How to Fix Stage Manager Window Order Resets in macOS Sequoia 15.x
Symptom: After a reboot or waking from sleep, Sequoia Stage Manager loses the custom grouping and layering order of your application windows.
TL;DR fix
Start with Fix 1: Delete the WindowServer Preferences. If the issue persists after that, try Fix 2: Reset Stage Manager via Defaults. Full Terminal commands and step-by-step instructions are in each section below.
Why this happens
The WindowServer database that stores Stage Manager "sets" can become corrupted, leading to a default reset of window positions.
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Fix 1: Delete the WindowServer Preferences
- Open Terminal.
- Remove the corrupted preference file:
rm ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.WindowManager.plist
- Log out and log back in to recreate a fresh file.
Fix 2: Reset Stage Manager via Defaults
- Run the following command in Terminal:
defaults delete com.apple.WindowManager
- Restart the Dock:
killall Dock