How it compares
macOS arranges your displays, and a few good tools each take care of part of the job. Here's what each one does, side by side.
Universal Display Magnet
| Universal Display Magnet | macOS | display-align | SnapBack | displayplacer | Magnet | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| At a glance | ||||||
| How you use it | App, with a menu bar panel | System Settings | Menu bar app | Menu bar, through Hammerspoon | Command line | Menu bar app |
| Automate it from scripts or other apps | Config file | URL scheme, Stream Deck and Shortcuts | Command line | |||
| Displays | ||||||
| Arrange displays visually | ||||||
| Snap every display flush in one click | ||||||
| Remember the arrangement for each set of monitors and put it back when they reconnect | ||||||
| Put the arrangement back after the Mac wakes | ||||||
| Restore each display's resolution with the arrangement | ||||||
| Rotate displays, mirror them and set the refresh rate | ||||||
| Choose which display holds the Dock | ||||||
| Leave specific displays alone | ||||||
| Turn a display off without unplugging it | ||||||
| Universal Control | ||||||
| Arrange Universal Control between Macs | 1 | |||||
| Snap two Macs' displays flush for Universal Control | 1 | |||||
| Windows | ||||||
| Save window layouts and restore them | ||||||
| Restore windows automatically when the display setup changes | ||||||
| Put windows back on their Desktop | 2 | 3 | ||||
| Take snapshots of window positions automatically | ||||||
| Snap windows with keyboard shortcuts | 4 | |||||
| Snap a window by dragging it to a screen edge | 4 | |||||
| Snap windows to thirds | 5 | |||||
| Your own snap sizes and positions | ||||||
| Between Macs | ||||||
| Sync arrangements and workspaces between your Macs | ||||||
- Relies on a private macOS framework; the page is hidden when it isn't available.
- Reads Desktops through private macOS interfaces and moves windows with the Switch to Desktop shortcuts (⌃1…⌃0), so Desktops switch briefly during a restore.
- SnapBack calls its Spaces support best effort: macOS's Spaces interfaces are private and can be unreliable.
- macOS 15 or later.
- As a custom size drawn on the grid; there's no built-in thirds command.
Described in the product's documentation. Not described there, which doesn't always mean it can't.
Based on each project's public documentation as of October 24, 2026.
Universal Display Magnet builds on ideas from three open-source projects, display-align, SnapBack and displayplacer, and works with windows on other Desktops using techniques from AltTab and Amethyst. It shares no code with them. If one of them already covers what you need, it's well worth a look.
Sources
Product names are trademarks of their respective owners. Universal Display Magnet isn't affiliated with any of these projects.