Changelog

Small app, steady updates.

Everything that shipped, release by release.

Latest release

v1.2.0

Aug 12, 2026

History

  • History: a new Workbench tab listing every restore from the last 7 days and what each one moved
  • Expand a restore to see every window, with Putback's own reason for anything that did not move
  • By app: how often each app actually goes back where you put it, counted on your Mac. Windows you had already closed never count against an app
  • Apps with a record of resisting a move now get a different retry, so they land sooner
  • Restore an app last: a new per-app rule for apps that rearrange themselves while the rest of the desk is still being placed
  • Clear history deletes the restore log and the per-app record together

v1.1.1

Jul 17, 2026

Scenes across desks

  • Scenes saved on other desks now appear in the Workbench, grouped under their home desk, where you can rename and delete them from anywhere
  • The menu bar panel tucks other-desk scenes into one quiet row until you expand it
  • Fixed a crash when pressing Delete or undo while dragging a box in Scene Studio
  • A scene's name can no longer collide with a scene on another desk, and deleting a scene mid-edit discards the edit instead of writing it over a different scene
  • Fixed the Quick Switcher shortcut triggering Undo last restore, and shortcuts going dead after being rebound
  • The Quick Switcher now takes keyboard focus over other apps
  • Wallpapers you pick yourself are respected: wallpaper-less scenes restore your latest choice, and a deleted wallpaper file no longer sticks forever
  • Editing a scene cancels its pending app placement, so windows only move when you apply
  • The trial-ended state is honest everywhere, including the Workbench and the right-click menu
  • Scene names cap at 30 characters as you type, a scene counter appears near the 12-scene limit, and Settings now lists what captures can't include
  • The empty Scenes canvas offers New scene directly

v1.1.0

Jul 10, 2026

The Workbench

  • The Workbench: a real main window with your desks, scenes, and rules, from the panel or the Dock icon you can now turn on
  • Scene Studio: edit any scene on a canvas. Drag and resize windows, snap to guides, drop into halves, thirds, and quarters
  • Design with apps you have not opened: add any app to a scene as a placeholder and Apply opens it straight into place
  • Apply now settles each app as its window appears, so slow launchers land in position instead of being missed
  • Apps running without a window, like Spotify after you close it, reopen and take their place too
  • Select several windows and arrange them as a group: side by side, thirds, grid, and more
  • Per-scene wallpapers: pick a file or any built-in macOS wallpaper. Scenes without one return your normal wallpaper
  • Opt-in live window previews on the canvas, rendered on your Mac and never leaving it
  • Boxes move freely between displays while editing, and adding an app targets your emptiest display
  • Putback learns which apps resize themselves, like System Settings, and places them honestly
  • Designed layouts respect the Dock and menu bar, so nothing gets buried
  • Rename or delete a scene right from its chip
  • Schematics paint windows in true stacking order and say how many sit behind
  • Scene hotkeys survive edits and renames

v1.0.1

Jul 8, 2026

Receipts, not countdowns

  • Your trial now ends with receipts, not a countdown: a plain summary of what Putback actually did (restores, desks, scene switches, windows put back)
  • The panel quietly shows your lifetime tally: windows put back since you installed
  • Undo now un-hides the apps a scene hid, so a wrong switch is fully reversible

v1.0.0

Jul 6, 2026

The statement release

  • Scenes: save a desk as Coding or Meeting and switch with one hotkey, from the panel, or by right-clicking the menu bar icon
  • Scene triggers: apply a scene on a schedule or when a calendar video call starts, off by default
  • Scenes can open their missing apps straight into place, per-scene toggle
  • Quick switcher: hold a key and flip between your desk's scenes
  • Launch placement: newly opened apps land on the display where they belong
  • Desk undo: one key returns every window to how it was before the last restore
  • Stash: tuck everything aside with one hotkey and bring it back exactly, kept for 7 days
  • The free-fix button: Settings can set the two Mission Control options that unlock the restore macOS ships with
  • Every shortcut is now rebindable, including Restore now and Save layout, with collision checks
  • Redesigned Layouts window with true-position schematics, app strips, and per-window tooltips
  • Update a scene in place by saving again with the same name, pinned scenes stay protected
  • Dark mode across the whole app
  • Honest captions everywhere: what is excluded, what applies on another desk, and why
  • The panel shows what just happened and why, and keyboard navigation works throughout

v0.2.0

Jul 5, 2026

Scenes

  • The biggest update yet. Scenes: save your desk as a named layout (Coding, Meeting, Deep Work) and bring it back anytime with a click or a global hotkey, no display change needed, up to 12 per Mac with shortcuts assignable in Settings. Onboarding is now shorter and adapts honestly to your Mission Control configuration. The app also reports its own crashes anonymously so problems get fixed before you write in, and a couple of retracted claims are gone for good.

v0.1.6

Jul 5, 2026

Onboarding that checks your settings

  • Onboarding now reads your Mission Control configuration and tells you the truth about your specific Mac: whether it is set up the way that loses window layouts, or already restores the basics and just needs exactness. No more blanket claims. Settings also notes when Mission Control is configured the way that loses layouts.

v0.1.5

Jul 4, 2026

Honest about display identity

  • Community testing showed that monitor serial numbers do not decide whether macOS restores windows, so this update retracts that claim from the app. Settings now shows a neutral note about display identity, and onboarding makes no claims about it. The real variables are being mapped openly at putback.app/check-your-monitor.

v0.1.4

Jul 4, 2026

Know your monitor

  • Putback now tells you whether your monitor is the reason macOS never restores your windows. Displays that do not report a unique identity are called out in Settings and during setup, in plain language. There is also a new web checker at putback.app/check-your-monitor for testing any Mac before installing.

v0.1.3

Jul 4, 2026

Restore exactly what you had

  • Putback now captures your desk moments before a display disconnects, so plugging back in restores the arrangement you actually had, even if you rearranged seconds earlier. Stubborn windows (like Discord) get smarter retries, and the log now explains any window that could not be restored.

v0.1.2

Jul 4, 2026

Know your displays

  • The mini display map now mirrors your physical desk layout. Identical monitors are told apart automatically, like DELL U2723QE (left) and (right). A new Identify button flashes a numbered badge on each screen so you always know which is which. Also improves the permission reconnect flow after updates.

v0.1.1

Jul 4, 2026

Automatic updates

  • Putback now updates itself. This release adds secure automatic updates (Sparkle), a Check for Updates option in the menu, the new onboarding with a live demo moment, and restore receipts that show how many windows Putback has put back for you.