Liquid Glass, for real
Folders open on the same glass macOS uses, grow out of their Dock icon, and look right in light and dark mode.
Folders, right in
your Dock.
DockFolder turns a group of apps into a single Dock icon. Click it and the apps open in a Liquid Glass grid, just like a folder on iPhone.
Free and open source · Version 0.2.0 · macOS 13 or later · Apple silicon and Intel
Features
Everything a folder should be.
A live Dock icon
Each folder's icon is a little glass tile showing the apps inside. Drop an app on it to add it.
Pages or one big grid
Nine apps a page, swiped like on iPhone, up to three pages. Or up to 36 apps at once in a 6 × 6 grid.
One window for everything
Make folders, preview them over your desktop picture, and rename, recolour, update or delete them.
Any colour
Clear glass, nine ready-made tints, or any colour you pick. The open folder and its Dock icon change together.
Open source, no strings
MIT-licensed Swift with no private APIs, no Accessibility access and no background helpers. Your Dock stays as it is.
Make
A new folder in seconds.
Click +, give it a name and a colour, and drop in some apps. DockFolder adds it to your Dock and draws its icon while you choose.
Manage
See it before your Dock does.
Every folder gets a live preview on glass over your desktop picture. Open apps from it, drag more in, rearrange them, or change its colour and name.
Colours
Pick a colour. Or none.
Clear glass, a ready-made tint, or any colour you like, from the open folder to its Dock icon.
How it works
Three steps. That's it.
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1
Make a folder
Open DockFolder, click +, and pick a name, a colour and some apps.
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2
Find it in the Dock
The folder appears in your Dock with a live preview of what's inside.
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3
Click to open
The folder opens above its icon. Click an app to launch it; press Esc or click elsewhere to close.
Install
Up and running in a minute.
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Download DockFolder
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Drag it to Applications
Open the disk image and drag DockFolder onto the Applications folder next to it.
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Open it the first time
DockFolder isn't notarized by Apple, so macOS asks before it opens it. If you see a message that macOS couldn't verify DockFolder, click Done, open System Settings › Privacy & Security, scroll down and click Open Anyway. You only do this once.
Prefer Terminal? This does the same:
xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/DockFolder.app -
Make your first folder
Click + in the DockFolder window. Your folders are kept in
~/Applications/Dock Folders.
Needs macOS 13 Ventura or later, on Apple silicon or Intel. Liquid Glass needs macOS 26 or later; earlier versions get a frosted blur instead.
FAQ
Questions, answered.
Does DockFolder replace the Dock?
No. Each folder is a regular Dock icon, so your Dock keeps working exactly as before. Move folders around, or take them out, like any other app.
How many apps fit in a folder?
With pages, 9 apps a page and up to 3 pages: 27 apps. With the grid, up to 36 apps on one page. Pick the layout when you make a folder, or change it later in the DockFolder window.
Why is each folder its own app?
That's how a folder gets its own icon and its own place in the Dock without changing the Dock itself. Folders are tiny copies of DockFolder, and each one keeps its own list of apps.
Why does the Dock restart sometimes?
The Dock only reads its list of apps when it starts. Adding a folder to the Dock, renaming one that's in it, or removing one restarts the Dock for a moment.
Why do folders show up in ⌘-Tab?
A running folder is an app like any other, so it appears in the app switcher. Hiding folders from ⌘-Tab is the next big step on the roadmap.
A new folder took a while to open. Why?
The first time a new or updated folder opens, macOS checks it, and that can include an online lookup. On a slow network the first launch can take up to a minute or so. After that, folders open instantly.
How do I remove DockFolder?
Delete your folders in the DockFolder window (they go to the Trash), then drag DockFolder from Applications to the Trash. Folder settings live in ~/Library/Application Support/DockFolder.