Mac Setup

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Dock Settings for a New Mac

Dock settings for a Mac setup. How to set up the Dock for a new MacBook, iMac, Mini, Studio, or Pro.

This article is part of a series on Mac Setup.

The Dock is a holdover from macOS's origins on NeXT computers. It started as an easy way to park frequently-used applications. Now it is Apple's way of showing you the Mac's pre-installed applications, many of which are clutter that you won't use frequently.

Click this shortcut to open System Settings > Desktop & Dock and adjust the Dock settings.

Reposition the Dock

The default Dock position, at the bottom of the screen, limits the vertical size of web pages or documents. That's why you should move it to the side of the screen. Adjust Position on screen to Right or Left.

Adjust the Dock

I like to set the Dock to a smaller size and turn off magnification. This way, the Dock doesn't take up much screen space, and it doesn't move when you hover over it. I also turn off Show recent applications in Dock and Show recent documents in Dock. Many people turn on Automatically hide and show the Dock to make the Dock appear only when you mouse to the edge of the screen, creating more screen space, but I find it distracting when the Dock appears and disappears. Here are the least distracting Dock settings:

  • Size: Your preference
  • Magnification: Off (less distracting)
  • Position on screen: Right or Left (more vertical space)
  • Minimize windows using: Scale effect (faster)
  • Double-click a window's title bar to: Do Nothing (less distracting)
  • Minimize windows into application icon: Off (less distracting)
  • Automatically hide and show the Dock: Off (less distracting)
  • Animate opening applications: Off (less distracting)
  • Show indicators for open applications: On (useful)
  • Show suggested and recent applications in Dock: Off (reduce clutter)

Remove clutter from the Dock

You can remove everything from the Dock (except Finder and Trash, which are permanent) if you like to launch applications with Spotlight search or the Launchpad (the full-screen application launcher). If you take this approach, your Dock will contain:

  • Finder (can not be removed)
  • Trash (can not be removed)

I like to use the Dock for frequently-used applications, so I start by removing everything from the Dock except Finder and Trash. Then I add applications to the Dock as I use them.

To remove an application from the Dock, just drag if off the Dock. Or right-click the application icon and select Options > Remove from Dock. You can remove all applications from the Dock if you open the Terminal and enter this command:

defaults write com.apple.dock persistent-apps -array

Then relaunch the Dock with this command:

killall Dock

When I launch an application, it will appear in the Dock. If I want to keep it handy, I right-click the application icon and select Options > Keep in Dock.

Folders in the Dock

By default, the Downloads folder is in the Dock. If you find you frequently open a folder, you can drag it to the Dock. For example, you can open the Finder and drag the Documents folder to the Dock, next to the line that separates applications from folders.

You can right-click on a folder to display it in the Dock as a folder or as a stack. You can also change how it is displayed when you click the folder, either as an icon grid or a text list.

Add frequently-used folders to the Dock if you want to keep your Desktop uncluttered except for any files that need immediate attention.

Title Bar Click Behavior

You can set behavior for double-clicking the title bar of a window, with options to Fill (maximize to full screen size), Zoom, or Minimize the window.

  • Desktop & Dock > Double-click a window's title bar to > Minimize

The Minimize setting is a good way to quickly reduce clutter on the desktop by moving windows to the Dock.

Desktop Click Behavior

In the "Desktop & Stage Manager" section, change the "Click wallpaper to reveal desktop dropdown" from "Always" to "Only in Stage Manager". This is the universally annoying feature that hides all your windows when you click on the desktop.

  • Desktop & Dock > Desktop & Stage Manager > Click wallpaper to reveal desktop dropdown > Only in Stage Manager

Hot Corners

At the very bottom of the Desktop & Dock window, you'll find a button that opens the Hot Corners settings. The Hot Corners setting is difficult to find but very useful.

Be warned that setting a Hot Corner can be annoying if you accidentally move your mouse to the corner and trigger the action. However, Hot Corners can be very useful.

I recommend setting a corner to "Lock Screen" and disabling screen savers and sleep mode, so you can keep your display active and easily lock your screen when you leave your desk. If your laptop has Touch ID, you can press the Touch ID button to lock the screen, but sometimes it's easier to use a Hot Corner.

If you like to use Launchpad to start applications instead of searching with Spotlight, you can set a Hot Corner to open Launchpad.

You can set a Hot Corner to open Mission Control, if you like to use Mission Control to switch between applications, instead of clicking windows or icons in the Dock.

Dock settings using the Terminal

You can adjust Dock settings using the command line. First, open the Terminal application.

Thank you to Mathias Bynens for his sensible macOS defaults, where you can find many more macOS settings.


# Enable highlight hover effect for the grid view of a stack (Dock)
defaults write com.apple.dock mouse-over-hilite-stack -bool true

# Set the icon size of Dock items to 36 pixels
defaults write com.apple.dock tilesize -int 36

# Change minimize/maximize window effect
defaults write com.apple.dock mineffect -string "scale"

# Minimize windows into their application’s icon
defaults write com.apple.dock minimize-to-application -bool true

# Enable spring loading for all Dock items
defaults write com.apple.dock enable-spring-load-actions-on-all-items -bool true

# Show indicator lights for open applications in the Dock
defaults write com.apple.dock show-process-indicators -bool true

# Show only open applications in the Dock
# (not recommended if you launch applications from the Dock)
#defaults write com.apple.dock static-only -bool true

# Don’t animate opening applications from the Dock
defaults write com.apple.dock launchanim -bool false

# Speed up Mission Control animations
defaults write com.apple.dock expose-animation-duration -float 0.1

# Don’t group windows by application in Mission Control
# (i.e. use the old Exposé behavior instead)
defaults write com.apple.dock expose-group-by-app -bool false

# Disable Dashboard
defaults write com.apple.dashboard mcx-disabled -bool true

# Don’t show Dashboard as a Space
defaults write com.apple.dock dashboard-in-overlay -bool true

# Don’t automatically rearrange Spaces based on most recent use
defaults write com.apple.dock mru-spaces -bool false

# Remove the auto-hiding Dock delay
defaults write com.apple.dock autohide-delay -float 0
# Remove the animation when hiding/showing the Dock
defaults write com.apple.dock autohide-time-modifier -float 0

# Automatically hide and show the Dock
defaults write com.apple.dock autohide -bool true

# Make Dock icons of hidden applications translucent
defaults write com.apple.dock showhidden -bool true

# Don’t show recent applications in Dock
defaults write com.apple.dock show-recents -bool false

# Add a spacer to the left side of the Dock (where the applications are)
defaults write com.apple.dock persistent-apps -array-add '{tile-data={}; tile-type="spacer-tile";}'

# Add a spacer to the right side of the Dock (where the Trash is)
defaults write com.apple.dock persistent-others -array-add '{tile-data={}; tile-type="spacer-tile";}'

After changing Dock settings, relaunch the Dock with this command:

killall Dock

What's next

My mac.install.guide is a trusted source of installation guides for professional developers. Take a look at the Mac Install Guide home page for tips and trends and see what to install next.