MacBook and Mac mini (or Mac Studio) on one desk: the best setup

The best way to run a MacBook next to a Mac mini or Mac Studio is to use Universal Control for one keyboard and trackpad across both, and Waystone to bring individual app windows from one Mac onto the other's screen. Together, the two Macs feel like one desk instead of two computers.

Why two Macs on one desk?

It's a common setup. The desktop Mac drives the big display, stays on, and has the power and storage. The MacBook comes and goes. When it's on the desk, you want the best of both without juggling two keyboards or two sets of apps.

Step one: one keyboard with Universal Control

Universal Control is built into macOS. On each Mac, open System Settings › Displays › Advanced and turn on "Allow your pointer and keyboard to move between any nearby Mac or iPad." Both Macs need to be signed in to the same Apple Account. Then push the pointer past the edge of one screen toward the other Mac.

Arrange the displays in System Settings › Displays so the edges match where the Macs sit on your desk. Now one keyboard and trackpad works on both, and you can drag files and copy and paste across.

What Universal Control doesn't change is where apps appear. MacBook apps stay on the MacBook's screen, and Mac mini apps stay on the big display.

Step two: move windows with Waystone

That's the gap Waystone fills. It puts one app's window from one Mac onto the other as a real window, while the app keeps running where it is. Two ways round work well:

• Laptop apps on the big screen. Mail, chat or a browser that's set up on the MacBook, used on the desktop's large display next to everything else.
• Desktop apps on the laptop. A heavy app that runs on the Mac Studio, with its files and its power, used from the MacBook when you'd rather sit with that.

1. 1
   Install Waystone on both Macs. It lives in the menu bar. On a Mac that shares its apps, allow Screen Recording and Accessibility when asked.
2. 2
   Pair them once. The Macs find each other on your local network. Type the six-digit code shown on the other Mac.
3. 3
   Bring a window over. Pick an app from Waystone's menu bar list and its window opens on the Mac you're using. Pin it to bring it back with one click next time.

How the two work together

With both running, you sit at the big display with one keyboard. Your desktop apps are there, and so are the MacBook apps you brought over with Waystone, in Cmd-Tab and Mission Control alongside the rest. Need something on the laptop screen itself? Push the pointer over with Universal Control.

The clipboard works both ways in a teleported window, new windows the app opens appear where you are, and resizing the window reflows the app rather than stretching it. Each app's Dock badge, like an unread count, shows in Waystone's list.

A few setup tips

• Keep both Macs on the same network. Waystone only connects over your local network, which also means nothing outside it can reach your Macs.
• Choose what each Mac shares. In Waystone's sharing settings, each Mac picks which of its apps the other can open.
• Want the whole other Mac for a minute, not just one app? That's what Screen Sharing is for, and it's built in.

Waystone costs $20 once, and one license covers up to three Macs, so a MacBook and a Mac mini are covered with room to spare.