Make an app always open on the same desktop (Mac)

Q: Why does the app still open on the wrong desktop?

The desktop moved. The assignment follows a desktop, and with Automatically rearrange Spaces based on most recent use turned on, desktops change places. Turn it off in System Settings > Desktop & Dock. The desktop was removed or the display changed. After you remove that desktop or unplug the display it was on, the app can end up assigned to a different desktop. Set it again. The app isn't in the Dock. The Options menu only exists for Dock icons. Choose Options > Keep in Dock first. It only covers whole apps. You can't send one Chrome window to Desktop 2 and another to Desktop 4 this way. When you click an app that lives on another desktop, macOS may switch you there. That is a separate setting; see stop your Mac jumping desktops when you click an app.

Q: How does Spacepal keep apps on their Space?

In Spacepal, open Settings > Spaces, pick a Space and add apps under Apps that belong here. New windows of those apps are moved to that Space when they appear, and the rule follows the Space even if desktops are reordered, because Spacepal tracks each Space by its id rather than its position. Moving windows this way works on macOS 14.0 to 14.4 and 26.4 and later; on the versions in between, macOS does not allow it. The same page can also open apps, URLs and files when you enter the Space, hide apps that have no window there, and reopen terminal and Chrome windows on their Space after a restart. See windows on the wrong desktop after a restart.

macOS can tie an app to one desktop: Control-click the app in the Dock and choose Options > Assign To > This Desktop. It works for apps in the Dock and only decides where the app opens. Below is how to set it up, where it falls short, and what Spacepal adds.

How do you assign an app to a desktop?

You need at least two desktops. Add one in Mission Control if needed (see add, remove and reorder desktops).
Go to the desktop where the app should live.
Open the app so its icon is in the Dock, then Control-click the icon.
Choose Options > Assign To > This Desktop.

The other choices are All Desktops, which shows the app's windows on every desktop, and None, which removes the assignment. Apple describes it in Work in multiple spaces.

Why does the app still open on the wrong desktop?

The desktop moved. The assignment follows a desktop, and with Automatically rearrange Spaces based on most recent use turned on, desktops change places. Turn it off in System Settings > Desktop & Dock.
The desktop was removed or the display changed. After you remove that desktop or unplug the display it was on, the app can end up assigned to a different desktop. Set it again.
The app isn't in the Dock. The Options menu only exists for Dock icons. Choose Options > Keep in Dock first.
It only covers whole apps. You can't send one Chrome window to Desktop 2 and another to Desktop 4 this way.

When you click an app that lives on another desktop, macOS may switch you there. That is a separate setting; see stop your Mac jumping desktops when you click an app.

How does Spacepal keep apps on their Space?

In Spacepal, open Settings > Spaces, pick a Space and add apps under Apps that belong here. New windows of those apps are moved to that Space when they appear, and the rule follows the Space even if desktops are reordered, because Spacepal tracks each Space by its id rather than its position. Moving windows this way works on macOS 14.0 to 14.4 and 26.4 and later; on the versions in between, macOS does not allow it.

The same page can also open apps, URLs and files when you enter the Space, hide apps that have no window there, and reopen terminal and Chrome windows on their Space after a restart. See windows on the wrong desktop after a restart.

Written by Dan Bayer, developer of Spacepal. Last updated 2026-11-06.