Dock Archives - defaults-write.com

Show more recent apps in your Mac’s Dock

Mr.W — Mon, 02 Jun 2025 09:43:42 +0000

The ‘recently used apps’ feature in the Mac Dock displays up to three apps you have recently opened but haven’t permanently added to the Dock, making it easy to relaunch them quickly.

This section appears to the right of your pinned apps, separated by a divider, and updates automatically as you use different applications. You can use a terminal command to place your more recently used apps in the Dock.

Enable recent used apps in Mac Dock

Open  ▸ System Settings
Go to ‘Desktop & Dock’
Enable the option ‘Show suggested and recent applications in Dock’

Adjust the number of recent used apps in Mac Dock

Copy and paste the following command into Terminal and press ENTER to execute the command.

defaults write com.apple.dock show-recents -bool true; defaults write com.apple.dock show-recent-count -int 5; killall Dock

After executing the command, the number of three recent apps will be changed to five. Is this still not enough? Then you can change the 5 in the above command to any desired number. Use 3 to change the number to the default settings.

source

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Show one application at a time

Mr.W — Tue, 16 Oct 2018 18:18:26 +0000

In macOS and OS X it’s possible to show one application at a time. You can enable a ‘single application’ mode by entering the following command in Terminal:

defaults write com.apple.dock single-app -bool true;killall Dock

When you click on an application in the Dock you’ll only see the windows of that application. All other windows are hidden in the background. You’ll be able to focus more on that one application without being distracted by any other applications in the background.

To revert to the original settings:

defaults write com.apple.dock single-app -bool no;killall Dock

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Reset OS X/macOS Dock to default settings

Mr.W — Fri, 29 Jun 2018 17:59:19 +0000

There is a Terminal command that you can use to quickly make your dock look like new again. Do you experience problems with the Dock on your Mac? The best you can do is to reset it to default settings.

The following Terminal command will reset your dock by removing any icons that you’ve added and removed. It’ll also reset the size of the dock, magnification settings, and its location.

Resetting the Dock to factory settings

Copy and paste the following command in OS X/macOS Terminal:

defaults delete com.apple.dock; killall Dock

Hit the enter key and the Dock will quit and relaunch itself into the default settings. Of course you can rearrange and adjust it again.

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Fix for not working Exposè/Mission Control

Mr.R — Thu, 07 Jun 2018 20:00:36 +0000

Using the the F3-key should normally activate Exposè/Mission Control. In some circumstances nothing happens when you hit the F3-key or the four finger up gesture.

To solve this problem apply the following defaults write command:

defaults write com.apple.dock mcx-expose-disabled -bool FALSE

Restart the OSX Dock:

killall Dock

F3 and the four finger up gesture will work again.

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Enable a larger Dock Icon size than default

Mr.W — Thu, 08 Mar 2018 19:11:55 +0000

Through the system preferences you can adjust the size of the Dock icons. Unfortunately, you can’t go larger than 256 pixels. With the following command you can change the size in different sizes.

defaults write com.apple.dock largesize -float SIZE

Change SIZE in a desired number and restart the Dock with the following command

killall Dock

Restore the default setting or change the size in System Preferences (Dock)

defaults write com.apple.dock largesize -float 128

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Add a blank space to the Dock

Mr.W — Wed, 05 Apr 2017 09:26:36 +0000

Did you know that you can customize the Dock in OS X through terminal? With the following defaults write you can add a blank space to the Dock. This is a better way to organize applications.

defaults write com.apple.dock persistent-apps -array-add 
'{tile-data={}; tile-type="spacer-tile";}'

Copy & paste this command as a single line in OS X Terminal

Additional step, restart the Dock:

killall Dock

You can remove the blank space by dragging it out of the Dock

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How to add a blank space to your Dock?

Mr.W — Tue, 16 Jun 2015 18:00:05 +0000

Do you want to keep the Dock in OS X organized? You can do this with a blank space. This way, you can divide your Dock in different groups. Copy and paste the following command in a Terminal window. After the restart, the space will be added to the Dock, which you can move to any place.

defaults write com.apple.dock persistent-apps -array-add '{"tile-type"="spacer-tile";}'; killall Dock

You can remove the empty space in the same way as deleting an app from the Dock.

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Delete the hiding Dock Delay in OS X

Mr.W — Wed, 15 Apr 2015 18:25:53 +0000

You can choose to hide/show the Dock automatically. This has a default speed to display the dock. You can speed it up with a defaults write command. This command removes the delay from when a cursor is hovered near the Dock. It doesn’t change the animation speed of the dock, only the response to the cursor.

Launch Terminal and enter the following command.

defaults write com.apple.dock autohide-delay -float 0;killall Dock

Revert to the default setting:

defaults delete com.apple.dock autohide-delay;killall Dock

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Place the OS X Dock in a screen corner

Mr.R — Mon, 09 Dec 2013 19:00:59 +0000

The OS X Dock is centered along the bottom of the screen, with OS X Terminal you can pin the Dock into the corner of your Mac’s screen. This method works with both 2D & 3D versions of the Dock.

Top corner for a vertical Dock or the lower left corner for horizontal Dock:

defaults write com.apple.dock pinning start;killall Dock

Bottom corners for vertical Dock or the lower right corner for horizontal Dock:

defaults write com.apple.dock pinning end;killall Dock

You can restore the default centered Dock with:

defaults write com.apple.dock pinning middle;killall Dock

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Get a Transparent Dock in OS X Mavericks

Mr.W — Mon, 18 Nov 2013 19:00:18 +0000

In OS X 10.9 Mavericks Apple didn’t hardly changed the Dock, yet you can adjust the design slightly using a terminal command. It’s possible to give the dock a transparent look. Add the following command in Terminal:

defaults write com.apple.dock hide-mirror -bool true;killall Dock

Restore the default setting:

defaults write com.apple.dock hide-mirror -bool false;killall Dock

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