Dock Tile

A native macOS utility that lets you create custom Dock tiles to organise and launch your favourite apps with a single click.

Overview

Dock Tile brings the power of custom app launchers to your macOS Dock. Create multiple tiles, each with its own curated list of apps, custom icon, and colour scheme. Click a tile to reveal a beautiful popover with your apps ready to launch.

Think of it as customisable Dock folders - with native vibrancy effects, SF Symbols, emoji icons, and the polish you'd expect from a first-party macOS app.

Features

• Multiple Tiles - Create as many dock tiles as you need, each completely independent
• Custom Icons - Show the tile's own apps as an App Grid, or choose an SF Symbol or any emoji
• Colour Themes - Pick from 7 preset gradient colours or create your own, on a Colour or Mono background
• Adjustable Icon Size - Fine-tune the icon size with the built-in scale control
• Flexible Layouts - Display apps in a grid or list view
• Smart Add - Suggests ready-made tiles from the apps you use, learned on your Mac and never sent anywhere
• Native Experience - Built with SwiftUI and AppKit for an authentic macOS look and feel
• Dock Integration - Tiles appear in the Dock just like regular apps
• App Switcher Support - Optionally show tiles in Cmd+Tab
• Dock Lock - Keep the Dock on one display on multi-monitor setups
• Start at Login - Tiles are ready the moment you log in

Screenshots

Coming soon

Requirements

• macOS 15.0 (Sequoia) or later
• A Mac with Apple silicon (Intel Macs aren't supported)

Questions? See the FAQ.

Installation

From Source

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/k97/dock-tile.git
   cd dock-tile
   

2. Build the bundled icon compiler once (needs a Rust toolchain):

   ./Scripts/build-compiler.sh
   

3. Open in Xcode and build, or use the command line:

   xcodebuild -project DockTile.xcodeproj -scheme DockTile -configuration Release build
   

4. Copy the built app to Applications:

   cp -R ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/DerivedData/DockTile-*/Build/Products/Release/"Dock Tile.app" /Applications/
   

Getting Started

1. Launch Dock Tile - Open the app from your Applications folder
2. Create a Tile - Click the "+" button in the sidebar, then pick a Smart Add suggestion or "Create New Tile"
3. Add Apps - Click "Add" in the In This Tile section to add apps and folders
4. Customise - Click the tile's icon (or the Customise Tile toggle in the toolbar) to choose its style, icon and colour
5. Add to Dock - Click "Add to Dock" to pin the tile
6. Use It - Click your new tile in the Dock to see your apps!

How It Works

Dock Tile creates lightweight helper applications for each tile you configure. These helpers appear as independent apps in the Dock and show a native popover when clicked.

Tile Settings

Setting	Description
Tile Name	Display name shown below the Dock icon
Show Tile	Toggle visibility in the Dock
Layout	Choose between Grid or List view
Show in App Switcher	Include tile in Cmd+Tab

Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
Click tile	Open popover
Arrow keys	Navigate apps in popover
Return	Launch selected app
Escape	Close popover

Troubleshooting

Tile doesn't appear in the Dock

1. Ensure "Show Tile" is toggled on
2. Click "Add to Dock" to apply changes

Icon not updating

Click "Update" on the tile to rebuild it. The button is highlighted while the Dock shows an older version of the tile.

Translations

Dock Tile ships in English, 简体中文, 日本語, Deutsch, Русский and Français. The non-English translations are machine-first and reviewed by native speakers. Spotted a mistake? Fixing it takes five minutes in the browser — see docs/l10n/README.md.

Development

See CLAUDE.md for detailed development documentation.

# Build
xcodebuild -project DockTile.xcodeproj -scheme DockTile build

# Clean
xcodebuild -project DockTile.xcodeproj -scheme DockTile clean

Testing

Run the test suite to verify everything works:

# Run all unit tests
xcodebuild test -project DockTile.xcodeproj -scheme DockTile \
  -destination 'platform=macOS' -only-testing:DockTileTests

# Run with code coverage
xcodebuild test -project DockTile.xcodeproj -scheme DockTile \
  -destination 'platform=macOS' -enableCodeCoverage YES

Or in Xcode: Press Cmd+U to run all tests.

Tests are automatically run on every push via GitHub Actions CI.

License

Dock Tile's source code is released under the MIT License. The Dock Tile name, logo and app icon are not licensed for use by other software — see TRADEMARKS.md. The vendored icon compiler under Vendor/actool/ declares MIT in its Cargo.toml (upstream ships no LICENSE file; see Vendor/actool/DOCKTILE-README.md).

---

Made with care for macOS