Free · open source · for macOS 26 and later

Name your Spaces.
Keep them where you put them.

SpaceKeeper is a small menu bar app that gives your Mission Control desktops real names, stops macOS from shuffling them, and lets you jump, pin, reorder, add and remove them from one panel.

Get SpaceKeeper View the code on GitHub

Works on a standard Mac. No need to switch off System Integrity Protection.

Everything Mission Control should let you do

macOS calls your desktops “Desktop 1, Desktop 2…” and reorders them whenever it likes. SpaceKeeper fixes that, from a panel in your menu bar.

  • Name every desktop

    Type a name like “Mail” or “Research”. It shows in the menu bar, in a banner when you switch, and as a label on the desktop itself, so you can see it in Mission Control.

  • Keep them in order

    One switch turns off macOS's “rearrange Spaces by recent use”, so your desktops stay exactly where you put them.

  • Pin what matters

    Pin your important desktops. If one is ever moved out of order, the menu bar icon turns into a warning and SpaceKeeper tells you where it should be.

  • Jump in one click

    Go straight to any desktop from the list. SpaceKeeper can also switch on macOS's own ⌃1…⌃0 shortcuts for you, plus ⌃⌥1…⌃⌥6 for Desktops 11–16.

  • Add and remove desktops

    Create a new desktop or close one without opening Mission Control yourself. Windows on a closed desktop move safely to another one.

  • Group them your way

    Drag desktops up and down SpaceKeeper's list to keep related ones together. This order is yours and never changes Mission Control.

  • Open from anywhere

    Press ⌃⌥S in any app to bring up SpaceKeeper, rename or jump, then press Esc to close it.

  • Built for everyone

    Full VoiceOver and keyboard support, adjustable text size, and respect for your Reduce Motion, Reduce Transparency and Increase Contrast settings.

Safe by design, honest about limits

Some Space tools inject code into the Dock and require you to weaken System Integrity Protection. SpaceKeeper doesn't, and it doesn't hide what that means.

What it does

  • Reads your Spaces without changing anything in the system
  • Switches desktops by pressing macOS's own keyboard shortcuts for you
  • Adds and removes desktops using Mission Control's own buttons
  • Changes only one Dock setting, the same switch found in System Settings
  • Stores your names and settings on your Mac only. No accounts, no tracking, no network.

What macOS doesn't allow

  • Mission Control's own “Desktop 1…” captions can't be renamed. Desktop labels do the job instead.
  • A desktop that's been moved can't be moved back automatically. SpaceKeeper tells you, so you can drag it back or accept the new order.
  • Shortcut jumping covers Desktops 1–16, macOS's limit.
  • It uses a few undocumented macOS functions, so it isn't on the Mac App Store and a future macOS update could affect it.

Accessibility

SpaceKeeper follows Apple's accessibility guidelines, so it works the way you work.

  • VoiceOver

    Every control says what it does and which desktop it acts on, for example “Pin Mail”. Desktop switches, warnings and changes are announced.

  • Keyboard only

    Tab through everything. ⌃⌥S opens the panel, ⌘N adds a desktop, and ⌥⌘↑/⌥⌘↓ reorder the list.

  • Vision

    Large and extra-large label sizes, solid high-contrast styling when you ask for it, and nothing shown by colour alone.

  • Motion

    With Reduce Motion on, nothing slides or fades, and banners stay up a little longer.

Install

Needs macOS 26 or later. Works on Apple silicon and Intel Macs. Free, with nothing to sign up for.

Download SpaceKeeper for Mac

  1. Download and copy it to Applications

    On the download page, click SpaceKeeper-version.dmg. Open it from your Downloads folder, then drag the SpaceKeeper icon onto the Applications folder in the window that appears.

  2. Open it the first time

    Double-click SpaceKeeper in Applications. macOS says “SpaceKeeper” Not Opened: click Done. Then open System Settings › Privacy & Security, scroll down to Security, and click Open Anyway next to “SpaceKeeper was blocked”. Enter your Mac password and click Open Anyway again.

    You only do this once. The DMG includes an illustrated guide, First time opening SpaceKeeper, with the same steps.

    Why does macOS ask?

    SpaceKeeper is free and isn't registered with Apple's paid developer programme, so macOS can't check it for you. All of its code is public on GitHub. Only download it from the official GitHub page.

  3. Lock the order

    Click the SpaceKeeper icon in the menu bar and turn on Keep Spaces in a fixed order. The Dock restarts once.

  4. Allow switching

    Click Enable Switching… and turn SpaceKeeper on under Privacy & Security › Accessibility. If the panel shows Turn On Shortcuts, click it.

  5. Name and pin

    Type names for your desktops, pin the important ones, and drag the list into the order you like. Double-tap control (or press ⌃⌥S) any time to come back.

Prefer to build it yourself?

You'll need Apple's free Xcode 26 or later (or its Command Line Tools). In Terminal:

git clone https://github.com/shuistyle/SpaceKeeper.git
cd SpaceKeeper
bash build.sh --install

The first build creates a local signing certificate in its own password-protected keychain, so macOS remembers SpaceKeeper's permissions between updates.

Questions

Why doesn't Mission Control show my names?

Mission Control's captions are drawn by the Dock, and only code injected into the Dock can change them. That requires weakening System Integrity Protection, which SpaceKeeper won't ask you to do. Instead, each desktop gets a small name label, which also appears in Mission Control's thumbnails.

What permissions does it need, and why?

Only Accessibility. It's used to press the “Switch to Desktop” shortcuts for you and to use Mission Control's add and remove buttons. SpaceKeeper never reads what you type or what's in your windows.

Does it collect any data?

No. SpaceKeeper has no network code at all. Your names, pins and settings stay in your Mac's preferences.

Does it work with more than one display?

Yes. The list is grouped by display, and names and pins are kept per desktop. Adding and removing desktops on multiple displays works best when “Displays have separate Spaces” is on.

Something isn't working. What should I do?

Open the panel, expand Diagnostics and click Copy Report. It shows the permission, signing and shortcut status. Then open an issue on GitHub with that report.