RibbonHow to keep a window always on top on a Mac
macOS has no built-in way to pin any window above the others. Video can float with Picture in Picture, and a few apps have their own Float on Top option, such as QuickTime Player and Stickies. For everything else, the reliable fix is to stop overlapping windows altogether and keep the one you need visible beside your work.
Why there's no switch for this
On Windows, a few utilities pin any window on top, and some Linux desktops put "Always on Top" in every window's menu. macOS decides window layering itself, and an ordinary app can't move another app's window above everything else through the public interface. That's why there's no setting for it, and why the tools that try usually rely on workarounds that break with macOS updates.
What you can do depends on what the window is.
Video: Picture in Picture
Picture in Picture floats a video above every app and follows you across desktops. For calls, see taking notes during a video call.
- Safari: click the Picture in Picture button in the video controls. On YouTube, right-click the video twice and choose Enter Picture in Picture.
- Chrome: click the media control button in the toolbar while the video plays, then the Picture in Picture button.
Drag the floating video to any corner; drag its edge to resize it. The watch video while coding guide has more.
Apps with their own Float on Top
- QuickTime Player: View → Float on Top. Handy for a screen recording or tutorial you're following.
- Stickies: Window → Float on Top on any note, for a to-do list that stays in sight.
Some third-party apps, especially media players, timers and note apps, add their own pin option too. Look in their View or Window menu.
Everything else: side by side, not on top
Most "always on top" needs are really "I want to see this while I work in something else": a reference doc, a terminal running tests, a chat, a call. Overlapping is the wrong tool for that, because the floating window always covers part of the one you're typing in.
Putting the two windows next to each other works better:
- macOS 15 and later: Fn⌃← and Fn⌃→ for left and right halves. See how to tile windows on a Mac.
- Thirds: a narrow reference column and a wide work column suit most screens better than halves. See split screen into three on a Mac.
Keep it in a column with Ribbon
The catch with tiling is that the next window you open lands on top of your tidy pair. A scrolling window manager avoids that. In Ribbon, every window is a column on a horizontal strip and nothing overlaps:
- Focus the window you want to keep in view and press ⌃⌥R until it's a quarter or a third of the screen.
- Focus your main window and widen it with ⌃⌥R or ⌃⌥=.
- New windows open as new columns on the strip, beside the pair rather than on top of it.
If the reference window is one of a set (several docs, several terminals), stack them in one column with ⌃⌥], or turn that column into tabs with ⌃⌥⇧T. Try it in the live demo first; Ribbon is $9.99 once for macOS 13 or later on Apple silicon.
FAQ
Can you make a window always on top on a Mac?
Not for every app. Videos can float with Picture in Picture, and QuickTime Player and Stickies have Float on Top. Other apps need their own pin option, if they have one.
How do I keep a video on top of other windows on Mac?
Use Picture in Picture in Safari or Chrome. The video then floats above every app and on every desktop.
Is there an always-on-top shortcut on Mac?
No system-wide one. If an app has a Float on Top menu item, you can give it a shortcut in System Settings → Keyboard → Keyboard Shortcuts → App Shortcuts.