Group windows by app in Mission Control for a tidier view

When you keep a dozen apps running, Mission Control's default view turns into a crowded contact sheet of unrelated thumbnails. Turning on Group windows by application in System Settings → Desktop & Dock gives every app one tidy, labelled spot on screen, so the overview reads like an orderly board instead of clutter. Here's how to set it, and a couple of tweaks that keep it looking clean.

What a tidy overview looks like

Picture your usual load: Mail, Calendar, Safari, Slack, Notes, Music, a couple of Finder windows, a terminal. In the default layout those land as ten-plus separate tiles jostling for space, in an order that changes as you open and close things. With grouping on, each app collapses to a single, named position — one Mail block, one Safari block, one Slack block — laid out as a calm row of labelled cards. You're reading a short list of apps, not counting windows, and the arrangement holds steady from one visit to the next.

That steadiness is most of the tidiness. Because the overview is organised by app rather than by a fit-everything algorithm, it stops rearranging itself, and a stable picture always feels neater than a shifting one — even with the same windows open.

Turn on the tidy view

1. Open System Settings and click Desktop & Dock.
2. Scroll to the Mission Control section.
3. Turn on Group windows by application.

The tidier layout shows the next time you open Mission Control, on macOS 13 Ventura, 14 Sonoma, and 15 Sequoia alike. If you'd rather set it in a shell — handy when configuring a new Mac — it's one Dock preference:

# Give each app one tidy spot in Mission Control
defaults write com.apple.dock expose-group-apps -bool true
killall Dock

# Undo — back to the scattered per-window layout
defaults write com.apple.dock expose-group-apps -bool false
killall Dock

The killall Dock line reloads the Dock so the change takes hold; none of your windows are disturbed.

Keep the board clean

Grouping does the heavy lifting; two small habits keep the overview genuinely tidy when you're running a lot:

• Close what you're done with. Grouping hides clutter, but an app with eight windows still shows as a fat stack — quitting or closing stragglers keeps each block slim and readable.
• Calm the animation. A busy overview feels busier when it flies in with motion. Turning down system animation makes the grouped view settle instantly, which reads as tidier still.

Together, grouping plus fewer open windows plus a calmer animation turn Mission Control from a place you brace yourself to open into a quick, orderly glance at everything you've got running.

Make the tidy view snap open

A calmer animation is what makes the grouped overview feel instant. See how to reduce motion on Mac to cut the swoosh so Mission Control settles the moment you open it.