WhichSpace

Have you ever forgotten which space is currently active on macOS and wanted a quick way to tell? Didn't think so... but I did!

Overview

• Multiple Spaces - Show current Space only, or all Spaces at once
• Multiple Displays - Show Spaces across multiple monitors
• Click-to-Switch - Jump to any Space directly from the menu bar
• Scroll-to-Switch - Cycle through Spaces by scrolling over the menu bar icon
• Colors - Set foreground and background colors per Space
• Icons - Choose from multiple icon styles (square, circle, triangle, and more)
• Labels - Replace Space numbers with custom text labels
• Symbols - Use native macOS symbols instead of numbers
• Emojis - Use emojis to get even more creative
• Badges - Add a small character of your choice next to the Space number
• Size - Scale icons to your preference
• Sound - Play a sound when switching Spaces
• Shortcuts - Native actions for the Shortcuts app
• AppleScript - Automate with scripting support
• URL Scheme - Trigger Space switches from any launcher via whichspace:// links
• Launch at Login - Start automatically with macOS
• Auto-Updates - Stay up-to-date with automatic updates
• Languages - Translated into multiple languages

Installation

Homebrew (recommended)

brew install --cask whichspace

GitHub

• Download WhichSpace.zip
• Extract WhichSpace.zip and run WhichSpace.app
• Future updates will be handled automatically

Features

Spaces

Show the current Space only, or choose to show all Spaces

Click on a Space to switch to it

Note

Inactive Spaces are dimmed by default.

Empty Spaces can be hidden entirely.

Displays

Show the current Display only, or choose to show all Displays

Note

A vertical separator is shown between Displays.

Full-screen apps are shown as their app icon (or F) and can be hidden entirely.

Colors

Choose foreground and background colors for each Space, or apply one color to all Spaces

Icons

Choose from a variety of icons for each Space, or apply one icon to all Spaces

Symbols

Use custom symbols instead of numbers for a more personalised look

Badges

Add a small character next to the Space number

Note

Use # as the badge character to insert the current Space number.

Labels

Replace Space numbers with custom text labels

Note

Use {number} in a label to insert the current Space number, e.g. {number} - Work → 3 - Work.

Size

Adjust the scale and padding of the icons in the menu bar

Sounds

Play a sound when switching Spaces

Choose from built-in macOS system sounds, or add your own custom sounds.

To add a custom sound:

1. Create the ~/Library/Sounds directory (if it doesn't already exist)
2. Copy your sound file into the directory
3. The sound will appear under the User section in the Sound menu

Shortcuts

Automate WhichSpace with Shortcuts

WhichSpace provides native actions in the Shortcuts app - open Shortcuts, create a shortcut, and search for "WhichSpace":

• Switch Space - switch to a Space by number, optionally applying a label and badge in one step
• Switch to Next Space / Previous Space - move one Space left or right
• Get Current Space Number / Label / Badge - read the current Space state into a shortcut
• Set Current Space Label / Badge - apply a custom label or badge
• Reset Current Space Label / Badge - revert the current Space to its default
• Reset All Space Labels / Badges - revert every Space at once

"Switch Space" and "Get Current Space Number" are also available directly from Spotlight and Siri.

Scripting

Automate WhichSpace with AppleScript

Switching

# Switch to a specific Space on the current display
osascript -e 'tell application "WhichSpace" to switch to space number 3'

# Switch to a Space and apply a label in one step
osascript -e 'tell application "WhichSpace" to switch to space number 3 label "Work"'

# Switch to a Space and apply a badge in one step
osascript -e 'tell application "WhichSpace" to switch to space number 3 badge "A"'

# Switch to the next or previous Space on the current display
osascript -e 'tell application "WhichSpace" to switch to next space'
osascript -e 'tell application "WhichSpace" to switch to previous space'

Spaces

# Get the current Space number (1-based numeric index)
osascript -e 'tell application "WhichSpace" to get current space number'

Labels

# Get the current Space label (as shown in the menu bar, e.g. "1", "2", "F" for fullscreen)
osascript -e 'tell application "WhichSpace" to get current space label'

# Set a custom label for the current Space
osascript -e 'tell application "WhichSpace" to set current space label to "Work"'

# Reset the current Space label to its default (e.g. the Space number)
osascript -e 'tell application "WhichSpace" to reset current space label'

# Reset the labels of all Spaces to their defaults
osascript -e 'tell application "WhichSpace" to reset all space labels'

Badges

# Get the current Space badge character
osascript -e 'tell application "WhichSpace" to get current space badge'

# Set a single-character badge for the current Space ("#" shows the Space number)
osascript -e 'tell application "WhichSpace" to set current space badge to "A"'

# Reset the current Space badge to its default
osascript -e 'tell application "WhichSpace" to reset current space badge'

# Reset the badges of all Spaces to their defaults
osascript -e 'tell application "WhichSpace" to reset all space badges'

URL Scheme

Automate WhichSpace from any launcher (Raycast, Alfred, and so on)

# Switch to a specific Space on the current display
open "whichspace://switch/3"

# Switch to a Space and apply a label and badge in one step
open "whichspace://switch/3?label=Work&badge=A"

# Switch to the next or previous Space on the current display
open "whichspace://switch/next"
open "whichspace://switch/previous"