How to Use Stage Manager to Organize Windows on a Mac

Q: Where did my desktop icons go?

Stage Manager can hide them. Turn Show Items on Desktop back on in Desktop & Stage Manager, or click the wallpaper to reveal them depending on your Show Desktop setting.

Q: How do I quickly turn it off?

Click the Stage Manager icon in Control Center to toggle it off, or switch it off in Desktop & Dock > Desktop & Stage Manager.

Published ✓ Verified ⏱️ 2 min read December 8, 2025 · by Ryan Bennett

You want a calmer desktop — one main window in front while your other apps wait neatly off to the side instead of overlapping.

Why: Stage Manager puts the window you’re using in the center and lines up your other recent apps as thumbnails along the left edge. Click a thumbnail to bring that app forward; the previous one steps aside.

Step 1: Turn on Stage Manager

The quickest way:

Click the Control Center icon in the menu bar.
Click the Stage Manager icon to turn it on (click again to turn it off).

Or from settings:

Open Apple menu > System Settings > Desktop & Dock.
Go to Desktop & Stage Manager and turn on Stage Manager.

Step 2: Use it day to day

Switch apps: Click an app thumbnail on the left side of the screen to bring it to the center.
Arrange windows: Move, resize, and overlap the centered windows however you like.
Group apps together: Drag an app from the left side into the center to add it to the current group, so they appear side by side.
Ungroup: Drag an app from the center back to the left side to remove it from the group.

Step 3: Adjust what shows (optional)

In System Settings > Desktop & Dock > Desktop & Stage Manager you can fine-tune:

Show recent apps in Stage Manager — show or hide the strip of thumbnails on the left.
Show windows from an application — choose All at Once or One at a Time.
Show Items on Desktop — hide desktop icons for a cleaner stage.

Step 4: If Stage Manager won’t turn on

Open System Settings > Desktop & Dock.
Go to Mission Control and turn on Displays have separate Spaces.
Try turning Stage Manager on again.

FAQ

Where did my desktop icons go? Stage Manager can hide them. Turn Show Items on Desktop back on in Desktop & Stage Manager, or click the wallpaper to reveal them depending on your Show Desktop setting.

Can I still use Mission Control and Spaces with it? Yes. Stage Manager works alongside them — it just changes how windows are arranged within a space.

How do I quickly turn it off? Click the Stage Manager icon in Control Center to toggle it off, or switch it off in Desktop & Dock > Desktop & Stage Manager.

Sources: Apple Support — Organize your Mac desktop with Stage Manager