planning.
- Save the setup. Saving records the current composition without moving your windows.
Restore when you are ready
Choose a saved setup from Home, Setups, or the menu bar, then select Restore. OrbDesk matches available windows, prepares their Desktop destinations, and restores their saved sizes and screen assignments.
Opening closed apps is enabled by default. You can disable it in Restore settings or override it for an individual setup. Each app decides which documents and windows reopen. OrbDesk cannot recreate a closed document or a browser session.
If windows from the same app were saved to different destinations and cannot be confidently matched, OrbDesk asks you to choose. Missing or incomplete windows are reported in the result. Launch at login starts OrbDesk; it does not automatically restore a setup.
Keep your setup up to date
When your work changes, arrange the windows again and choose Update. OrbDesk asks before replacing the saved composition. Closed-window entries are removed from that composition, so open the windows you want to keep first.
You can undo the latest update during the same app session. Updating the saved composition does not move your current windows. Your saved setup metadata stays on your Mac.