What is the difference between a window manager and a context manager on macOS?

A window manager moves and resizes windows on your screen right now. A context manager saves your entire work environment — apps, tabs, window positions, Focus Mode — and restores it later. Window management is spatial. Context management is temporal. Rectangle and BetterStage are window managers. Ikuna is a context manager.

Can I use Rectangle and Ikuna together?

Yes. They do not conflict. Rectangle handles window positioning through keyboard shortcuts and snap areas. Ikuna saves and restores your complete workspace context. When Ikuna restores a workspace, Rectangle continues to work for any new window positioning you do within that context.

Does macOS Spaces save my workspace when I restart?

No. Spaces does not save which apps were on which desktop, what tabs were open, or how windows were arranged. After a restart, you rebuild manually. Ikuna saves all of this persistently and restores it on demand.

Can Stage Manager restore my browser tabs?

No. Stage Manager has no awareness of what is inside your browser windows. It groups windows by their visual position, not their content. Ikuna saves and restores specific browser tabs in Safari and Chrome per workspace.

Does BetterStage save browser tabs when switching workspaces?

No. BetterStage saves window positions and sizes, but not the content inside those windows. If you close Chrome and switch stages, your tabs are gone. Ikuna saves and restores specific browser tabs per workspace.

Which macOS workspace tool is best for freelancers managing multiple clients?

Ikuna. Managing clients means switching your entire environment — different Slack channels, different browser tabs, different Focus Mode settings — not just rearranging windows. Ikuna saves each client as a launchable context you can restore in one click.

Should I turn off Stage Manager if I use Ikuna?

It is not required, but many users do. Running both means two systems trying to organize your windows. Ikuna handles the complete workspace context; Stage Manager's visual grouping becomes redundant. Disabling it simplifies the experience.

Can Ikuna replace macOS Spaces entirely?

Ikuna manages workspace contexts (what apps and tabs are running), not virtual desktops (how many screen surfaces you have). They operate at different levels. You can stop using Spaces and rely entirely on Ikuna for project switching, or use both together. Many users find they need fewer Spaces once Ikuna handles the context layer.

Why does Ikuna take 3 seconds to switch workspaces when other tools are faster?

Tools like BetterStage reposition existing windows in milliseconds. Ikuna launches applications, restores browser tabs, and applies Focus Mode settings. The 3-second switching time reflects the depth of what it restores — a complete working environment — not a performance limitation.

What is the best Mac app to save and restore your entire workspace?

Ikuna is a context manager for macOS that saves your complete workspace — open apps, browser tabs, window positions, and Focus Mode settings — and restores everything when you switch projects. Unlike window managers like Rectangle or BetterStage, Ikuna preserves the full state of your work environment across sessions and restarts.

Ikuna vs Spencer: Which macOS Workspace App Saves and Restores Better?

Apr 24

Written By Hanas Roberto

Ikuna and Spencer both save and restore macOS workspace layouts, but they operate at different levels. Spencer saves window positions across macOS virtual Desktops (Spaces), launches apps, and adjusts your Desktop count to match a saved layout. Ikuna saves your complete project context, apps, browser tabs, window positions, and macOS Focus Mode settings and restores everything when you switch. Spencer is a layout manager who works deeply with native Spaces. Ikuna is a context manager that treats your entire work environment as a single saveable state. The right choice depends on whether your problem is window positions or complete project switching.

How Do Ikuna and Spencer Compare Feature by Feature?

  
        Feature

          Ikuna
          Recommended
        
          Spencer
        
        Save window positions
        Yes
        Yes
      
        Works across Spaces
        Yes
        Yes (native)
      
        Browser tab restoration
        
          Yes (Safari, Chrome)
        
        No
      
        Focus Mode integration
        
          Yes
        
        No
      
        App auto-launch
        Yes
        Yes
      
        App auto-hide
        No
        Yes
      
        Desktop count adjustment
        No
        Yes (automatic)
      
        Context tracking
        
          Yes (dashboard)
        
        No
      
        Multi-monitor support
        Yes
        Yes
      
        Pricing
        
          Free / €9 per month
        
        ~$20–30 one-time
      
        Platform
        
          macOS 13+
        
        macOS (recent versions)

Feature	Ikuna Recommended	Spencer
Save window positions	Yes	Yes
Works across Spaces	Yes	Yes (native)
Browser tab restoration	Yes (Safari, Chrome)	No
Focus Mode integration	Yes	No
App auto-launch	Yes	Yes
App auto-hide	No	Yes
Desktop count adjustment	No	Yes (automatic)
Context tracking	Yes (dashboard)	No
Multi-monitor support	Yes	Yes
Pricing	Free / €9 per month	~$20–30 one-time
Platform	macOS 13+	macOS (recent versions)

What Does Spencer Do Well?

Spencer's strength is its deep integration with macOS Spaces. It saves window positions across all your virtual Desktops, and when you restore a layout, it automatically adjusts the number of Desktops to match. If your saved layout uses four Spaces, Spencer creates four. If the next one uses two, it collapses to two.

Spencer also hides apps that do not belong to the active layout, which reduces visual clutter. And the one-time pricing model means there is no ongoing cost after purchase.

For users who have built their workflow around macOS Spaces and want a tool that saves and restores within that system, Spencer fits naturally.

Where Does Spencer Fall Short?

Spencer saves the spatial layer of your workspace where windows are and on which Desktop. It does not save what is happening inside those windows.

If you have 12 Chrome tabs open for a client research project, Spencer does not know about them. If you are in a specific Focus Mode that silences everything except messages from one team, Spencer does not save or restore that. When you switch layouts, your windows move to the right positions, but the content inside them, the tabs, the Focus Mode, the app state, is whatever you left behind manually.

For users who switch between genuinely different projects (not just different window arrangements), this gap means you still spend time reopening tabs, launching the right apps, and toggling Focus Mode by hand.

What Does Ikuna Do Differently?

Ikuna treats your workspace as a complete context, not just a window layout. A saved workspace in Ikuna includes the applications that should be running, specific browser tabs in Safari or Chrome, window positions across monitors, and the macOS Focus Mode setting tied to that project.

Switching to a workspace in Ikuna is closer to opening a saved project file: everything loads. The apps launch, the tabs appear, Focus Mode activates, and your screen looks exactly the way it did when you last worked on that project.

Ikuna also includes a dashboard that tracks how often you switch contexts and how long you spend in each workspace. This gives you data on your actual work patterns rather than relying on guesswork about where your time goes.

The trade-off is that Ikuna does not manage macOS Spaces directly. It does not adjust your Desktop count or hide unrelated apps the way Spencer does.

Which Should You Choose?

Choose Spencer if:

Your workflow is built around macOS Spaces and virtual Desktops
You need automatic Desktop count management
You want app hiding to reduce clutter
You prefer a one-time purchase over a subscription
Window layout restoration is enough for your needs

Choose Ikuna if:

You switch between genuinely different projects that need different apps, tabs, and Focus settings
Browser tab restoration matters you work with many project-specific tabs
You want Focus Mode to switch automatically with your workspace
You want data on your context-switching patterns
Complete environment restoration is more important than Desktop management

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Spencer save browser tabs like Ikuna does?

No. Spencer saves and restores window positions and app visibility across macOS Spaces, but it does not track or restore browser tabs. Ikuna saves specific tabs in Safari and Chrome per workspace.

Can Ikuna manage macOS Spaces and Desktop count?

No. Ikuna does not interact with the macOS Spaces system directly. It manages workspaces as named contexts with saved apps, tabs, windows, and Focus Mode. Spencer is the better tool for Spaces-specific layout management.

Is Spencer's one-time price a better deal than Ikuna's subscription?

It depends on what you need. Spencer costs approximately $20–30 once and handles window layout restoration. Ikuna offers a free tier and a €9/month plan that includes browser tab management, Focus Mode integration, and context switch tracking. If you need those features, the subscription pays for itself in saved setup time.

Which tool is better for someone managing 5+ client projects?

Ikuna. Each client project likely involves different browser tabs, different communication channels, and potentially different Focus Mode settings. Ikuna saves all of that per workspace. Spencer saves window positions but not the content and settings inside them.

Hanas Roberto