I’ve been experimenting with ways to keep my workspace clean on my MBP. I like Stage Manager, but I don’t like the visual clutter.
If you’re like me and want a totally clean screen while still having your windows auto-hide, here is a way to get the best of both worlds.
I realize that most of you already know this (which is why I hesitate to post “tech tips”), but I usually find that at least one person learns something. 
The “Invisible” Stage Manager
You can keep the functionality of Stage Manager but make the left-side strip invisible. It’ll only pop out if you throw your cursor against the left edge of the screen.
- Go to System Settings > Desktop & Dock.
- Find the Stage Manager section and click Customize… (or “Details”).
- Toggle OFF “Recent apps.”
- Set “Show windows from an application” to One at a Time.
- Tip Even with the sidebar hidden and “One at a Time” turned on, you can still create multi-app groups when you need them. Just hold the Shift key when clicking an app in the Dock or the hidden side strip. This will “pull” that app into your current view instead of replacing the one you’re using. To remove it later, just Shift + Click the window’s title bar and it will tuck itself back away.
The result: You get that automatic window-hiding behavior, but your screen looks perfectly normal. When you switch apps via the Dock, the previous app just “tucks away” automatically without any sidebar clutter.
Hopefully, this helps anyone else trying to stay focused!