macOS CLI tool to configure multi-display resolutions and arrangements (opens in new tab)

Lunar is awesome. Just FYI there is a link in the following text which doesn't work, so i can't actually see an examples.

> Check out the "Shortcuts" page to find some useful pre-made shortcuts that you can add with a click.

Is it possible to snapshot exact screen positioning using shortcuts? I'd like to take a snapshot of all my settings (orientation, refresh rate, hdr settings, and _exact_ screen positioning) and restore using a shortcut when ever it changes.

Currently using displayplacer with BTT to make keyboard shortcuts. When moving to different hoteling desks, sometimes the laptop is on the left of the additional monitor and other times on the right. Now I have two keybinds that orient my layout. I've used Lunar specifically for the dim below 0 functionality, (thanks for the ongoing development), I'll have to try the new shortcuts to see if they can replace displayplacer.

Check out, https://rectangleapp.com/ this might be what you are looking for.

Yet another option: https://github.com/koekeishiya/yabai

I think spectacle app can help. https://github.com/eczarny/spectacle

Since we're on the topic of tiling manager, I'm still using ShiftIt on my old macbook and I still think it's one of the best window manager since it allows you bind keys to particular actions and stays out of the way with minimal configuration. It's not being maintained though.

Isn’t this possible with the new iOS-like split view in Ventura? Sadly not supported by many apps yet (eg VSCode).

Settings in Ventura are a step back. Just…the whole thing. It’s gracious to call it an amateur effort.

I noticed this as well. Now if i have to rearrange i try to remember to open spotlight (CMD+Space) and type "arrange".. will take you straight to the option.

I placed on order for an M2 MacBook for my wife last week. I'm planning on adding native support within a few months of the laptop arriving.

The version installable with Homebrew is working for me on Ventura / M1.

I have an occasional issue where one of my external displays switches from 60 Hz to 40 Hz, and I use displayplacer to toggle the refresh rate to reset the monitor back to 60: https://github.com/jacobwgillespie/dotfiles/blob/main/bin/fi...

Latest code is from 6 months ago. You can probably build it yourself

I published a CLI for doing rotation for any display here: https://github.com/alin23/mac-utils/blob/main/bin/RotateDisp...

Source code in the same repo: https://github.com/alin23/mac-utils/blob/main/RotateDisplay....

As long as the system reports `true` for `canChangeOrientation`, then the CLI should work.

Lunar (https://lunar.fyi/) can also do that and provides some useful hotkeys if you happen to rotate displays often: https://files.alinpanaitiu.com/2106f2eac02df0c3eec379ef19965...

It might not have been updated but it works perfectly. Also it does everything you just asked for except invocation (you have to setup the keybind yourself, for myself I have an Alfred workflow I run to do it).

Here is an example of a displayplacer command (it will generate this for you based on your current config, you just need to save and re-run it to get back to that state):

    /opt/homebrew/bin/displayplacer "id:6696B81B-DF77-45C3-9D39-AFA151E17417 res:2560x1440 hz:74 color_depth:8 scaling:off origin:(0,0) degree:0" "id:353C959C-561C-48BA-B804-84C448FAF99F res:1440x2560 hz:75 color_depth:8 scaling:off origin:(-1440,-444) degree:90" "id:3892CD52-313D-4B1B-9743-DB3165484F16 res:1920x1080 hz:60 color_depth:8 scaling:off origin:(307,-1080) degree:0" "id:EB4F0496-96F8-4DA9-B14A-6023FE90C3B1 res:1440x2560 hz:75 color_depth:8 scaling:off origin:(2560,-499) degree:270"

The closest I've found to doing this is Mosaic. I paid for it because it was so useful. You can bind keyboard shortcuts and make any selected window snap to a particular screen and size. With the introduction of Ventura's Stage Manager (which is a poorly disguised Task Bar that should be at the bottom of the screen occupying all the unused real estate next to/around the dock), I can use Mosaic to snap my windows to the fullest size possible while still being able to see Stage Manager and this gives me a window management experience on Mac that is almost as good as Windows.

There’s a tool called “Later” that does this:

https://getlater.app/

Trust me, I considered it lol.

As far as I understand, there is a low level race condition here. The order that the monitors come alive and initialize with the OS is non deterministic. This can cause the left monitor and the right monitor, for example, to swap IDs.

displayplacer lets you specify all those attributes you mentioned as shell command so you can fix everything with one "click".

Can you elaborate? I have this problem every day.. macOS just seems incapable of remembering my display arrangement.

if you have multiple cables attached to the monitor, isn't it easier to use the monitor's input selection buttons to do this? with the monitors i have, when i manually switch inputs, it signals to the other computer the monitor is no longer available and my mac auto switches like was not plugged in. when i switch back to the mac's input for the monitor, the mac auto recognizes it is available and reconfigures the layout. all as i was expecting it to do

The latest code on the master branch of displayplacer supports this. Run `displayplacer "id:34686E82-0CED-DF86-AFC7-AA1A8EB5CFC0 enabled:false"` with your screen ID and it will set the screen to all black plus remove the screen from the view of the OS. I'll cut the next release version after I add native Apple silicon support.

Lunar's BlackOut feature can do that: https://lunar.fyi/pro#blackout

The feature is especially useful if you want to turn them off in software and keep them still connected to the Mac so that you can turn them on at a later time using a hotkey for example.

If you simply want to turn them off completely, just like you would press the physical power button of the monitor, then Lunar can do that by sending a DDC toggle power command, but there are some caveats to be aware of:

    works only if the monitor can be controlled through DDC (most monitors work)
    can't be used to power on the monitor
    when a monitor is turned off or in standby, it does not accept any commands from a connected device

I recently wrote a deep dive into how I tried to find a better way to turn off these screens using private macOS APIs: https://alinpanaitiu.com/blog/turn-off-macbook-display-clams...

The latest code on the master branch of displayplacer supports this. Clone the repo and run `make` to build it. Run `displayplacer "id:34686E82-0CED-DF86-AFC7-AA1A8EB5CFC0 res:1440x2560 enabled:false"` with your screen ID and it will set the screen to all black plus remove the screen from the view of the OS.

This is what I’m looking for too. I have three places I plug in displays: home office, work office, no displays (coffee shop). I have specific windows I want in specific places when plugged into external displays at home or work. Browser, Remote Desktop tool, chat client, etc. Every time I come back from the coffee shop, I have to manually re-arrange my windows. First world problem I know but every time I think “it should be smart enough to land these windows in this spot”

Similar with code editors: it should be smart enough to re-arrange my docks based on screen size. When I have big screen, expand side and bottom sub-windows. When I’m just on laptop screen, auto hide them.

Ivan Sapozhnik (https://twitter.com/iSapozhnik) is working on adding this to his Lasso app (https://thelasso.app/). It's not an easy problem to solve as there's no API that can just save and restore windows, a lot of inventive solutions have been tried and failed.

But I see Ivan very determined to solve this.

Closest thing I've found for getting this done is Mosaic.

is not this for window locations? It seems it's not for monitor config backup and restore.

I use Hammerspoon for managing my windows, but never for managing my displays. It shouldn't surprise me that it can do it, I'll check it out.

Would you even see what it does in a screenshot? I think you would need a photo.

I've seen a few comments mention the description now. Thank you for the feedback. I wrote displayplacer because all the other tools were GUIs and I needed something scriptable. Consider using SwitchResX for a multi-display profile GUI tool.

KDE has it.