SoloDisplay
Windows has Second screen only. macOS doesn't. SoloDisplay adds it: plug in an external monitor and your MacBook's built-in display turns off, lid open. Unplug and it comes back.
brew install --cask fanckush/solodisplay/solodisplay
Your laptop screen is on.
Pick External Only once. Every time a monitor is connected the laptop screen turns off, and it comes back when you unplug.
It isn't dimmed, it's off. macOS stops using it, so windows and the pointer stay on your monitor.
Press the brightness keys and the screen under your cursor changes. Move it to your monitor to adjust the monitor, move it back to adjust the laptop screen.
Needs a monitor that supports DDC, and Accessibility permission.
macOS only uses HiDPI on 4K monitors, so a 1440p monitor running at 1080p gets blurry text. Sharp Text turns on HiDPI for any monitor, so text stays crisp at the resolution you picked.
Switch the monitor to a PS5 or a PC and the MacBook screen takes over. Switch back and it turns off again. The cable stays plugged in, so charging keeps working.
Off by default. Needs a monitor that reports its input over DDC.
Monitor on this Mac. Laptop screen off.
Clamshell mode only works with the lid shut, so you give up the keyboard, trackpad, Touch ID, camera, microphone and speakers. SoloDisplay keeps the lid open and turns off just the screen.
Install SoloDisplay, open it from the menu bar and choose External Only. From then on the MacBook screen turns off whenever a monitor is connected, and comes back when you unplug. The guide compares this with clamshell mode and the other workarounds.
Not with macOS alone. Clamshell mode only works with the lid closed, so you lose the keyboard, trackpad, Touch ID, camera and microphone. SoloDisplay gives you the same monitor-only setup with the lid open.
Not built in. On Windows you press Win+P and pick Second screen only. macOS has no such setting. SoloDisplay adds it: External Only is the same idea.
A dimmed screen is still part of your desktop. The pointer and windows keep ending up on a screen you can't see. SoloDisplay turns it off, so macOS only uses your monitor.
Because macOS still treats the built-in display as part of your desktop, even when it's dimmed. Once SoloDisplay turns it off, macOS only has your monitor, so everything opens there.
The laptop screen turns back on. If External Only is still chosen, it turns off again the next time you plug a monitor in.
Yes. Monitors connected directly, through a USB-C or Thunderbolt hub, or through a dock all count, and you can have more than one.
Yes. Turn on Brightness Keys and the Mac's brightness keys control whichever screen your cursor is on. Point at your monitor to adjust it, or at the laptop screen to adjust that. It works on monitors that support DDC and needs Accessibility permission.
With Input Detection (Experimental) turned on, SoloDisplay notices when the monitor is showing another device, like a PS5 or a PC. It turns that monitor off in macOS and brings the laptop screen back, while the cable stays connected. It needs a monitor that reports its input over DDC.
A small helper process watches the app while the screen is off. If the app quits, crashes or is force quit, the helper turns the laptop screen back on. It does the same if the screen is off and no usable monitor is connected.
macOS only uses HiDPI on 4K monitors. Run a lower resolution monitor below its native resolution, like a 1440p monitor at 1080p, and text gets blurry. Turn on Sharp Text and SoloDisplay turns on HiDPI for that monitor, so text stays crisp.
No. It doesn't touch mirroring, resolution, arrangement or sleep settings. Sharp Text, if you turn it on, switches a monitor to HiDPI at the resolution you picked, never to a different one.
MacBook Air and MacBook Pro with Apple silicon (M1 and later), running macOS Sequoia 15 or later. Intel Macs aren't supported.
For this one job, yes. BetterDisplay is a large toolkit for managing displays. SoloDisplay only turns the laptop screen off when a monitor is connected, and it's free and open source.
Quit SoloDisplay from its menu and drag it from Applications to the Trash, or run brew uninstall --cask solodisplay if you installed it with Homebrew. The laptop screen comes back on when the app quits.