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.
Adjust your external monitor from the keyboard, with the usual macOS brightness overlay.
Needs a monitor that supports DDC, and Accessibility permission.
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 the external monitor, on monitors that support DDC. It 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.
No. It doesn't touch mirroring, resolution, arrangement or sleep settings.
MacBook Air and MacBook Pro with Apple silicon (M1 and later), running macOS Tahoe 26 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.