DockLock Lite

Stop dock jumps across monitors with DockLock Lite and control it with automations with DockLock Plus For more than 10 years, Mac users have been posting online about an issue that's both minor and maddening - the Dock on macOS randomly jumps to a different screen in multi-monitor setups. Why the Dock Keeps Moving This usually happens when you're trying to find your mouse cursor and accidentally move to the bottom edge of an external display. Suddenly, the Dock relocates itself-without your intent-to that monitor. There was no built-in way to lock it. How It Disrupts Your Workflow This unexpected Dock movement interrupts your workflow in frustrating ways. When the Dock jumps to a new screen, macOS automatically resizes or shifts all windows to accommodate the Dock's new position. Often, these windows are not restored properly even if the Dock moves back - leaving them awkwardly sized or misaligned. You're forced to manually drag and resize your windows just to get back to your original layout. For users working with multiple external displays, this becomes a recurring disruption throughout the day. Apple's only "solution" was to disable Displays have separate Spaces, but doing so breaks essential multi-monitor features: You lose full-screen apps on individual monitors. Mission Control becomes less useful. You can't use apps independently on different screens. Another workaround was to move the Dock to the left or right edge, but that forces you to use a vertical layout-and most of us prefer the Dock at the bottom. Like many users, I was frustrated for years. I searched for a solution countless times. Until February 4, 2025, when the idea behind DockLock Lite was born - a lightweight macOS utility that, for the first time ever, stops the Dock from jumping unexpectedly. No system hacks. No compromise on multi-monitor functionality and need to disable System Integrity Protection (SIP). Requires macOS Accessibility permissions to operate. Just a clean fix for a very old problem. Important Notes & Requirements Requires at least two connected displays (built-in, DisplayLink, Sidecar, or external). Dock must be positioned at the bottom of the screen (not left or right). macOS setting Displays have separate Spaces must be enabled. Only locks the Dock on screens where macOS itself allows manual movement. macOS keeps CMD+Tab tied to the Dock's current location. Both DockLock Lite and DockLock Plus automatically relocate the Dock on wake or when displays change and remember your chosen screen for every display combination. For example, you can keep the Dock on your built-in display at home and on your external monitor at work. DockLock Lite also prevents the Dock from appearing during screen sharing or video meetings, helping protect your privacy while presenting. It supports macOS 10.10 and newer, which means it works on over 14 years of macOS versions as of 2025. It is confirmed to work and still needed in macOS 26 as well. Beyond Locking - Introducing DockLock Plus After releasing DockLock Lite, I wanted to go further. That's why I created DockLock Plus - a more advanced utility that doesn't just lock the Dock, but also gives you full control over its location with automation features. DockLock Plus adds several powerful capabilities: Dock Follows Mouse: Automatically relocates and locks the Dock to the display where your cursor is. Dock Follows Active Window: Moves the Dock to whichever screen contains the focused application window. Apple Shortcuts support: Integrate Dock control into system-wide automation using Siri or the Shortcuts app. Custom URL scheme: Allows external tools and scripts to control the Dock (e.g., move it to a specific display or unlock it on demand). Manual relocation and toggle controls in the menu bar for quick adjustments. DockLock Plus is ideal for power users and developers who want precise, scriptable control over how the Dock behaves in complex multi-monitor setups. Like Lite, it's also sandboxed and written in efficient C++, ensuring low resource usage. DockLock Plus supports macOS 10.10 and newer. Pushing the Limits - The DockLock Pro Prototype I didn't stop after building DockLock Lite and Plus. I kept reverse engineering and eventually reached something that had never been done before on macOS. DockLock Pro goes far beyond just locking the Dock - it can also unlock and reposition it dynamically. Through my app, I can now set the Dock's position at runtime without restrictions, detach it, or move it freely between screens. Even more significantly, I managed to gain control over the bottom edge Dock height reservation - the invisible margin macOS uses that prevents windows from resizing to full height. With this restriction removed, it's now possible to: Position the horizontal Dock on the left or right side of the screen. Position the vertical Dock on the top or bottom side of the screen. Place two windows side by side, with one of them using the entire vertical space from top to bottom. Move a vertical Dock to any screen, overriding macOS's "side-most display only" limitation. I'll be working on many more features based on community feedback. This kind of control has never been available before. DockLock Pro achieves it while still operating safely within user space. Currently, the app is in an early prototype stage. It requires far more work than Lite or Plus, especially in creating natural mouse-driven interaction for Dock movement and alignment. While the software can already control the Dock's position, I'm working to deliver an intuitive way to let you configure its alignment and move it like a floating panel. Sadly, unlocking the Dock in DockLock Pro requires the app to run outside of App Store sandbox restrictions, so it's likely it will be released as a website-only version. Watch DockLock Pro prototype demo → https://docklockpro.com/blogs/prototype This project is a hobby effort by a solo developer, and community support is vital to its growth. Every purchase of DockLock Lite or DockLock Plus not only funds the ongoing development of DockLock Pro but also gives me the time to dive deeper into reverse engineering, delivering new, never-before-seen experiences. If you've found these tools helpful, your support truly lets me keep innovating.