DockNest

A macOS Dock launcher for developer tools that keeps the Dock clean.

Why it exists

Keeping every IDE, editor, terminal and utility in the Dock costs space and attention. DockNest opens as a lightweight popover anchored around the Dock, discovers the developer tools already installed, groups them, and opens a file or folder by dropping it onto a tile.

What it does

• Popover anchored around the Dock edge
• Automatic discovery across /Applications, /Applications/Utilities, /System/Applications, /System/Applications/Utilities and ~/Applications
• Automatic grouping into IDE and Terminal
• Drag and drop a file or folder onto a tile to open it with that app
• In-popover settings to hide or show discovered applications
• No telemetry, no network access, no background service

Stack

• Swift
• AppKit
• UserDefaults

Usage

open DockNest.xcodeproj
xcodebuild -project DockNest.xcodeproj -scheme DockNest \
  -configuration Debug -destination 'platform=macOS' build

Engineering notes

Discovery is metadata-driven rather than a hardcoded list, which is what lets it work across different developer setups without maintaining a fixed set of applications: IDE and developer tools are detected through LSApplicationCategoryType equal to public.app-category.developer-tools, and terminal applications through shell-related document support metadata such as CFBundleTypeRole equal to Shell and the com.apple.terminal.shell-script type. Hidden application preferences are stored locally in UserDefaults, and the app reads no file contents.

Limitations

• macOS exposes no public API for detecting drag-hover over a Dock icon, so a drop works while the popover is already open.
• Dock tile geometry is not exposed through public APIs, so popover placement is approximated around the active Dock edge.

Source: Ahmetshbzz/DockNest