Stop the Mac from auto-switching Spaces when you change apps
You're working on Space 2. You click a Dock icon or press ⌘Tab to switch apps — and macOS yanks you over to Space 4 because that's where that app has a window. It's disorienting and breaks flow. One setting stops it.
What's happening
macOS has a feature called "When switching to an application, switch to a Space with open windows for the application." When this is on, clicking any app in the Dock or switching via ⌘Tab immediately navigates to whichever Space holds that app's windows. The intent is helpful — it takes you right to the app — but if you're trying to bring an app's window to your current Space, it works against you.
Turn it off in System Settings
- Open System Settings → Desktop & Dock.
- Scroll to the Mission Control section.
- Turn off "When switching to an application, switch to a Space with open windows for the application".
Now switching apps via ⌘Tab or the Dock keeps you on your current Space. The app's window doesn't come to you automatically — but you stay where you are, and you can drag windows between Spaces yourself, or use Mission Control to pick where you want to go.
What changes after turning it off
With this setting off, switching to an app brings its menu bar active but doesn't move you to a different Space. If the app's window lives on another Space, you'll need to:
- Switch to that Space manually (⌃ + number, or a three-finger swipe), or
- Open Mission Control and click the window there, or
- Move the app's window to your current Space by right-clicking it in Mission Control → Move to [current Space].
This is a workflow trade-off: you get stability (no surprise Space jumps) in exchange for manual navigation when you do need to reach a window on another Space.
Mainspring surfaces this toggle — Stop apps switching Spaces — alongside the Spaces rearranging and window-grouping settings. Adjust your whole Mission Control and Spaces setup in one panel, then flip any setting back if it doesn't feel right.
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Combine with fixed Space assignments
If you want an app to always open on a specific Space rather than a random one, right-click (or Control-click) the app's Dock icon → Options → Assign To → pick a Space. That way the app always opens on Space 3 (or wherever), and once you turn off auto-switching, you consciously navigate there when you want it rather than being yanked there unexpectedly.