Software Alternatives & Startups

Gnome Do VS Putback

Compare Gnome Do VS Putback and see what are their differences

Gnome Do

Simple, sleek, swift, smart. Do. GNOME Do allows you to quickly search for many items present on your desktop or the web, and perform useful actions on those items. GNOME Do is inspired by Quicksilver & GNOME Launch Box.

Rating
0 reviews
Putback

Putback is a Mac window manager that puts every window back where it was when your displays change, and switches named layouts with one hotkey.

Rating
0 reviews
Pricing
Paid Free trial $19 / One-off (1 Mac. Family 5 Macs $29, Team 20 Macs $79)

Which is more popular?

App Launcher popularity
100% vs 0%
alternatives listed
87 vs 17

Base details

Website, pricing, platforms and company facts side by side.

Gnome Do
Putback
Website launchpad.net putback.app
Pricing —
Paid Free trial $19 / One-off (1 Mac. Family 5 Macs $29, Team 20 Macs $79) Official pricing
Platforms —
Mac
Company — Startup from Australia · 1 - 9 employees · 2026
Listed in

About Gnome Do and Putback

In their own words, as submitted to SaaSHub.

Gnome Do
Putback

No description of Gnome Do yet.

Every time your display setup changes, macOS moves your windows and does not move them back. Undock from a monitor and everything piles onto the laptop screen. Dock again and it stays piled. Putback is a menu bar window manager for macOS that fixes this. It learns where your windows sit while you...

Read more about Putback

Features and specs

What each product offers, as listed by its team.

Gnome Do 5 features
Putback 8 features
  • Efficiency
    Gnome Do allows users to quickly perform tasks using keyboard shortcuts, which can significantly speed up workflow.
  • Integration
    It integrates well with various applications and services, allowing for seamless execution of commands.
  • Customization
    The tool offers a high degree of customization through plugins and settings, enabling users to tailor it to their specific needs.
  • User Interface
    Gnome Do has an intuitive and straightforward user interface that is easy for beginners to understand and use.
  • Open Source
    Being open-source, Gnome Do allows the community to contribute to its development, ensuring continuous improvement and adaptation.

Possible disadvantages

  • Learning Curve
    Though it aims to simplify tasks, there is still a learning curve for new users to understand how to utilize all its features effectively.
  • System Resources
    Gnome Do can be relatively resource-intensive, which might slow down performance on older or less powerful systems.
  • Stability
    Users have reported occasional crashes and bugs, which can disrupt workflow.
  • Limited Support
    Official support and documentation may be limited, potentially making it more difficult for users to find solutions to problems.
  • Dependency on Gnome Environment
    While it can be used in other desktop environments, it is optimized for and works best with the Gnome desktop environment.
  • Restores windows on display change
    Puts every window back on the screen and in the position it came from when you dock, undock or plug in a monitor.
  • A memory for every desk
    Keeps a separate layout for each display setup: laptop only, desk with a monitor, office dock.
  • Scenes with one hotkey
    Name any arrangement as a Scene and switch to it with a single hotkey.
  • Scene Studio
    Draw a desk with a box for each app, even apps that are not open yet, plus a wallpaper per Scene.
  • Triggers
    Apply a Scene by time or calendar, like Coding at 9am or Meeting for a video call. Off by default.
  • Stash
    Tucks every window aside with one shortcut, then brings them all back exactly where they were.
  • Undo and history
    Undo the whole desk, and see every restore with the reason it happened.
  • Private, no account
    Window data never leaves your Mac. One-time purchase, no subscription, signed and notarized.

Analysis

An editorial look at what each product does well and who it suits.

Gnome Do
Putback

Overall verdict

  • Gnome Do is considered a good tool for those who value speed and efficiency in launching applications and performing various tasks on their Linux systems. Its plugin system extends its capabilities beyond just launching applications, adding to its versatility and usefulness.

Why this product is good

  • Gnome Do is appreciated for its intuitive, quick-launch functionality and its ability to enhance productivity on Linux desktops. It is known for its simplicity, ease of use, and the ability to execute a wide range of tasks with just a few keystrokes, making it a favorite among power users and those who prefer keyboard-centric workflows.

Recommended for

    Gnome Do is recommended for Linux users who enjoy customizing their workflow, prefer keyboard-driven interfaces, and are looking for a powerful and flexible application launcher to boost their productivity. It is particularly suited for developers, IT professionals, and power users who frequently work with multiple applications and need to streamline their desktop interactions.

Overall verdict

  • Putback is a niche app designed to help resellers and organizers track items that need to be returned to their proper place, which can be genuinely useful for people managing inventory, decluttering, or reselling goods, though its value depends heavily on your specific workflow needs and how well it integrates with tools you already use.

Why this product is good

  • Helps maintain organization by tracking items that need to be put back or returned
  • Can save time by reducing the need to remember or manually log misplaced items
  • Useful for resellers who need to track inventory location and status
  • Simple, focused functionality without unnecessary feature bloat

Recommended for

  • Resellers managing physical inventory across multiple locations
  • People decluttering or organizing home spaces who need a tracking system
  • Small business owners who need lightweight inventory location tracking
  • Users who prefer simple single-purpose apps over complex all-in-one solutions

Videos

Walkthroughs and reviews on video.

Gnome Do 1 video + Add
Putback 0 videos + Add

Gnome Do Review with Docky feature

No Putback videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

Category popularity

How often each product is chosen within a category, 0–100% relative to the other.

Score bands 0–20 21–40 41–50 51–60 61–100
Gnome Do
Putback
100% 100%
0% 0%
0% 0%
100% 100%
100% 100%
0% 0%
0% 0%
100% 100%

Questions & Answers

As answered by people managing Gnome Do and Putback.

How would you describe the primary audience of your product?

Putback's answer:

Mac users who move between display setups: a MacBook that docks to a monitor at the desk, a second screen at the office, a laptop on the couch. Developers, designers and anyone who runs a lot of windows and is tired of putting them back by hand every morning.

What makes your product unique?

Putback's answer:

Most Mac window managers snap windows into place when you ask. Putback remembers. It learns where your windows sit while you work, keeps a separate memory for every display setup, and puts everything back when that setup returns. Named Scenes, drawn in Scene Studio and switched with one hotkey, turn any arrangement into something you can recall in a second.

Why should a person choose your product over its competitors?

Putback's answer:

Rectangle and Magnet are great at snapping a window to half the screen, and Putback runs happily alongside them. Choose Putback if your problem is that your windows get scrambled every time you dock, undock or plug in a monitor, or if you want whole desks you can switch between with a hotkey. It is a one-time purchase with a 7 day free trial, no account, and your window data never leaves your Mac. On first launch it even checks your Mission Control settings and tells you if the free macOS fix is enough before you pay.

Which are the primary technologies used for building your product?

Putback's answer:

A native macOS app in Swift and SwiftUI, using the macOS Accessibility API to move windows and Sparkle for updates. Licensing and the website run on Cloudflare (Workers, D1 and Pages).

What's the story behind your product?

Putback's answer:

Putback launched in July 2026 with a simple pitch: unplug your MacBook and macOS piles every window onto one screen. The launch post passed 60,000 views and the replies split down the middle, half saying "I've needed this for years" and half saying "my Mac already does this." So we went and found out. The real answer is two Mission Control settings most people never touch, and we published that free fix ourselves. Even with those settings, restores still fail when a dock reconnects slowly or an app resists being moved, and nothing in macOS remembers more than one desk or lets you name a layout. That gap is Putback. About half of its first features came straight from those launch replies.

User comments

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Alternatives to Gnome Do and Putback

When comparing Gnome Do and Putback, you can also consider the following products.