How to Add Any Folder to the Mac Dock

To add a folder to the Mac Dock, drag it from Finder to the right of the divider line, the thin separator next to the Trash. Or select the folder in Finder and press Control, Shift, Command and T, which does the same thing without dragging. Either way it becomes a stack you can click to see what is inside.

That is the mechanics. The more useful question is which folders are worth the space, and how to set each one up so it actually saves you time.

How to add a folder to the Dock on Mac

Drag and drop. Open Finder, find the folder, and drag it down to the Dock. Move it past the divider until the icons part to make room, then release. If your Dock is on the left or right of the screen, the target is the section below the divider.

The menu. Select the folder in Finder, then choose File, then Add to Dock, or press Control, Shift, Command and T. It lands at the end of the folder section. This is the easier method on a trackpad, and the only one that works reliably if dragging onto the Dock keeps missing.

Why can't I add a folder next to my apps?

macOS splits the Dock in two. Apps go on one side of the divider; folders, files, minimised windows and the Trash go on the other. Drag a folder over the apps and the icons simply will not part for it. This is by design and there is no setting to change it.

Which folders are worth adding to the Dock?

Downloads. The one almost everybody wants, and the one most often removed by accident. If yours has gone, our guide to getting the Downloads folder back on the Dock walks through it. Set it to sort by Date Added so the newest file is always first.

Documents. Useful if you keep a flat set of working files. Less useful if Documents holds a deep tree of subfolders, because stacks only show one level at a time and you end up clicking through.

Desktop. Handy if you keep windows maximised and cannot see the desktop. Clicking the stack shows everything on it without moving a window.

A Screenshots folder. By default macOS saves screenshots to the Desktop, which fills up fast. Create a folder called Screenshots in your Home folder, then press Shift, Command and 5, click Options, choose Other Location and pick the new folder. Add that folder to the Dock, sorted by Date Added, and your latest screenshot is always one click away.

This week's project. The most underrated option. Add the folder for whatever you are working on right now, and swap it for the next one when the project ends. It is quicker than any sidebar favourite because it is visible all the time.

Applications. Since Launchpad was removed in macOS Tahoe, the Applications folder as a Grid stack is the closest built-in thing to a visual app grid. We cover that trade-off in what to use now Launchpad is gone.

Setting up each stack

Right-click, or Control-click, any folder on the Dock for three settings:

• Sort by: Date Added for anything that fills over time, such as Downloads and Screenshots. Name for folders you browse, such as Applications.
• Display as: Folder shows a steady folder icon. Stack shows the top item, so the icon changes as the contents change. With several folders on the Dock, Stack makes them easier to tell apart.
• View content as: Fan for a handful of items, Grid for images and anything visual, List for folders with dozens of files.

Fan only works with the Dock at the bottom of the screen. Move the Dock to a side and it is no longer available.

Hidden stacks: recent apps and recent documents

macOS can also add a stack that fills itself with your recent items. There is no menu option for it, but one Terminal command creates it. For recent applications:

defaults write com.apple.dock persistent-others -array-add '{"tile-data"={"list-type"=1;}; "tile-type"="recents-tile";}'; killall Dock

A new stack appears next to your folders. Right-click it to switch between Recent Applications, Recent Documents, Recent Servers, Favourite Volumes and Favourite Items, so you only need the command once per stack. To remove it, drag it off the Dock like any other folder.

Smart Folders on the Dock

A saved search from Finder can be added to the Dock the same way as a normal folder. That opens up stacks such as every PDF from the last week, or every file tagged Urgent, which update themselves as your files change. Our guide to macOS Smart Folders explains how to build the search in the first place.

How to remove a folder from the Dock

Drag it up and off the Dock until you see Remove, then release. Or right-click it, choose Options, then Remove from Dock. Only the shortcut goes. The folder and every file in it stay exactly where they were.

Folders on the Dock, apps somewhere else

Every folder you add makes the whole Dock a little narrower and your app icons a little smaller. If the Dock is getting crowded, one option is to keep the Dock for folders and move app launching elsewhere. ShortcutDock puts your apps in a grid behind a menu bar icon or a hotkey, with Groups for sets of apps you open together, which leaves the Dock free for the stacks it handles well. The free version holds eight app shortcuts, five favourites and one group, and you can download it for Mac to try it.

For more ways to make the Dock work harder, see our list of Mac Dock tips and tweaks.