Adding a second screen genuinely changes how you work — honestly, it's one of those upgrades you'll wonder how you lived without. And the good news? Getting a Catsights display up and running takes about ten minutes. Here's exactly what to do.
What you'll need
- Your Catsights display and the accessories it came with
- A laptop with a USB-C port that supports video output
- About ten minutes — no screwdriver, no dock, no extra power brick
1. Unbox and get to know your hardware
First, let's see what's in the box. The Catsights One box includes the display, the detachable magnetic hub, a USB-C cable, the USI active pen, and a protective sleeve. The One S box keeps it leaner: the display, the hub, and a USB-C cable — the pen and sleeve are sold separately. Keep the hub and cable together; those are the two pieces that do the connecting.
2. Attach the magnetic hub
The hub is the small module that holds all the ports. It snaps onto the back of the display with magnets, so there's nothing to line up — just hold it near the back and it clicks into place. Press gently to make sure it's seated. You can leave it on all the time, or pop it off when you want the slimmest carry. It holds firm during normal use, even when the display is standing up.
3. Connect with one cable
Take the included USB-C cable, plug it into the hub's screen-input port (the one on the left side of the hub), and connect the other end to a full-featured USB-C port on your laptop. One cable, three jobs: it sends the video signal, powers the display, and carries touch data. This works because modern USB-C ports support something called DisplayPort Alt Mode, which lets a single port output video while also handling power and data. Almost every recent laptop supports it — MacBooks, ThinkPads, Dell XPS, Surface devices, and most Chromebooks. A few USB-C ports are data-only, though, so if nothing shows up, just try another port.
4. Turn on touch — Windows
On Windows, you're basically done. The display is plug-and-play — multi-touch works right away, no drivers, no apps. Clicking, tapping, and gestures all just work.
5. Turn on touch — Mac
On Mac, touch needs one extra step: the Catsights app. Here's the quick version:
- Grab the app from catsights.com, or use the installer on the USB drive that comes with Catsights One.
- Install it, then open System Settings → Privacy & Security.
- Under Accessibility, add Catsights and turn it on.
- Under Input Monitoring, add Catsights and turn it on.
- Restart the app (or your Mac) and touch should be live.
Once that's done, the display responds to the trackpad gestures you already know — one-finger swipes to flip pages, two-finger pinch to zoom, four-finger swipes to tile windows, and more. There's a full guide to gestures if you want to dig in.
6. Set the resolution and arrange your displays
Two small tweaks make everything look and feel right. First, set the resolution to the display's native 2560 × 1600:
- macOS — System Settings → Displays, select the Catsights display, and choose Default for display.
- Windows — Settings → System → Display, and confirm 2560 × 1600 is selected.
Then arrange the two screens so they match your desk. On macOS, drag the display icons in System Settings → Displays → Arrange. And if you like reading documents or code vertically, rotate the display 90° — the orientation follows on its own.
7. Power for longer sessions
Normally your laptop powers the display through that same USB-C cable, so there's nothing extra to plug in. But for all-day sessions — or when your battery is getting low — plug a USB-C adapter into the hub's power-input port (the one on the right). The display runs off the adapter, and the hub can even charge your laptop back at the same time.
8. A few things worth knowing on day one
A handful of small things that are nice to know from day one:
- Standby clock — with no signal, the display shows a digital clock. Prefer a dark screen? Turn it off in the OSD menu.
- OSD menu — swipe up with two fingers from the bottom edge to adjust brightness and other live settings.
- Side display — on the One, the little round display on the back shows the time and live power stats.
- Pen — the USI active pen works on both Mac and Windows; on Mac, apps like Photoshop and CLIP STUDIO PAINT use its full 4096-level pressure.
If something isn't working
Ran into a snag? Most issues are quick to fix:
- No image — try a different USB-C port, then a different cable. Not every port or cable carries video.
- Image but no touch on Mac — make sure the Catsights app is enabled under both Accessibility and Input Monitoring, then restart.
- Image but no touch on Windows — unplug the cable and plug it back in; a loose connection can drop touch even while video looks fine.
And that's it. Two screens, one cable — ready to go wherever you open your laptop.