RibbonHow to make a Mac remember window positions
Two settings decide whether your windows come back. Close windows when quitting an application (System Settings → Desktop & Dock) decides what happens when you quit an app: turn it off and apps reopen their windows where you left them. When you restart, keep Reopen windows when logging back in ticked. Positions are up to each app, though, and macOS has no way to save a whole layout.
After quitting an app
System Settings → Desktop & Dock → Close windows when quitting an application.
- On: quitting an app closes its windows for good. Next launch starts fresh.
- Off: apps that support it reopen the windows, documents and tabs you had open when you quit.
You can also decide per quit. Open the app's menu (the one with the app's name) and hold ⌥: with the setting on, Quit becomes Quit and Keep Windows; with it off, it becomes Quit and Close All Windows. ⌘⌥Q does the same from the keyboard.
After restarting or logging out
When you choose Restart, Shut Down or Log Out, the dialog has a checkbox: Reopen windows when logging back in. Leave it ticked and the apps that were open come back with their windows.
For apps you want open every time, whether or not they were open before, add them in System Settings → General → Login Items.
Why positions still get lost
- Each app saves its own window positions. Most Apple apps and well-behaved third-party apps do this; some don't, and some save only the size.
- Displays change. A window saved on a monitor that's no longer connected opens on the remaining screen, wherever macOS can fit it. See window off screen if one ends up out of reach.
- Desktops (Spaces) aren't always restored. macOS tries to put windows back on the desktop they were on; it doesn't always manage, especially with full-screen apps.
- Quitting with a crash or Force Quit skips the save.
Saving a whole layout
macOS can't save "editor on the left, browser on the right, terminal at the bottom" and put it back on demand. Your options:
- Window layout apps. Several paid utilities save named layouts of window positions and restore them with a shortcut. They work best when the same apps are open with the same windows each time.
- A window manager that builds the layout for you. Tiling and scrolling window managers arrange windows by rule, so there's less to save in the first place.
How Ribbon handles it
Ribbon doesn't place windows by pixel position. Every window is a column on a horizontal strip, so the layout is just an order and a set of widths. Ribbon's session restore brings back the column order, widths and stacks after a restart, and it can launch at login, so your strip is waiting when the apps reopen. Each display and each desktop keeps its own strip.
You can try the strip in the live demo; Ribbon is $9.99 once for macOS 13 or later on Apple silicon.
FAQ
How do I get my Mac to reopen windows after a restart?
Leave "Reopen windows when logging back in" ticked in the restart dialog, and turn off "Close windows when quitting an application" in System Settings → Desktop & Dock.
Why does my Mac not remember window positions?
Each app saves its own positions, and some don't. Positions also change when a display is disconnected or the arrangement changes.
Can I save a window layout on a Mac?
Not with built-in tools. Window layout apps can save and restore positions, and a window manager like Ribbon rebuilds its strip of columns after a restart.