Mission Control, a built-in feature of macOS, allows users to create and navigate multiple desktops. Users can switch between these desktops through keyboard shortcuts, trackpad gestures, or by directly accessing Mission Control. This functionality proves beneficial for those juggling various tasks, enabling a more organized workflow across different screens. However, the lack of visual cues can lead to moments of confusion regarding which desktop is currently active.

Enter Spaceman, a free and open-source tool designed to enhance this experience. Residing in the menu bar, Spaceman visually represents each of your virtual desktops with squares: the active one is highlighted in black, while the inactive ones appear grey. For added clarity, it offers the option to label each desktop with either numbers or unique names.

To begin, download the latest version from GitHub and proceed with the installation. Once launched, the application appears in the menu bar. It’s recommended to customize its position by dragging it to the right side while holding the Command key; however, the placement is entirely flexible according to user preference.

Customization options allow for further personalization. By default, each desktop is depicted as a rectangle, but users can opt to show either just numbers or rectangles with numbers for identification. Custom names can also be assigned to each desktop, limited to three characters, which is sufficient for identifying the primary purpose of each space.

For instance, one might organize desktop usage as follows: desktop one for writing tasks, desktop two for research activities, desktop three for communications, and desktop four for leisure activities. This organization helps users mentally categorize the purpose of each workspace, promoting efficiency.

Though it would be ideal for macOS to integrate a feature like Spaceman natively, this application effectively fills a gap in the user experience. Additionally, it would be beneficial if users could interact with the desktop representations to switch between them directly, a feature available on some Linux distributions. Nonetheless, Spaceman excels at resolving the visibility issue, offering a straightforward, unobtrusive solution that is completely free.