Mac Spaces setup planner

Decide how many desktops you want, what each one is for, and which apps open on it. Start from a preset, change anything, and download the result as a template file. Spacepal names, colors and fills your desktops from it in one click. Everything runs in your browser; nothing is sent anywhere.

How do you use the template in Spacepal?

1. Click Download template. You get a small .json file.
2. In Spacepal, open Settings, Profiles. Under Templates, click Import Template… and choose the file.
3. Click Apply next to it. Spacepal sets the name, color, icon and note of each desktop in order, starting with the first desktop on the display with the menu bar, and opens the listed apps and links the next time each desktop is empty.
4. If you planned more desktops than you have, Spacepal tells you how many are missing. Add them in Mission Control (⌃↑, then the + at the right of the Spaces bar) and apply again.

Once imported, you can also apply the template with a link such as spacepal://template/My%20Spaces, which works from Shortcuts, Raycast or a Stream Deck (see URL scheme). To keep several full setups and switch between them, save each one as a profile; see features.

What do the fields mean?

• Apps: app names as they appear in the Applications folder (Safari, Slack) or bundle identifiers (com.tinyspeck.slackmacgap), separated by commas. Bundle identifiers are more reliable, because they also find apps outside /Applications. Apps that aren't installed are skipped.
• Links: web addresses or file paths to open on that desktop, separated by commas.
• Icon: an SF Symbol name. Spacepal shows it next to the name in the menu bar and the overview.
• Note: a short line shown under the name, useful for "only the document you're writing" style rules.

Which macOS settings should you change first?

• Turn off Automatically rearrange Spaces based on most recent use in System Settings > Desktop & Dock. Otherwise macOS reorders your desktops and the plan stops matching.
• Displays have separate Spaces (same place) gives each monitor its own row of desktops. Templates apply to the display with the menu bar. Changing this setting takes effect after you log out.
• Turn on Switch to Desktop 1, 2… in System Settings > Keyboard > Keyboard Shortcuts > Mission Control, as a fallback. See every Spaces keyboard shortcut.

Not sure how many desktops you need? Most people settle on four to six: one per kind of work, plus one for communication. The ready-made templates explain the reasoning behind each setup, and the use cases show how people work with them.

Written by Dan Bayer, developer of Spacepal. Last updated 2026-10-28.