How to move a window to another desktop on a Mac

1. Drag it in Mission Control

1. Press ⌃↑ or swipe up with three or four fingers.
2. Drag the window onto a desktop thumbnail in the Spaces bar at the top.
3. Click that thumbnail to follow it, or press Esc to stay where you are.

If the desktop you want doesn't exist yet, click the + at the right of the Spaces bar first.

2. Hold the title bar and switch desktops

This one surprises people. Click and hold a window's title bar (keep the mouse button down), then press ⌃→ or ⌃←. You switch desktops and the window comes along. Let go when you arrive.

With the Control-number shortcuts turned on, holding the title bar and pressing ⌃3 carries the window straight to Desktop 3. Turn those on in System Settings → Keyboard → Keyboard Shortcuts → Mission Control (tick Switch to Desktop 1, 2, 3 and so on).

It only works between desktops on the same display.

3. Pin an app to a desktop

Moving windows by hand is fine once. For apps that should always live in one place:

1. Go to the desktop where the app belongs.
2. Right-click the app's Dock icon → Options.
3. Under Assign To, choose This Desktop.

The app's windows now open on that desktop. All Desktops does the opposite: the app follows you to every desktop, which suits a music player, a timer or a chat app you glance at.

Moving a window to another display

That's a separate move. Drag the window across, hover over the green button and pick the other display under Move to (macOS 15 Sequoia and later), or use a window manager shortcut. In Ribbon it's ⌃⌥N. The MacBook with an external monitor guide covers the rest.

When windows end up on the wrong desktop

• An app keeps opening on another desktop: it's probably assigned there. Check its Dock Options.
• Clicking an app in the Dock throws you to another desktop: that's When switching to an application, switch to a Space with open windows for the application, in System Settings → Desktop & Dock. Turn it off to stay put.
• Desktops change order: turn off Automatically rearrange Spaces based on most recent use in the same place. See stop your Mac rearranging Spaces.
• A full-screen window is a Space of its own, not a window on a desktop. Leave full screen before moving it (⌃⌘F in most apps, or the green button).

Fewer moves with a strip

Many people shuffle windows between desktops because one desktop can't hold them all. A scrolling window manager lets one desktop hold far more: Ribbon lines every window up on a horizontal strip that scrolls, so a new window adds a column instead of covering the others. Each desktop keeps its own strip, so one desktop per project still works. See it in the live demo, and check pricing ($9.99 once) if it fits.