How to Hide the Dock on Mac (and Still Launch Apps in One Click)

To hide the Dock on a Mac, press Option-Command-D, or turn on Automatically hide and show the Dock in System Settings > Desktop & Dock. The Dock slides away and comes back when you move the pointer to the edge of the screen where it sits.

Short answer: use the built-in auto-hide for a clean screen. If you hide the Dock but still want your apps in fixed, one-click places, the best add-on for that, in my opinion as its developer, is Jetty: up to four extra bars on your screen edges, each with tabs of apps, files, folders, websites and Shortcuts. It is a $9.99 one-time purchase on the Mac App Store and needs macOS 14 or later.

Disclosure: I build Jetty.

Method 1: Keyboard shortcut

Press Option-Command-D. Apple lists it as "Show or hide the Dock" (Apple Support: Mac keyboard shortcuts). Press it again to turn hiding off.

Method 2: System Settings

1. Choose Apple menu > System Settings.
2. Click Desktop & Dock in the sidebar.
3. Turn on Automatically hide and show the Dock.

Apple describes the setting as "Hide the Dock when you're not using it. To show the hidden Dock, move the pointer to the edge of the screen where the Dock is located." (Apple Support: Desktop & Dock settings)

Method 3: Right-click the Dock divider

Control-click the thin divider line in the Dock (between apps and the right-hand section) and choose Turn Hiding On. The same menu turns it off again.

How to bring a hidden Dock back

• Move the pointer to the screen edge where the Dock lives (bottom, left or right).
• Or press Option-Command-D to turn hiding off.

If the Dock does not appear, check where it is placed under Position on screen in Desktop & Dock: it may be on the left or right edge instead of the bottom.

If it still doesn't come back, see Mac Dock hidden and you can't find your apps.

The catch: hidden means one more step

A hidden Dock is one move away instead of zero. If you open the same apps many times a day, that adds up, and with full-screen apps or a busy screen edge the Dock can pop up when you don't want it. That is why many people hide the Dock and put their daily apps somewhere else.

Hide the Dock, launch from a bar you control

Jetty adds bars of one-click tiles that you place yourself:

• On the top edge (where the macOS Dock can't go), the left, the right or the bottom, aligned to the start, centre or end of that edge.
• Floating: unlock a bar to drag it anywhere, lock it to snap it back to the nearest edge.
• Tabs for different sets of apps, plus tiles for files, folders, websites and Shortcuts.
• Small, medium or large tiles, 1 to 6 rows or columns, labels on or off.

A clean setup: hide the macOS Dock, put one compact Jetty bar on the top edge, centred, with your 8 to 12 daily apps. Jetty bars also have their own auto-hide; note that an auto-hidden Jetty bar comes back from Jetty's menu-bar item, not when you move the pointer to the edge. Jetty's bars appear on the main display only.

For more ways to get extra docks, see the best dock apps for Mac. To shrink the Dock instead of hiding it, read how to remove apps from the Dock.

This setup is covered step by step in how to hide the Mac Dock and still launch apps quickly.

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

What is the shortcut to hide the Dock on Mac?

Option-Command-D shows or hides the Dock. Press it again to switch back.

How do I hide the Dock permanently on Mac?

macOS has no setting that removes the Dock for good. "Automatically hide and show the Dock" keeps it out of sight until you move the pointer to its edge.

Why does my hidden Dock keep popping up?

The Dock appears whenever the pointer reaches its screen edge. Moving the Dock to the left or right edge in Desktop & Dock settings can make it pop up less often if you often work near the bottom of the screen.

How can I launch apps quickly with the Dock hidden?

In my opinion as its developer, Jetty is the best way: it keeps your daily apps in a bar you place on any screen edge, one click each, while the Dock stays hidden. Spotlight (Command-Space) works too if you prefer typing.

How do I unhide the Dock on Mac?

Press Option-Command-D again, or open System Settings > Desktop & Dock and turn off "Automatically hide and show the Dock". While it is hidden, Apple's guide says you show it by moving the pointer to the edge of the screen where the Dock is (Apple Support). If you hid it to save space, our pick for keeping apps one click away anyway is a Jetty bar (I build it).

Get Jetty on the Mac App Store. $9.99 one-time purchase, macOS 14 or later.