Your dock.
Your way.

Search across your apps

Search all installed apps even while browsing a category. Match names, bundle identifiers, paths, and app category information. Combine multiple search words without worrying about accents or capitalization; exact names and name prefixes rank higher.

Keep favorites close

Browse Development, Internet, Media, Productivity, Utilities, and Graphics, or choose Favorites and Recent. Right-click an app to add or remove a favorite, or press ⌘D for the selected app. Favorites carry across themes. Recent shows successful launches from App Starter, or recently added apps when no launch history is available.

Launch from the keyboard

Search is ready when the panel opens. Use ↑ and ↓ to select an app and Return to open it. In search, ← and → move the text cursor. ⌘F focuses search, Control + Tab cycles categories, and ⌘1–9 jumps to a category. Escape dismisses an open app menu, clears an active search, or closes the panel.

Bring apps into your dock

Drag an app from App Starter into the dock to add a launcher. Drop supported files onto an app to open them with it. The right-click menu also offers Open and Show in Finder, so you can launch an app or locate its application bundle.

Three ways to browse

Liquid Glass presents an icon grid. CDE groups apps into Favorites, Recent, Frequent, and app categories. Windows 95 uses a Start menu with categories and app lists. Each has light and dark presets and follows your theme’s colors, fonts, and icon overrides.

Refresh and launch feedback

Press ⌘R to refresh the list after installing or moving an app. A busy indicator shows when a launch is in progress. If macOS cannot open the app, App Starter keeps the panel open and shows the error so you can choose another app or try again.

Collect mixed items

Drop files and folders, links, plain text, or PNG, JPEG, and TIFF images. Files and folders stay in their original location. Text, image, and link drops receive local saved copies that you can reuse from the shelf.

One shelf, three places

The dock widget, optional menu bar item, and Dynamic Island share the same items. Add Drop Zone in Dock settings, enable it under Settings → Menu Bar, or select its activity in an enabled Island. Dragging onto the Island previews the shelf; an accepted drop keeps it open and pinned.

Pick up after restart

Your shelf restores locally after restarting Docktopus. Saved text, images, and links remain available through their shelf copies. Original file and folder references need continued access to the originals; the shelf does not track files moved elsewhere.

Use an item straight away

Drag an item into a compatible app, click its row to open it, copy it, or reveal its file in Finder. Item Copy includes text, link, or image content where available, alongside its file reference. Header controls open all available items, copy all available file references, or clear the shelf.

Find what you saved

At eight items, a search field appears. Filter by filename, path, link address, or a short preview of saved text. Compact rows keep item names, type or location details, and individual actions together.

Remove entries with confidence

Remove an entry or clear the shelf while original files and folders remain untouched. Removing saved text, images, or links deletes their shelf copies after the change is saved. Missing files stay visible as unavailable entries: access actions are disabled, and Remove remains available.

See progress and recover

Import progress appears while items are added, and each drop keeps its incoming order. Adding the same original file again reuses its entry. Storage errors offer Retry for restoring, saving, or cleaning up the shelf. Import errors can be dismissed; drop the affected item again to try another import.

Match your desktop

Use Liquid Glass, CDE, or Windows 95, with light and dark presets. The shelf follows your app theme with readable rows, labeled controls, and visible drag feedback. In the standalone panel, press Esc to close it.

Set a pace that fits

Start with a 25-minute Focus session, a 5-minute Short Break, or a 15-minute Long Break. Set each duration to 1–180 minutes using typed values or steppers in Settings → Menu Bar → Potato Timer. Duration changes apply to the next session, keeping an active or paused countdown intact.

Let breaks follow your focus

Automatic focus/break cycles are off by default. Enable them to move from Focus to a Short Break and back, with a Long Break after four focus sessions by default. Choose 2–12 focus sessions between long breaks. Pause holds your place, Reset ends the cycle, and starting a preset begins a new sequence. Turning cycles off lets the current session finish.

Use the same timer everywhere

Click the dock widget or menu bar item to start Focus, pause, or resume. Right-click or Control-click for configured presets, Reset, and Open Timer Controls. The same timer appears in the Clock panel, so changing it from one place updates the others. Spent time is elapsed time for the current session.

Choose your completion feedback

Completion sound and macOS notifications have independent switches. Enable either, both, or neither. Notification permission and macOS notification settings control banner delivery; Settings provides guidance and a link to Notification Settings if access is blocked. Sound remains independent of notification access.

Restore a session when you want to

Restoration is off by default. When enabled, running timers count time while Docktopus is closed and paused timers keep their remaining time. An expired restored timer shows Done, uses your enabled completion alerts once, and waits for you to start again. Automatic cycles continue while Docktopus is running; reopening the app does not start a new session after an expired timer.

Keep your hands on the keyboard

In the Timer panel, Space starts, pauses, or resumes; ⌘1, ⌘2, and ⌘3 start Focus, Short Break, and Long Break. ⌘R resets and Esc closes the panel. With the dock timer focused, Shift-F10 or the Context Menu key opens its options. VoiceOver labels describe the timer state and available actions.

Projects and ports at a glance

See detected servers grouped by process, with a project name, folder path, process name, PID, and listening ports. A process with several ports keeps them in one card. The dock badge and menu bar count show detected ports; the panel also shows how many processes are running them.

Open or copy any port

Click a port to open its local HTTP address in your default browser. Each port has a copy menu with Copy URL and Copy Port, so you can share an address or use just the port number in another tool. IPv4 and IPv6 loopback addresses are supported, and copy feedback appears in the panel.

Reveal the project folder

Use the folder button to reveal the detected project directory in Finder. The path is visible in the card, with the full path available on hover. If no directory is available, Finder stays disabled; a folder that has since disappeared produces visible feedback.

Confirm before stopping

Stop shows the process and affected ports before you confirm. Docktopus checks that the process still matches the selected server, then sends a graceful stop request to that process. The panel reports the request or an error and checks the list again. Shutdown depends on how the server responds.

Refresh with recovery

The list updates automatically while the dock widget or menu bar item is enabled, with more frequent checks while the panel is open. Use Refresh to check now and see the last checked time. A failed scan keeps the last successful results visible with a Retry button, while loading and an empty list have their own states.

Work from the keyboard

Use ↑ and ↓ to select a process and Return to open its first, lowest-numbered port. ⌘R refreshes, ⌘C copies that port’s URL, ⌘⇧C copies its number, and ⌘O reveals the project in Finder. Press Esc to close the panel. Each port’s on-screen controls remain available when a process has several ports.

Open quick controls where you work

Enable Display Controls in Settings → Displays, then add the Display dock widget or enable its menu bar button. Both open the same panel, with the display containing the clicked launcher first. Display Controls works independently of Dynamic Island; its Controls activity also offers a shared Display brightness section.

Know which display you are adjusting

Each card identifies the built-in or external display, main display, current “Looks like” resolution, refresh rate, and HiDPI state. The panel scrolls when several monitors are connected and adapts when displays connect or disconnect. Full Display Settings opens the existing settings pane.

Choose brightness together or separately

Adjust each display with native hardware brightness or DDC monitor control where supported. Software dimming provides a fallback by darkening the image; it does not lower the monitor’s backlight. The panel labels the active control method. Optional combined brightness adjusts several displays together, with a separate built-in brightness ratio.

Control compatible monitor speakers

Monitor volume sliders use DDC on supported external displays. Show or hide these sliders in full settings; the preference applies to the quick panel too. A Volume Control override lets compatible monitors accept volume changes even when they cannot report their current level; it cannot add capabilities a monitor lacks. For system output and application audio, use the Audio Mixer.

Find a comfortable size and refresh rate

Choose supported resolutions and HiDPI modes, use the scaling slider where available, or expand Show all resolutions for exact modes. Refresh Rate lists fixed and variable refresh choices reported by the display; ProMotion appears on compatible built-in displays. Optional smooth scaling on compatible external displays may require administrator approval and a brief reconnect. A mode change can briefly blank the display; failures remain visible with Retry and Dismiss.

Let external brightness follow your Mac

Auto Brightness follows a detected built-in display and adjusts external brightness as it changes. Keep display offsets preserves the differences you set between screens. Displays that support macOS ambient-light adjustment also offer Automatically adjust brightness. These controls depend on an available built-in display or the display’s ambient-light support.

Use brightness keys on the right screen

Route brightness keys to the display under your pointer, all displays, or selected displays, and configure display shortcuts in full settings. Brightness and volume keyboard overlays are separate opt-in settings requiring Accessibility access. Feedback uses the Island on the affected screen or a standalone themed overlay; unsupported system audio outputs keep their macOS controls.

Explore HDR and Extra Brightness

Compatible external displays offer an HDR toggle. Extra Brightness extends the brightness slider beyond 100% on eligible built-in XDR and external HDR displays; enabling it on an external display may also enable HDR. Availability and the resulting brightness depend on your display and its current mode.

Adjust color and save a setup

Select ICC color profiles or reference presets offered by compatible XDR displays. Image adjustments include contrast, gamma, gain, color temperature, and individual RGB channels, with pause and reset controls; adjustments may affect HDR content. Save named display presets for resolution, brightness, and arrangement, and apply them again from the preset list or shortcuts.

Arrange a larger workspace

Arrange displays, choose the main screen, and create or manage virtual displays. Enabled virtual displays remain active while Docktopus runs. On Apple Silicon, supported physical screens can be disconnected through software; they stay disconnected until you explicitly reconnect them in settings. Notch hiding uses an available display mode that excludes the notch area. Advanced display support varies with hardware and macOS.

Keep familiar theme and keyboard controls

Liquid Glass uses native sliders; CDE and Windows 95 retain their bevels and focus outlines, with light and dark presets. Retro sliders support arrow keys in 1% steps, Shift-arrow in 10% steps, and Home or End. Press Esc to close the quick panel or ⌘, to open full display settings. Keyboard interaction keeps the panel open until you close it or click outside.

Keep adjustments consistent

Brightness changes are shared between the quick panel, full display settings, and Island controls. The quick panel and settings also share monitor volume. Controls refresh while visible; closing the panel stops its display refreshes while enabled automatic brightness and keyboard features keep working.

Choose where sound goes

Open Audio Mixer from the dock widget, menu bar, or Dynamic Island to manage system volume and app audio.

Switch between available output devices, then adjust system volume or mute the output where the device supports it. Outputs without software volume control use the controls on the device itself.

Balance applications independently

Adjust volume or mute each application playing audio, watch its audio level, and search the list when several apps are active. Per-app audio controls require macOS 14.2 or later.

Keep your mix close by

Adjust enabled keyboard and mouse soundpacks separately. Choose and preview packs in Sound settings; their volume and mute stay in sync with the mixer. Saved per-app volumes return automatically; restore one application to full volume or use Reset app mix to restore all saved application volumes and unmute them.

One click to keep working

Click Coffee to start an indefinite session, or click again to stop an active session. Right-click or Control-click for durations and options. The dock, submenu, and optional menu bar item share the same Coffee state. Normal timed and indefinite sessions end when Docktopus quits.

Choose when sleep can resume

Keep awake for 10 or 30 minutes, or 1, 2, 4, 8, or 12 hours. The menu marks your selected duration and shows the remaining minutes and finish time. Change the duration during a normal session without interrupting its sleep prevention. When the time runs out, Coffee turns off so normal sleep behavior can resume.

Let the display rest

Turn off Keep Display Awake to keep your Mac awake while its display may sleep. Turn it on to keep the display awake during a Coffee session. The preference is saved for future sessions, is available in Settings and the Coffee menu, and can be changed during a normal session without resetting its timer.

See the state at a glance

Theme artwork and badges distinguish inactive, indefinite, timed, closed-lid, pending, and attention states. Hover Coffee for its current status; open the menu for the finish time, display behavior, and Show Error Details. Liquid Glass, CDE, and Windows 95 retain their own artwork and colors, with light and dark presets.

Keep awake with the lid closed

Keep Awake with Lid Closed is a separate indefinite mode that may require administrator approval for the Coffee helper. Coffee records the previous sleep setting before changing it and attempts to restore that setting when stopped or when Docktopus quits. If restoration fails, the state remains visible and Retry Sleep Restoration is available. An outstanding restoration setting is checked again at the next launch.

Reach the options from the keyboard

Activate a focused dock Coffee control with Return or Space. Use Shift-F10 on a focused dock or submenu Coffee control to open its options. VoiceOver has a Coffee Options action for the dock, submenu, and menu bar item, along with the current state and error details. Opened menus also reflect changes to the shared Coffee state.

Toggle it when you need it

Toggle Focus Blur from its dock widget or optional menu bar menu, or press Command + Shift + B by default. Change the shortcut and enable the menu bar toggle in Settings → Window Switcher → Focus Blur.

Choose how much to soften

Set Effect Strength from 25% to 100% in the same settings. Lower values reveal more of the background; higher values make the focused window stand out more.

Follow your theme

The effect and dock glyph match Liquid Glass, CDE, and Windows 95, including light and dark appearances. With macOS Reduce Transparency enabled, Focus Blur uses a simple tint.

Leave room for desktop navigation

Focus Blur pauses in Mission Control and on displays covered by a full-screen window, so other displays can keep their focus effect. It returns when those conditions end.

Read time your way

Analog with seconds is the default. Switch the dock face to digital, follow your Mac’s time format, or choose 12-hour or 24-hour time. Show or hide seconds in both the dock and panel; hiding seconds changes clock display updates from once a second to once a minute. The panel also shows your local date, time zone, and UTC offset.

Compare world clocks

Save up to 16 world clocks. Search by city, region, or time zone, add your own labels, and compare each clock’s time, UTC offset, and date. Day differences help when another city is ahead of or behind your local date. Copy a city’s time or remove it directly from its row; saved clocks return when you relaunch Docktopus.

Set daily or one-time alarms

Add up to 32 named alarms and see the next due time. Choose Once for the next occurrence of the selected time, or Every day for a daily reminder. Daily alarms follow your Mac’s local time; one-time alarms keep their scheduled moment if your time zone changes. Enable, disable, or delete alarms from the list.

Snooze or dismiss a reminder

Due and missed alarms stay in the panel until you dismiss them or snooze for 5 minutes. The dock badge counts pending alarms. Alarm schedules and pending reminders are saved, with missed alarms reconciled after wake, a clock change, or launch. Alarm sound and macOS notifications have independent controls, with a link to Notification Settings when access is blocked.

Use the shared Potato Timer

Start with the 25-minute Focus, 5-minute Short Break, and 15-minute Long Break defaults, or set your own durations and optional automatic cycles. Pause, resume, or reset while spent time, remaining time, and progress stay visible. This is the same Potato Timer used by the dock widget and optional menu bar item. Choosing a preset replaces the current session; restoring timers after restarting Docktopus is opt-in in settings. Explore Potato Timer controls and cycles.

Copy time and use the keyboard

Copy local time or a world clock’s time in your selected format, with visible confirmation or an error if copying fails. Hover the dock clock for time and date; VoiceOver exposes the current time and pending-alarm count. Activate the focused dock widget with Return or Space, and press Esc to close the panel. Display and alarm preferences are saved in the existing settings.

See the next two weeks

Upcoming groups the next two weeks by day, with all-day events, timed events, calendar names and colors, and locations where available. Month offers previous and next navigation, a Today shortcut, and day selection with event dots. Select a day to see events that overlap it, including multi-day events.

Choose the calendars you want

Use the source filter to include or hide individual calendars, or choose Show All Calendars to reset it. Your selection is saved and shared across the dock, menu bar, and Island. Cancelled events and invitations you have declined are omitted. Refresh checks for changes; updates also follow Calendar changes, wake, and local date or time-zone changes.

Join a meeting or open its date

Click an event to open it in the macOS Calendar app, or use Open Calendar from the panel header. Join appears for recognized meeting links in an event’s URL, location, or notes, including Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, and Webex. Recurring events open their matching occurrence when available, with the selected date as a fallback. Create and edit events in Calendar.

Keep the next event in Dynamic Island

Enable Dynamic Island in Settings → Dynamic Island to show a compact countdown for an upcoming timed event. Calendar previews start 15 minutes before by default; choose 5, 15, 30, or 60 minutes, or turn them off. The strip shows Now while an event is in progress. Click it to pin the expanded Calendar activity, with event details, the agenda, source filters, and meeting actions.

Fit the dock and your keyboard

The compact Calendar Preview adapts to bottom and side docks; narrow Liquid Glass side docks show a seven-day list. Hover for a quick agenda, or click the Calendar tile or preview to keep the panel open. Focused dock widgets support Return or Space; Esc closes the panel. In a focused Island, ⌥7 selects Calendar.

Grant access when you choose

Calendar reads events through macOS Calendar access. Choose Allow Calendar Access in the panel to request permission; if access is denied, use Open System Settings to enable Calendar for Docktopus. Opening individual events may also require macOS Automation permission for Calendar. Loading, empty calendars, empty filters, and failed actions have visible states, so you can refresh, restore sources, or try again.

Follow the source that macOS reports

See the title, artist, album, and artwork when the source provides them. Now Playing works with audio and video apps that publish macOS Now Playing information; metadata and control support depend on the player. An app icon or media symbol fills in when artwork is unavailable.

Keep playback controls within reach

Use previous, play/pause, and next where the current source supports those commands. Controls show an updating state while a command is being sent and prevent overlapping requests. While media controls are shown, a failed playback request is marked on play/pause; hover that control for details. Refresh media information to check the source before trying again.

Read progress when a duration is available

A read-only progress bar appears when the source reports a duration and the layout has room. Roomier layouts also show elapsed time. Playback state remains available when duration is unknown; the progress bar does not seek or scrub through the track.

Return to the player or refresh its information

Click the artwork or title to bring the running source app forward. Hover shortened metadata for the full track details. Right-click for Open, playback commands, and Refresh media information. When nothing is playing or media information is unavailable, the widget provides a Refresh button.

Fit horizontal and side docks

Compact layouts keep playback controls available while larger slots show more metadata and artwork. Side docks arrange controls to fit their available width. Choose Now Playing in the panel editor, then adjust Now Playing Width in Themes → Widgets; this sets the widget’s width in a horizontal dock and its height in a side dock.

Match your theme and accessibility preferences

Liquid Glass, CDE, and Windows 95 retain their own styling in light and dark presets. The widget supports Increase Contrast and Reduce Transparency, with full metadata and playback progress, where shown, available to VoiceOver. Progress updates pause while hidden, and shared polling stops when no Now Playing surface is visible.

Know which desktop is current

A checkmark and outline identify your current regular desktop. Click another tile to switch through Mission Control, including when a full-screen app is active. A progress indicator marks the desktop being selected while the switch is underway.

Fit both dock directions

Horizontal docks arrange desktops in two compact rows, with scrolling and previous/more controls when the list outgrows the slot. Side docks show up to six desktops at a time in a scrollable column. The current desktop is brought into view when it changes.

Reach the full desktop list

Hover a tile for its full desktop name, including when a narrow tile shows only a number. Right-click the widget for a context menu with every listed desktop and Refresh Desktops to update the list after changing your setup.

Move with the keyboard

With macOS Keyboard navigation enabled, focus a desktop tile and use the arrow keys to move between tiles. Press Return or Space to select the focused desktop. A separate focus outline keeps keyboard position clear.

Recover when a switch needs attention

If switching fails, the widget shows recovery actions such as Retry or Refresh. A Permissions action helps when Accessibility access is needed; enable access for Docktopus in System Settings, then retry the switch. Hover the warning for its full message.

Match the rest of your dock

Liquid Glass, CDE, and Windows 95 each keep their own tile styling in light and dark presets. Hover, selection, and keyboard focus stay distinct, with readable labels and full desktop names for assistive technology.