Updated July 10, 2026

How to Group Apps on Your Mac Dock (3 Methods, 2026)

The macOS Dock treats every app as a single, flat icon. There's no built-in way to say "these five apps are my dev setup" and treat them as one unit. If your Dock has twenty-plus icons, finding the right one becomes a small search task you repeat all day.

There are three practical ways to group apps on your Mac Dock in 2026. Two use only what ships with macOS; the third adds real groups with one-click launch. All three work on macOS 14 Sonoma, 15 Sequoia, and 26 Tahoe.

Method 1: Visually separate apps with Dock spacers

macOS has a hidden feature that inserts blank gaps between Dock icons, so you can at least cluster related apps visually.

Open Terminal and run:

defaults write com.apple.dock persistent-apps -array-add '{"tile-type"="spacer-tile";}'
killall Dock

A transparent spacer appears at the end of your Dock. Drag it wherever you want a gap, and repeat the command for more spacers. For a narrower gap, use "small-spacer-tile" instead of "spacer-tile". To remove a spacer, drag it off the Dock like any icon.

Good for: visual clustering with zero extra software. Limits: it's purely cosmetic — you still open and quit every app one by one.

Method 2: Put a folder of app aliases in the Dock

The right side of the Dock (past the divider) accepts folders, shown as Stacks. You can exploit that for app groups:

1. Create a folder somewhere permanent, e.g. ~/Dock Groups/Design.
2. In Finder, open the Applications folder, then ⌥⌘-drag each app into your new folder — this creates aliases instead of moving the apps.
3. Drag the folder to the right side of the Dock.
4. Right-click it and set Display as: Folder and View content as: Grid.

Clicking the folder now pops up a grid of just those apps.

Good for: decluttering — many apps behind one icon, no Terminal needed. Limits: still one click per app to launch, no way to quit the set, and the aliases break if apps move or get renamed.

Method 3: Real app groups with DockGroups

DockGroups is a native macOS utility built exactly for this. Instead of visual tricks, you get named groups that act as one unit:

1. Download DockGroups (free) and drag it to Applications.
2. Create a group — say, "Dev Setup" — and add your apps to it.
3. Hit Open All to launch every app in the group with one click; Close All quits them all just as cleanly when you switch contexts.

Beyond the basics: each group can run in standalone mode with its own Dock icon you can pin permanently, and a dynamic Most Used group tracks your top apps automatically. The free version includes 2 groups; Pro unlocks unlimited groups for a one-time $9.99 — no subscription.

Good for: launching and quitting whole workflows, not just tidying icons. Limits: it's a separate app, and the free tier caps you at 2 groups.

Which method should you use?

Spacers and folders are worth doing regardless — they cost nothing. If the actual pain is opening and closing the same set of apps every day, groups that launch together are the fix; see our guide to opening multiple apps at once on a Mac for every way to do that, or the broader Mac Dock organization tips.

FAQ

Can macOS group Dock apps natively?

No. As of macOS 26 Tahoe, the Dock has no built-in grouping feature — only spacers and folder Stacks, which are visual workarounds. Real grouping requires a third-party app.

Do Dock spacers survive a restart?

Yes. Spacers are stored in the Dock's preferences and persist across restarts until you drag them off.

Can I launch a whole group of apps at once?

Not with built-in Dock features. DockGroups adds this: Open All launches every app in a group with one click, and Close All quits them.