How to Customize the Mac Dock: Every Setting, Terminal Tweak and Custom Dock App
By Eduard Bruch, developer of Jetty ·
To customize the Dock on a Mac, open System Settings > Desktop & Dock. There you set the Dock's size, magnification, position (left, bottom or right), auto-hide, the minimize effect and whether recent apps appear. Arranging icons is drag and drop. Everything beyond that (spacers, a faster auto-hide, a Dock of open apps only) needs Terminal commands that Apple does not document, or a custom dock app.
Short answer: use Desktop & Dock for the built-in options below. If you want what the Dock can't do (a dock on the top edge, several docks, tabs, website and Shortcut tiles), our pick for a custom dock is Jetty: up to four extra bars on your screen edges or floating, each with tabs of one-click tiles. It is a $9.99 one-time purchase on the Mac App Store and needs macOS 14 or later.
Disclosure: I build Jetty, so treat "our pick" as the opinion of its developer. Competitor details last checked: 2026-10-10, from each vendor's own pages.
Every built-in Dock setting
All of these are in System Settings > Desktop & Dock, under Dock. Names and descriptions follow Apple's Desktop & Dock guide (checked 2026-10-10).
| Setting | What it changes |
|---|---|
| Size | Drag the slider to make the Dock and its icons smaller or larger |
| Magnification | Icons grow as the pointer passes over them; a slider sets how much |
| Position on screen | Left, Bottom or Right. There is no Top option |
| Minimize windows using | The animation when a window goes into the Dock |
| Double-click a window's title bar to | Fill, Zoom, Minimize or do nothing |
| Minimize windows into application icon | Minimized windows go into the app's icon instead of their own spot on the right |
| Automatically hide and show the Dock | The Dock slides away and returns when you move the pointer to its edge |
| Animate opening applications | Icons bounce while an app opens |
| Show indicators for open applications | A small dot under each running app |
| Show suggested and recent apps in Dock | Recently opened apps that aren't in the Dock appear toward one end |
Two quick ones without Settings: Option-Command-D turns auto-hide on and off, and dragging the separator line in the Dock up or down resizes it.
Arrange what is in the Dock
- Add an app: drag it from the Applications folder to the left of the separator line. Full steps, plus websites, in how to add apps and websites to the Dock.
- Add a folder or file: drag it to the right of the separator. Folders show as stacks; Control-click one to choose fan, grid or list.
- Reorder: drag an icon to a new place.
- Remove: drag it out until Remove appears. See how to remove apps from the Dock.
Terminal tweaks (unsupported)
These defaults commands change hidden Dock preferences. Apple does not document them in its user guides, they can stop working in any macOS update, and each one restarts the Dock. Use them only if you are comfortable with Terminal; defaults delete com.apple.dock <key>; killall Dock undoes a single tweak.
Add a blank spacer to group apps (run once per spacer, then drag it into place; drag it out of the Dock to remove it). Command as published by Intego:
defaults write com.apple.dock persistent-apps -array-add '{"tile-type"="spacer-tile";}'; killall Dock
A half-width spacer uses small-spacer-tile instead (tweaks.com):
defaults write com.apple.dock persistent-apps -array-add '{"tile-type"="small-spacer-tile";}'; killall Dock
Remove the auto-hide delay so the Dock starts sliding in as soon as the pointer reaches the edge (macos-defaults.com):
defaults write com.apple.dock "autohide-delay" -float "0" && killall Dock
Change the auto-hide animation time (0 removes the animation, 2 slows it down; macos-defaults.com):
defaults write com.apple.dock "autohide-time-modifier" -float "0.5" && killall Dock
Show only open apps in the Dock (macos-defaults.com):
defaults write com.apple.dock "static-only" -bool "true" && killall Dock
macos-defaults.com lists these as tested on macOS versions up to Sequoia; newer versions may behave differently. To return the whole Dock to Apple's defaults (layout, size and position included): defaults delete com.apple.dock; killall Dock.
What the Dock can't do
Even with Terminal, the macOS Dock stays one row of icons on the left, bottom or right edge. It has no top position, no second Dock, no tabs or groups, and no tiles for websites or Shortcuts. That's where custom dock apps come in.
To change the icon an app shows in the Dock and in Finder, see how to change app icons on Mac. If the zoom effect is what bothers you, Dock magnification annoying? covers turning it off.
Apps that add a custom dock
| App | What it does | Price model (as stated) | Min macOS | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jetty (our pick) | Up to 4 extra bars on any edge (top included) or floating, tabs, tiles for apps, files, folders, websites, Shortcuts | One-time, $9.99 (US App Store) | 14 | App Store, facts |
| DockThings | User-built docks of files, folders, websites and Shortcuts, assignable to screens and edges | One-time, $9.99 (US App Store) | 15 | syniumsoftware.com |
| ExtraDock 5 | Extra docks on any screen or edge, or floating, with widgets | 1-year €14.99, lifetime €39.99, Forever €99.99 (EUR on page) | 26 | extradock.app |
| DockFix | Replaces the macOS Dock with one whose colours, icons, animations and widgets you set, plus window previews | One-time, €14.99 (EUR on page) | 14 | dockfix.app |
| uBar 4 | A Windows-style taskbar of open apps and windows instead of the Dock | One-time, Personal $30 | 10.13 | ubarapp.com |
Prices and features as each vendor page or App Store listing showed them on 2026-10-10. Ten dock apps are compared in more depth in the best dock apps for Mac.
Our pick for a custom dock: Jetty
Jetty keeps the macOS Dock as it is and adds bars of your own around it:
- Any edge, including the top. Each bar sits on the top, bottom, left or right edge, at the start, centre or end. Unlock it to float anywhere; lock it and it snaps back to the nearest edge.
- Tabs per bar. "Work", "Design" and "Admin" in one bar instead of one long row.
- Five kinds of tiles. Apps, files, folders (a click lists the folder's contents), websites and Shortcuts.
- Your look. The app icon, any SF Symbol or an emoji per tile; custom labels; 1 to 6 rows or columns; small, medium or large tiles; auto-hide per bar.
Honest limits: Jetty's bars are on the main display only, you can't set a keyboard shortcut for a bar, and an auto-hidden bar comes back from Jetty's menu-bar item, not from the screen edge. Jetty doesn't restyle the macOS Dock itself; if that's what you want, DockFix (vendor page, checked 2026-10-10) is built for it. See Jetty vs DockFix.
How we checked
On 2026-10-10 we read the Apple Support pages linked on this page for the built-in steps, and checked every Jetty detail against the app's source code and its App Store listing, collected on the facts page. I build Jetty.
FAQ
How do I customize my Dock on a Mac?
Open System Settings > Desktop & Dock to change size, magnification, position, auto-hide, the minimize effect and recent apps. Drag icons to add, reorder or remove them. For more than that, our pick is Jetty, which adds up to four custom bars with tabs.
Can I put the Mac Dock at the top of the screen?
No. Apple's Position on screen setting offers Left, Bottom and Right only. Jetty bars can sit on the top edge; more in how to move the Dock to the top.
How do I add a space between apps in the Mac Dock?
Run defaults write com.apple.dock persistent-apps -array-add '{"tile-type"="spacer-tile";}'; killall Dock in Terminal, then drag the blank tile where you want it. It is an unsupported tweak; drag the spacer out of the Dock to remove it.
What is the best app to customize the Mac Dock?
In my opinion as its developer, Jetty is the best pick if you want extra custom docks: bars on any edge with tabs and tiles for apps, files, folders, websites and Shortcuts. To restyle the macOS Dock itself (colours, custom icon artwork), DockFix states that on its page.
Can I change the color of the Mac Dock?
Not in System Settings: Desktop & Dock has no colour option for the Dock. DockFix says on its page that it lets you set Dock colours and opacity (vendor page, checked 2026-10-10).
How do I reset the Dock to default on Mac?
Run defaults delete com.apple.dock; killall Dock in Terminal. It restores Apple's default apps, size and position, so you will redo your own changes afterwards.
Get Jetty on the Mac App Store. $9.99 one-time purchase, macOS 14 or later.