What belongs
on your desktop?

What are desktop widgets?

Desktop widgets are small information displays or tools visible on your desktop. Common examples include clocks, calendars, sticky notes, task lists, weather summaries, and resource monitors. They differ from full-size apps by keeping one small piece of information close at hand.

Start with three useful things

Try a clock, one note, and a focus timer. Put them where they do not cover your working windows. Add a task list only if a short local list fits your workflow. A desktop filled with live data can become as distracting as a crowded dashboard.

Choose local or connected widgets deliberately

Notes, tasks, calendars, clocks, focus timers, and countdowns can work without network access. Weather needs a remote service; licensing needs validation. Check what information an app sends before adding connected widgets. Widgets sends explicitly configured coordinates for weather, not automatic location tracking.

Make a layout you can maintain

Use a consistent theme and leave empty space between cards. Unlock the Widgets layout when you need to interact, and lock it afterward to keep desktop cards out of the way. The current app stores a single local layout and moves off-screen widgets back to a connected display.

Read more about macOS widgets or Windows desktop widgets.