Mac Desktop Widgets: How to Add Them and Which to Keep
How to add widgets to your macOS desktop, which ones are worth keeping — from calendar to CPU and memory load — and what to do when widgets disappear.
Control-click (or right-click) the desktop, choose Edit Widgets and drag a widget from the gallery onto the desktop — widgets live there since macOS 14 Sonoma. Keep only what you check several times a day: the next meeting, the weather, CPU and memory load.
It’s tempting to cover the whole screen with widgets. But a widget earns its place only when you can glance at it without clicking: how long until the next meeting, what the weather is doing, how busy the CPU and memory are. If you have to click to get the answer, you might as well open the app.
How to add one
- Control-click (or right-click) the wallpaper and choose Edit Widgets. The widget gallery opens.
- Find a widget with the search field, or pick an app in the list on the left.
- Click the widget and macOS places it for you — or drag it exactly where you want it.
- Click Done in the bottom-right corner of the gallery.
You can change the size later: Control-click the widget and pick another size. The same menu has Remove Widget and, for widgets with options, an Edit item — for example, to show a different list in Reminders.
The second home for widgets is Notification Center. Click the date and time in the menu bar to open it; there is an Edit Widgets button at the bottom. It is a good place for things you check once a day rather than every hour.
iPhone widgets on a Mac
Your Mac can show widgets from apps that are only installed on your iPhone. According to Apple, you need:
- iOS 17 or later on the iPhone;
- the same Apple Account signed in on the iPhone and the Mac;
- the iPhone near the Mac or on the same Wi-Fi network.
Turn it on in System Settings → Desktop & Dock → Widgets with the iPhone Widgets switch. The iPhone widgets then show up in the gallery. There is one catch worth knowing: if the app isn’t installed on the Mac, clicking the widget asks you to open the app on your iPhone.
Keeping them out of the way
Same place, System Settings → Desktop & Dock → Widgets:
- Show Widgets — two checkboxes, On Desktop and In Stage Manager. Uncheck the first if you only want widgets in Notification Center;
- Dim widgets on desktop — Automatically, Always or Never. Automatically switches between monochrome and full colour, Always keeps them monochrome, Never keeps them in colour. In macOS 14 Sonoma and 15 Sequoia its place is taken by Widget style, with the same choice between monochrome and full colour.
One more thing. By default, clicking the wallpaper sweeps your windows aside to reveal the desktop. If that keeps catching you out, set “Click wallpaper to show desktop” to Only in Stage Manager in the same pane.
Which widgets are worth keeping
Here is a typical engineer’s set:
- calendar — the next meeting;
- weather — do I need an umbrella;
- CPU and memory load — time to close something (who exactly is busy, Activity Monitor will show);
- focus timer — how long until the break.
Keep them in a single column along the edge of the screen. A second column starts hiding your windows, and the widgets fade into wallpaper you stop looking at.
Widgets spare you trips into apps, but they don’t stop banners and chimes. A work mode of your own silences those — see how to build one in Focus on Mac.
Why they vanish or stop updating
A widget belongs to an app. If the app is deleted, reinstalled or moved, macOS can lose track of its widgets: they disappear from the gallery or stay blank. Occasionally the same happens after a major macOS update.
A widget doesn’t run on its own. The system draws it; the app only tells it what to show. Apple gives each widget a budget of updates and decides when to redraw it. So a widget is not a stopwatch: second-by-second numbers are not what it is for. If you need seconds, keep the load in the menu bar.
What to do, in order:
- Launch the app the widget belongs to.
- Remove the widget and add it again from the gallery.
- Quit and relaunch the app.
- Log out and back in, and if that doesn’t help, restart the Mac.
| Problem | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Widget missing from the gallery | the app was never launched or was removed | launch the app, reopen the gallery |
| Widget blank or grey | the system lost track of the app after an update | remove the widget and add it again |
| Numbers lag behind | macOS update budget | that’s normal; for live numbers use the menu bar |
| Widgets look washed out | dimming is on | set Dim widgets on desktop to Never |
| Widgets gone from the desktop | On Desktop is unchecked | turn it on in Desktop & Dock |
In the app
Mac Resources adds eight widgets, in a gallery section called Mac Resources. Small: System, CPU, Memory, Disk and Battery. Medium: Resources and Network. Large: Last Hour. They all share one measurement, so neighbouring widgets always show the same numbers. They update once a minute — the limit macOS sets — and network speed is an average over that minute. They look like the built-in ones: fonts, spacing and the glass mode are taken from Weather. If the widgets seem stuck, the app’s menu bar badge has a Reload widgets item.
Pomodoro has one widget in three sizes. Small shows the timer, progress and today’s total; medium shows the dial and today’s total; large adds the week, your streak and the last 14 days. Start, pause, skip and reset work right in the widget, even with the app closed — but sound, notifications and Focus need the app running. If you are new to it, start with how the Pomodoro Technique works.
Both are added the same way: right-click the desktop → Edit Widgets → the Mac Resources or Pomodoro section. And if your Mac is already slow, a widget tells you what is loaded, while the step-by-step diagnosis helps you find out why.
After the desktop, your second display case is the menu bar: it holds less, but it is always in view.