Fix Pluely v1 Overlay Not Showing on Screen

Pluely v1 lives in a small, always-on-top overlay, and there are a handful of reasons that overlay can seem to vanish even while Pluely is still running in the background. Work through these checks in order.

1. Use the toggle shortcut first

The overlay can be hidden intentionally with its show/hide keyboard shortcut. Before assuming something is broken, press your configured toggle shortcut — this alone resolves the majority of "overlay disappeared" reports, since it's easy to hide it by accident while working.

If you're not sure what your toggle shortcut is set to, check Settings inside Pluely (it may need to be reopened from the system tray/menu bar icon if the overlay itself isn't visible).

If the shortcut itself seems unresponsive, see shortcuts not working — a broken shortcut and a hidden overlay can look identical from the outside.

2. Check that Pluely is actually still running

Look for Pluely in:

• macOS: the menu bar (top-right icons) and Activity Monitor.
• Windows: the system tray (bottom-right, including the hidden icons overflow) and Task Manager.
• Linux: your system tray/status area and your process list.

If Pluely isn't running at all, relaunch it from Applications, the Start menu, or your app launcher.

3. Reset the overlay's position

The overlay remembers its last position, which can occasionally land it off-screen — for example after disconnecting an external monitor the overlay was previously positioned on, or after a resolution change.

1. Open Pluely's Settings (via the tray/menu bar icon if the overlay is off-screen).
2. Look for an option to reset the overlay position or window layout.
3. Apply it, then use your toggle shortcut to bring the overlay back into view on your primary display.

If your setup involves multiple monitors, reconnect the monitor the overlay was last on (if possible) before resetting, or reset position immediately after any monitor change.

4. Check for fullscreen app conflicts

Some fullscreen applications and games take over the entire display and can suppress always-on-top windows, including Pluely's overlay, depending on OS and app-specific fullscreen behavior.

1. Exit true fullscreen mode in the other app and switch to a windowed or borderless-windowed mode if available.
2. On macOS, avoid using a separate fullscreen Space for apps you want the overlay to appear over.
3. Re-toggle the overlay after switching modes.

5. Restart Pluely

If none of the above resolves it, fully quit Pluely (not just hide the overlay) and relaunch it. This resets the overlay's window state cleanly and is often the fastest fix if the window got into an unusual state after a display change or sleep/wake cycle.

6. Update to the latest Pluely v1

Overlay window handling has been refined across releases, including behavior around display changes and fullscreen interaction. If you're on an older build, update from Installation and retest.

Still stuck?

If the overlay still won't appear after resetting its position and restarting Pluely, check the FAQ or reach out from the Pluely website with your OS and monitor setup.