How to Hide App Icons in Mac Dock Even When Running on

How to Hide the Dock Icon on Mac

In this example, we'll hide an application that users often install by default on their Macs, the Safari web browser. There are a few ways to do this, but we'll focus on the simplest method: using the " defaults " command to edit the application's " Info.plist " file.

First, we'll open a new instance/window of Terminal (in Applications > Utilities ).

Since modifying the ' Info.plist ' file usually requires elevated privileges, issue the following command, authenticating with your password (or Touch ID) when prompted:

sudo defaults write /Applications/Safari.app/Contents/Info LSUIElement -bool yes

After executing the command, restart the application and you will see its icon hidden from view while still running in the background. But what if you want to undo the changes you made? All you need to do is simply change the last word of the command from " yes " to " no " as shown in the command below:

sudo defaults write /Applications/Safari.app/Contents/Info LSUIElement -bool no

Then use the following command to kill the Safari process:

killall Safari

When you reopen Safari, you'll see the app appear in your Mac's dock by default!

If you want to hide a different app, you just need to edit the path. So instead of:

/Applications/Safari.app/Contents/Info

You can hide Slack by:

/Applications/Slack.app/Contents/Info

Why hide the Dock icon?

Depending on how and when you use your Mac, there may be some applications that you want to always run. This could be something like a remote desktop server or a program that needs to be open to receive hotkeys, automation commands, or shutdown commands.

If one of these tasks doesn't have an option to show a menu bar icon instead of a dock icon, it can cause unnecessary clutter in your dock. Clean it up by hiding the icon using the command above!

Samuel Daniel

Update 06 October 2024