Dockish

Yes. Dockish is $6.99 once. There's no subscription and no paid upgrade tiers, and every update so far has been free to everyone who bought it.

The docks pause and Dockish asks for a licence key. Nothing is deleted: your layout, folders and settings are kept. If you'd hidden the macOS Dock, open Dockish Settings from the menu bar and click Restore macOS Dock to bring it straight back. You are never charged automatically, because we never ask for a card.

Dockish runs as its own dock, and Dockish Settings has a one-click Hide macOS Dock that tucks Apple's dock out of the way. It's a normal macOS setting, not a system modification, and Restore macOS Dock undoes it in one click, putting back your own Dock settings. Quit Dockish and your macOS Dock comes back as you had it. If Dockish ever stops without quitting, such as after a crash, press Option-Command-D to show it.

Device Control and Data Access (called Accessibility before macOS 27), so Dockish can see which windows an app has and bring the right one forward. macOS asks when you first open Dockish. Screen & System Audio Recording (Screen Recording before macOS 15) is only needed for window previews, Live App Tiles and matching macOS 26's icon styles: macOS asks when you switch previews on, and Dockish takes still pictures of windows, never a recording. Full Disk Access is only needed if you switch on recent documents, because macOS keeps each app's recent-documents list in a protected folder. Emptying the Trash asks Finder to do it, so macOS asks once whether Dockish may control Finder. If you pin a folder from your Desktop, Documents, Downloads or an external drive, macOS can ask once whether Dockish may list it. That's all.

Dockish works within what macOS allows any app that isn't Apple's. These limits come from macOS, not from a setting.

• The macOS Dock can be hidden, not removed: Mission Control, Spaces and the app switcher live in it, so Dockish hides it instead of quitting it. Quitting Dockish brings it back as you had it. If Dockish crashes, or is deleted while the Dock is hidden, press Option-Command-D to show it.
• App Exposé shows the macOS Dock: When you spread out an app's windows (Control-Down Arrow), macOS shows its own Dock as well, even while Dockish keeps it hidden. It goes when you leave that view.
• Window previews are pictures: macOS lets another app capture a window as a still picture, not follow it live, and only with Screen & System Audio Recording allowed.
• Windows on another desktop aren't listed: macOS tells other apps about an app's windows only on the desktops that are showing. A window on another desktop (a Space in Mission Control) is missing from the app's preview and right-click menu until you switch to that desktop.
• Badges come from the macOS Dock: macOS tells no other app when a badge changes, so Dockish reads them from the macOS Dock: about once a second while an app that shows badges is running, and once a minute otherwise.
• Live App Tiles and icon styles need the macOS Dock: Both are copied from the macOS Dock's own drawing, so it has to be on screen underneath Dockish, with Screen & System Audio Recording allowed.
• Recent documents need Full Disk Access: macOS keeps each app's recent documents where only apps with Full Disk Access can read them.
• Emptying the Trash asks Finder: Only Finder can empty the Trash, so Dockish asks it, and macOS asks you once whether Dockish may. macOS doesn't say when the Trash fills, so while Finder is in front Dockish looks once a second.
• Windows move after they arrive: With Keep Windows Above the Dock on, Dockish moves a window out from behind the dock a moment after an app puts it there, including one placed by a window manager such as Layoutish. macOS keeps room only for its own Dock, so nothing stops a window going there first, and some apps put their windows back.
• A second zoom doesn't restore a window above the dock: With Keep Windows Above the Dock on, a zoomed window that reaches under the dock is shortened to sit above it. macOS then no longer counts it as zoomed, so zooming it again fills the screen again instead of restoring its earlier size: drag or resize it back instead.
• A reset permission needs Dockish added again: If Device Control and Data Access is reset, by a cleaner app say, Dockish leaves its list and macOS doesn't ask again: in System Settings, click + and add Dockish again.
• The menu bar icon can go missing: macOS can switch it off (System Settings › Menu Bar), a menu bar manager can hide it, and the notch can cover it. Open Dockish again from Finder or Spotlight to reach its settings.
• Option-Command-D is also macOS's Dock shortcut: macOS turns the Dock's hiding on and off with it, and Dockish's Show/Hide All Docks uses it too, so one press does both. Give Show/Hide All Docks other keys in Dockish's Settings, or switch off “Turn Dock hiding on/off” in System Settings › Keyboard › Keyboard Shortcuts.

macOS can switch it off (System Settings › Menu Bar), a menu bar manager can hide it, and the notch can cover it. Open Dockish again from Finder or Spotlight: what the icon opens (the Dock, Displays and Settings tabs) appears at the top right of your screen.

In Dockish, click the menu bar icon, open Settings and choose Export Diagnostics under Help. It asks where to save "Dockish Diagnostics.txt" (your Desktop unless you pick somewhere else) and shows it in Finder. Nothing is sent: you can read the file first, then attach it to an email to hello@appish.app (Help › Email Support starts one). The file lists your Mac and its displays, Dockish's permissions, the licence state (never the key or your email), your settings, what each dock holds, the macOS Dock's settings, and what Dockish logged since it opened. Folder and profile names and display ids are replaced by codes, and your home folder reads "~". If the menu bar icon is missing, open Dockish again from Finder or Spotlight to reach Settings.

There's no account and no analytics in the app. Dockish goes online for two things only: checking your licence key with our payment provider, and looking for updates on appish.app. Window thumbnails are drawn on your Mac and never leave it.

macOS 14.0 (Sonoma) or later, including macOS 26 Tahoe and macOS 27. Version 1.2.4 was released for macOS 27 compatibility, and it runs on both Apple Silicon and Intel Macs.

For the Trash, switch on Trash in the Dock in Dockish Settings, under General. Or right-click an empty part of the dock, such as the space at either end, and choose Add Trash. The same menu adds Finder folders, dividers and spacers, right where you clicked. Apps are simpler still: drag one in, or right-click a running app and choose Options, then Keep in Dock. To take something out, drag it off the dock or right-click it and choose Remove from Dock (for apps it's under Options).

Choose All Monitors, Main Only, or Independent. All Monitors shows the same dock on every display. Independent gives each display its own pinned apps, folders and icon size. Each mode remembers its own layout, and plugging a display in or out is handled automatically.

Dockish hides when an app enters fullscreen, like the native Dock, and comes back when you leave. It also gets out of the way of fullscreen video on any monitor.

Yes: your key works on up to 3 of your own Macs. Moving to a new one? Click Deactivate on this Mac in Dockish Settings on the old Mac, then activate on the new one. If the old Mac is gone, email hello@appish.app and we'll free the seat.

Yes, if it lets you down. Try it free for 7 days. After you buy, if it doesn't do what its page says on your Mac, tell me within 30 days and I'll fix it or refund you. Email hello@appish.app.