See every Space at once

Press ⌥Tab and Spacepal shows all your Spaces in one grid. Each one has its name, colour, icon, the apps on it and a recent preview image. Pick one with a number key, the arrows or by typing part of its name, and Spacepal switches straight there without the slide animation.

Recorded in Spacepal 0.1 on macOS 26, with sample Space names.

What the overview shows

A preview of each Space. Spacepal captures an image of a Space when you visit it and refreshes the current one on a timer you choose (Settings, Overview). Spaces without a preview yet show a coloured name card instead.
Its name, icon, colour and note. Everything you set in Spacepal, so "Desktop 3" becomes "Client B" with a briefcase icon.
App icons. The apps that have a window on each Space, so you can tell Spaces apart even before previews exist.
All displays. With several monitors, Spaces from every display appear together. Turn off "Show Spaces from all displays" to see only one.
Categories. If you give Spaces a category such as Work or Personal, the overview groups them under headings.

Previews need Screen Recording permission and stay on your Mac as image files. See Setup and Privacy.

Keyboard control

Key	In the overview
`1` … `0`	Go to Desktop 1 to 10
`←` `→` `↑` `↓`	Move the selection
`Tab`, `⇧Tab`	Step forward or back through Spaces
Any letters	Filter by Space name, note, app or window title
`Return` or `Space`	Switch to the selected Space
`Esc`	Clear the search, or close the overview

The overview also works like Cmd-Tab for Spaces: keep holding ⌥, press Tab again to step to the next Space, and let go of ⌥ to switch. If ⌥Tab clashes with another app, pick Control + Option + Space, Option + `, Command + Option + Space or F13 in Settings, Shortcuts.

Organise Spaces from the overview

Double-click a name to rename it, or right-click a Space for the full menu: rename, icon, colour, note, category, a custom icon image, "Move Front Window Here", "Set Up This Space Now" and "Automation and Details…". You can also drag Spaces into the order you like. That arrangement is Spacepal's own view. macOS does not let any app change the real order of Spaces without turning off System Integrity Protection, and Spacepal never asks you to do that.

Other ways to open it

The Spacepal menu bar item, Show Overview.
A hot corner, or resting the pointer on the notch (Settings, Overview, "Open without a shortcut").
A four-finger tap on the trackpad (direct version only).
The link spacepal://overview, the AppleScript command show overview, or the "Show Space Overview" command in Raycast.

Options worth knowing

Hide empty Spaces and Hide full screen app Spaces keep the grid short.
Capture previews can be turned off entirely if you prefer name cards only.
Clear All Previews in Settings, Backup deletes the stored images.

Availability

The overview is in both the direct and the Mac App Store version, and it is included in the 14-day trial. After the trial, names, icons and the menu bar keep working, and the overview needs a license. Spacepal is a one-time purchase with a 14-day trial.

Written by Dan Bayer, developer of Spacepal. Last updated 2026-10-27.