Stage Sidebar is a smart, elegant window management sidebar inspired by macOS Stage Manager, built with Python + PySide6.
It displays live thumbnails of minimized windows on Windows 11, allowing you to quickly restore, preview, and manage applications in a clean and efficient interface.
- Live window thumbnails: displays real-time previews of minimized windows using
DwmRegisterThumbnail. - Instant window management: restore or close apps directly from the sidebar.
- macOS-like layout: organizes minimized windows visually, inspired by the Stage Manager experience.
- Automatic event tracking: updates instantly when windows are minimized, closed, or restored.
- Multi-monitor support: automatically aligns to the active monitor.
- Floating icons: each tile shows the app’s icon, which can be dragged and repositioned.
- Highly customizable: adjust size, spacing, alignment, titles, and behavior via JSON.
- Optional hidden startup: can launch hidden and toggle visibility on demand.
- Low resource usage: optimized with DWM differential updates and WinEvent hooks.
Example of Stage Sidebar showing minimized windows with live previews.
- Download the latest release.
- Place it anywhere on your system.
- Run the
.exefile. - To start automatically with Windows, use the Startup folder or Task Scheduler.
- Install Python 3.9+ on Windows.
- Install dependencies:
pip install PySide6 pywin32
- Run the application:
python main.py
- Displays all minimized windows automatically.
- Left-click on a tile to restore the window.
- Click the “X” to close it directly.
- Floating icons help identify apps visually.
| Field | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
monitor |
int | 0 | Index of the active monitor. |
edge |
str | "left" |
Sidebar position: left or right. |
bar_width |
int | 220 | Sidebar width in pixels. |
bar_height_pct |
int | 80 | Sidebar height as a percentage of the screen. |
visible_count |
int | 5 | Maximum number of visible thumbnails. |
icon_size |
int | 30 | Icon size on each tile. |
icon_anchor |
str | "bottom-left" |
Anchor position for the icon. |
icon_allow_drag |
bool | false |
Allows dragging the icon. |
show_title |
bool | false |
Displays the window title above the thumbnail. |
maximize_on_restore |
bool | true |
Maximizes windows upon restore. |
Example:
{
"monitor": 0,
"edge": "left",
"bar_width": 240,
"visible_count": 6,
"icon_size": 28,
"icon_anchor": "bottom-left",
"show_title": false,
"maximize_on_restore": true
}| File | Description |
|---|---|
main.py |
Application entry point and global icon setup. |
sidebar.py |
Core logic for the sidebar and tile management. |
tile.py |
Implements the thumbnail widgets and overlays. |
win_utils.py |
Windows API integration (DWM, icons, hooks). |
config.py |
Configuration load/save management. |
docs/stage-manager-icon.png |
Main application icon. |
- Windows 11 (not tested on Windows 10)
- Python 3.9+ (when running from source)
- Dependencies:
PySide6,pywin32
Rafael Neves
🌐 rafaelneves.dev.br
Distributed under the MIT License.
Free to use, modify, and distribute.