How to Open All Your Project Apps With One Click on Mac
You can open all your project apps with one click on Mac in three ways.
Login Items is the basic option: the same apps open every time you log in.
Apple Shortcuts or Automator is the free on-demand option: a button or keystroke opens a chosen set of apps.
A workspace manager like Ikuna is the full option: apps, browser tabs, window positions, and Focus Mode all restored together.
Which one fits depends on whether you want the same apps every morning, a different set per project, or your entire work environment back exactly as you left it.
Most "open my work apps" tutorials online point you at Automator or Shortcuts. Those work for opening apps. They don't bring back your browser tabs, they don't put your windows where you had them, and they don't switch your Focus Mode. If you only ever work on one project, that's fine. If you switch between two, three, or five different projects in a day, opening blank apps isn't the same as being ready to work.
Here's how each method actually compares, when to pick which, and how to set them up.
| Comparison | Login Items | Shortcuts / Automator | Ikuna Recommended |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you get | The same apps open whenever you log in | A shortcut that launches selected apps | Apps, browser tabs, window layouts and project state restored together |
| Project awareness | One global setup | Manual workflows | Multiple saved workspaces |
| Browser tabs | No | Only if manually scripted | Yes |
| Window positions | No | No | Yes |
| Setup effort | Very low | Moderate to high | One-time workspace creation |
| Cost | Free | Free | Free trial • Subscription |
Login Items is the right answer if you always start your day with the same three apps. Shortcuts is the right answer if you want a few different "open these for me" buttons but don't care about the state inside each app. A workspace manager is the right answer when you switch between projects and each project has its own set of tabs, apps, and window layout you don't want to rebuild by hand.
Method 1: Login Items (the simplest option)
Login Items is the built-in macOS setting that opens chosen apps automatically when you log in. It's the closest thing macOS has to a "start my workday" button. It just runs at login instead of on demand.
To set it up:
Open System Settings (the gear icon in your Dock).
Click General in the sidebar, then Login Items & Extensions.
Under Open at Login, click the + button.
Pick the apps you want to open at login, for example Slack, Chrome, your editor, and Notes.
Click Open to add them. You can also drag apps from Finder directly into the list.
Log out and log back in to test. Your apps should open in order.
What this does well: zero-effort startup. The apps you use every day are open before you've poured your coffee.
What it doesn't do:
No per-project groups. Every login opens the same set.
Apps open blank. Your browser opens to your homepage, not the eight tabs you had for Client A.
No window positions. Apps land wherever macOS decides.
It only fires at login, so you can't trigger it mid-day when you switch projects.
If your work is one consistent set of apps every morning, Login Items is enough. If your day involves switching contexts, you'll outgrow it within a week.
Method 2: Apple Shortcuts (open apps on demand)
Apple Shortcuts (built into macOS Monterey and later) lets you build a one-click action that opens a list of apps whenever you want, not just at login. You can run it from the menu bar, from Spotlight, or with a keyboard shortcut.
Automator is the older sibling that does the same job. If you're on a recent macOS, use Shortcuts. It's simpler.
To set it up in Shortcuts:
Open the Shortcuts app (it's in your Applications folder).
Click the + in the top toolbar to create a new shortcut.
In the search box on the right, type Open App and double-click it to add it.
Click App inside that action and pick the first app you want to open, say Slack.
Add another Open App action for the next app, and another, until you've added all the apps for that project.
Name the shortcut something obvious like Start Client A.
In the shortcut's settings (the slider icon), check Pin in Menu Bar and optionally set a keyboard shortcut like ⌘⌥1.
Test it. Hit your shortcut, and all the apps should open in sequence.
What this does well: you can build a different shortcut for each project. "Start Client A" opens one set, "Start Writing" opens another. You can run them whenever, not just at login.
What it doesn't do:
The apps still open blank. Chrome opens to your homepage, not the tabs for that project.
No window positions. If you want Slack on the left monitor and your editor on the right, Shortcuts won't do that.
No Focus Mode switch. Notifications keep coming from every other project.
You have to maintain the shortcut by hand. If your project app list changes, you edit the shortcut.
Shortcuts is the right answer for people who want a free, on-demand way to launch a set of apps and don't mind setting each app's state themselves. For a single-app project or a casual workflow, it's perfectly good.
If you've ever finished launching all your apps and then thought now I need to find my tabs, you've found the ceiling of this method.
Method 3: Workspace manager (Ikuna)
A workspace manager treats your entire work setup as a saveable object. Not just "which apps are open," but the whole picture: apps, browser tabs inside each browser, window positions across monitors, and the system Focus Mode that's active. You save it once. One click brings it back exactly as you left it.
Ikuna is a macOS workspace manager built for this. Here's how the one-click flow works.
To set it up in Ikuna:
Download Ikuna and install it like any other Mac app.
Open the apps for one project the way you actually use them. Slack on the right channel, your editor on the right file, Chrome with the eight tabs for that client, Notes with the project doc open, all positioned across your monitors the way you like.
Set your Focus Mode for that project (for example "Client A" or "Deep Work") so notifications behave the way you want.
In Ikuna, click Save Workspace and name it after the project. "Client A," "Writing," "Side Project."
Assign a keyboard shortcut. I use ⌘⇧1 through ⌘⇧5 for my five live projects.
Repeat for each project you want a one-click setup for.
To switch into a project, press its shortcut or click its tile in Ikuna. In about three seconds, your apps open in the right positions, your browser opens with the right tabs in the right order, and your Focus Mode switches with them. To switch to another project, press the next shortcut. Ikuna saves your current state before swapping, so nothing is lost.
What this does that the other two methods don't:
Browser tabs come back. Not your homepage, but the exact tabs you had open for that project, in the same order, in the same browser window.
Window positions are restored. Slack lands on the left monitor, Figma on the right, your editor full-screen on the center, every time.
Focus Mode follows. You don't get pinged by Client B's Slack channel while you're heads-down on Client A.
Per-project groups, on demand. No "one set at login" limit. Switch as many times a day as your work demands.
The trade-off is honest. It's a paid app, where Login Items and Shortcuts are free. The price you're paying for is not having to rebuild your tab list, your window layout, and your notification settings every time you change contexts.
For deeper walk-throughs, see how to save your entire workspace setup on Mac and restore it later and how to stop losing your browser tabs when switching Mac projects.
Which method should you pick?
Use this as a quick decision tree:
Same apps, every morning, that's it. Login Items. Set it once, forget about it.
A few different "open these for me" buttons, but you're fine setting up tabs and windows yourself. Apple Shortcuts.
You switch between two or more projects, and each project has its own tabs, window layout, or notification rules. A workspace manager like Ikuna. The time you save in week one usually pays the subscription.
You're on macOS Big Sur or earlier and don't have Shortcuts. Automator (same idea, older interface), or skip straight to a workspace manager.
If you're not sure, start with Shortcuts. Build one "Start Client A" shortcut and run it for a week. If the moment after the apps open feels like now the real setup begins, opening tabs, dragging windows, muting Slack, that's your signal you need a workspace manager.
FAQ
Can I open multiple apps with a keyboard shortcut on Mac?
Yes. The simplest way is Apple Shortcuts. Create a shortcut with one Open App action per app, then assign it a keyboard shortcut in the shortcut's settings. For an even faster setup that also restores your browser tabs and window positions, a workspace manager like Ikuna binds a keyboard shortcut to a complete workspace, not just an app list.
How do I open Chrome with specific tabs and apps at the same time?
Apple Shortcuts and Automator can open Chrome, but they open it to your homepage or last session, not a specific tab set for a specific project. To open Chrome with specific tabs and other apps in the same click, you need a workspace manager that records each project's tab URLs. Ikuna saves the exact tabs per workspace and reopens them in order when you trigger that workspace.
Is there a one-click way to start my work setup on Mac?
Yes, and the right one depends on what "work setup" means. If it means "the same three apps every morning," Login Items handles it for free. If it means "this project's apps, tabs, and window layout," you need a workspace manager. macOS doesn't ship with a built-in tool that saves browser tabs and window positions together, which is the gap workspace managers fill.
What's the difference between Apple Shortcuts and a workspace manager?
Shortcuts opens apps. A workspace manager opens apps and restores their state: tabs, window positions on each monitor, and Focus Mode. Shortcuts is the right tool when the state inside each app doesn't matter (or you'll set it yourself). A workspace manager is the right tool when rebuilding that state by hand is the friction you're trying to remove.
Can I switch between project setups during the day, not just at login?
Login Items can't. It only fires at login. Apple Shortcuts can, since you can run a different shortcut anytime. A workspace manager can too, and it also remembers where you left the previous project so switching back later picks up where you stopped. If you switch contexts more than once or twice a day, the "remembers where you left it" part is what makes the difference.
Ikuna is a macOS workspace manager for people who work across multiple projects. Save each project as a complete setup (apps, browser tabs, window positions, and Focus Mode) and reopen it with one keyboard shortcut.
