Spud vs. Moom: save and restore your whole Mac desktop

What is Spud?

Spud is a macOS menu-bar app that saves your whole desktop context with one keystroke and brings it back just as fast. Save a layout named Deep Work, jump into it with a number key, and every window lands back at its exact position, size, and stacking order, with closed apps relaunched and closed browser tabs reopened. The trial runs 10 days, with no card and no sign-up.

Download Spud: <https://eatspud.com/download> Start Free Pro Trial: <https://eatspud.com/download>

Looking for Moom? Here's how Spud compares

If you found this page searching for Moom, start with the honest part: Moom is a well-regarded window manager from Many Tricks, and its pop-up palette can house up to 61 actions, including layouts and folders that hold more layouts. Its snap zones and chained actions are genuinely good at moving and resizing windows.

Spud solves a different problem. Instead of arranging one window at a time, it saves and restores whole named work contexts, reopens closed apps and browser tabs, and remaps your layout proportionally across displays. Moom shapes the window in front of you. Spud remembers the entire desk.

Spud vs. Moom vs. built-in macOS

Here is an honest, scannable comparison. Moom is a one-time $15 purchase from Many Tricks built around move, resize, and snap. Spud is a $4.99/month context manager with a free tier. macOS added native window tiling in Sequoia, which covers the basics but not saved contexts.

Both Spud and Moom reposition windows when you connect or disconnect a display, which is why one reviewer keeps a dedicated tool for docking and undocking. The split is scope: Moom manages windows, Spud manages whole contexts.

How it works: capture, switch, jump back

Spud runs on a three-step loop you drive entirely from the keyboard. Save the context you are in, switch into another one, then jump back when you are done. Each step is one shortcut, so your hands never leave the keyboard.

1. Capture the current layout as a named workspace.
2. Switch into another workspace, and the apps that belong to other contexts get hidden so the new one comes up clean.
3. Jump back to the previous layout, and every window returns to where it was.

Save a workspace in one keystroke

Spud records each window's position, size, and z-order, then saves the whole set with ⌃⌥ S. One keystroke captures the desk you are looking at, named so you can find it again.

Switch contexts with a number key

Press ⌃⌥ Space and the switcher fans out your saved workspaces. Number or arrow keys select one, Return jumps in, and the mouse stays parked.

Windows land back exactly where you left them

Restore is where Spud earns its keep: every window returns to its exact position, size, and z-order. Closed browser tabs reopen with no duplicates, so you do not rebuild a research session by hand.

The multi-display case is the one most tools get wrong. Unplug your external monitor and Spud re-places the layout proportionally on the laptop screen. Dock again and everything returns to where it was. That reconnect behavior is why a 9to5Mac reviewer keeps a dedicated tool for standalone and external-monitor setups instead of relying on Stage Manager.

Key benefits

Four reasons Mac power users keep Spud in the menu bar:

1. One-keystroke context switching, so moving from deep work to a call takes about a second, not a minute of dragging.
2. Nothing lost when you unplug a display, because the layout re-places itself proportionally and comes back on reconnect.
3. Keyboard-first control, with every action bound to a shortcut so you rarely reach for the mouse.
4. The flow tools come bundled: clipboard history, snippets, screenshots, and Talk, all in the same app.

More than windows: clipboard, snippets, screenshots, Talk

Spud bundles the small keyboard-first tools that keep flow intact, each opening from its own shortcut. One app covers the window work and the daily friction around it.

Searchable clipboard history

Every copy is kept and searchable from one shortcut, so a new copy is never destructive. Pasting something from an hour ago stops being an archaeology project.

Snippets

Save the text you type every day and recall it with one search using ⌃ Space. Type the trigger, get the block, no template folder to dig through.

Screenshots

Every capture lands in a searchable grid, including the ones you copy straight to the clipboard that macOS never saves to disk. Copy, open, reveal in Finder, or trash from the keyboard. Opt-in, and nothing leaves your Mac.

Talk

Toggle ⌃ T and Spud reads copied text aloud, useful for proof-listening a draft instead of rereading it on screen.

Every shortcut in one place

A quick reference for the shortcuts above, all remappable in settings:

Trusted, signed, and honest about permissions

Spud is signed and notarized, and you download it directly from eatspud.com. Direct download works in your favor: a menu-bar app that reads and moves other apps' windows runs better outside the Mac App Store sandbox. To be clear, Spud is not on the Mac App Store.

Spud needs one permission to work: Accessibility, which macOS asks for on first launch. That permission is the whole product, because reading and moving other apps' windows is what Spud does. The need for a capable third-party tool is real; reviewers still recommend third-party managers for features beyond the built-in tools.

Pricing: free forever or Pro at $4.99/mo

Spud is free forever on the base tier, and Pro is $4.99/month for unlimited use. The trial runs 10 days with no card and no sign-up, and nothing you make in the trial is ever taken away.

For contrast, Moom is a one-time $15 license with no subscription. Different model, different job: a perpetual license for window shaping versus a low monthly price for full context management with a free path.

Download Spud: <https://eatspud.com/download> Start Free Pro Trial: <https://eatspud.com/download>

Frequently asked questions

Is Spud a Moom alternative?

Yes, if what you want is saved, restorable work contexts rather than one-window shaping. Moom is strong at moving, resizing, and snapping windows. Spud goes wider: it saves whole named layouts, reopens closed apps and browser tabs, and adds clipboard history and snippets. Many people who like Moom's saved layouts choose Spud for the wider context management.

Does Spud reopen closed apps and browser tabs?

Yes. When you restore a workspace, Spud relaunches apps you had closed and reopens the browser tabs that were part of that layout, so a research or writing session comes back whole instead of piece by piece.

What happens to my layout when I unplug an external display?

Spud re-places the layout proportionally on your laptop screen, so windows stay usable instead of piling into a corner. Dock the display again and everything returns to where it was.

Is Spud on the Mac App Store?

No. Spud is downloaded directly from eatspud.com, signed and notarized. Running outside the App Store sandbox lets it read and move other apps' windows without the limits sandboxing would impose.

How much does Spud cost?

Spud is free forever on the base tier, and Pro is $4.99/month. The 10-day trial needs no card and no sign-up, and anything you create during the trial stays yours.