# How to stop your Mac rearranging your desktops

Source: https://ribbonformac.com/stop-mac-rearranging-spaces  
Updated: 2026-10-29

Open System Settings → Desktop & Dock, scroll to Mission Control and turn off <b>Automatically rearrange Spaces based on most recent use</b>. It's on by default and moves the desktop you used last next to the one you're on, so the order keeps changing. If the problem is that switching apps jumps you to another desktop, that's a different setting, covered below.

## Problem 1: desktops change order

With **Automatically rearrange Spaces based on most recent use** on, macOS shuffles your desktops (and full-screen apps) by how recently you used them. Desktop 2 isn't always the second one along, swiping sideways lands somewhere unexpected, and muscle memory never forms.

To fix it:

1. System Settings → **Desktop & Dock**.
2. Scroll down to the **Mission Control** section.
3. Turn off **Automatically rearrange Spaces based on most recent use**.

Then open Mission Control (<kbd>⌃</kbd><kbd>↑</kbd>) and drag the thumbnails in the top bar into the order you want. They stay there.

## Problem 2: switching apps changes desktop

You press <kbd>⌘</kbd><kbd>Tab</kbd> or click an app in the Dock and the screen slides to another desktop. That's **When switching to an application, switch to a Space with open windows for the application**, in the same Mission Control section.

- **On** (the default): macOS jumps to the desktop where that app already has a window.
- **Off:** you stay on the current desktop. If the app has no window here, you may see only its menu bar until you open a new window with <kbd>⌘</kbd><kbd>N</kbd>.

Leave it on if you keep each app on its own desktop on purpose. Turn it off if you'd rather bring apps to you.

## Keep apps on the desktop you chose

Right-click an app's Dock icon → **Options** → **Assign To**:

- **This Desktop:** the app's windows always open here.
- **All Desktops:** the app follows you everywhere.
- **None:** the default; windows open wherever you are.

## Full-screen apps move too

Full-screen apps and Split View pairs are Spaces of their own. With rearranging off, a new full-screen app goes to the right of the desktop you made it from, and stays there until it leaves full screen.

## With more than one display

With **Displays have separate Spaces** on (the default), each display has its own row of desktops and the settings above apply to each row. Switching desktops on one display doesn't change the other.

## Window managers care about this too

Tools that remember layouts per desktop work better when the desktops hold still. [Ribbon](https://ribbonformac.com/) gives every desktop on every display its own strip of windows, and its Mac Setup page flags the rearranging setting so the strips don't swap places under you. See the [setup guide](https://ribbonformac.com/setup) for the full checklist. If you've never seen a scrolling strip, the [live demo](https://ribbonformac.com/#demo) shows one in your browser, and [pricing](https://ribbonformac.com/#pricing) is $9.99 once.

## FAQ

### Why do my desktops keep moving on my Mac?

"Automatically rearrange Spaces based on most recent use" is on. Turn it off in System Settings → Desktop & Dock → Mission Control.

### How do I stop my Mac switching desktops when I open an app?

Turn off "When switching to an application, switch to a Space with open windows for the application" in the same section.

### How do I reorder desktops on a Mac?

Open Mission Control and drag the desktop thumbnails along the bar at the top. Turn off automatic rearranging first or macOS will reshuffle them.

## Keep reading
- [Multiple desktops (Spaces)](https://ribbonformac.com/mac-virtual-desktops-spaces) — Create, switch and remove Spaces, the shortcuts to turn on, and the settings that keep them in order.
- [Move a window to another desktop](https://ribbonformac.com/move-window-to-another-desktop-mac) — Drag in Mission Control, the title-bar-plus-Control trick, and pinning an app to a desktop.
- [Faster desktop switching](https://ribbonformac.com/speed-up-spaces-animation-mac) — Reduce Motion, jump-to-desktop shortcuts, and fewer switches with a strip.
- [MacBook + external monitor](https://ribbonformac.com/macbook-external-monitor-setup) — Arrangement, Spaces, moving windows between screens, clamshell mode and tiling.
- [Setup guide](https://ribbonformac.com/setup) — Install, Accessibility, licence key, and the macOS settings the swipe needs.