This week I told you how to insert spaces in the macOS dock with a simple Terminal command to group the icons of the applications you use and have everything much better organised. Well, this time we are going to highlight another command of the Gracial Terminal to which the dock will only show the applications that are currently running. Personally, it’s not my favourite option, but maybe in your case, it’s just what you’re looking for. Let’s see.
The dock, only with apps running
In case your dock has become full of icons over time, seeing only the active applications at the bottom of your Mac’s desktop can be a refreshing change, like when you change the wallpaper. And when you want to launch new apps, you can always do it quickly by invoking Spotlight with the keyboard shortcut Command + Space.
For the macOS dock to only show the applications you are currently using (the ones you have active), just follow these steps:
Start the Terminal app that you can find in the “Utilities” section of the Applications folder.
Once the Terminal is open, copy and paste the following command and then press the Enter key on your keyboard to run it: defaults write com.apple.dock static-only -bool true; killall Dock
You’ll see the Dock reboot and start showing only those applications that are currently running on your Mac in the order they were launched.
Repentant? Returning the Dock to Its Original Function
If you’re finally not convinced by the new behaviour of the dock and want it to operate again, as usual, all you have to do is:
Start the Terminal application again.
Copy and paste the following command and then press the Enter key on your keyboard to run it: defaults write com.apple.dock static-only -bool false; killall Dock
The Dock will restart and display all the applications that you have had there, both running and not running.