dockedit is a command‑line tool for editing the macOS Dock. It lets you add, remove, move, and manage apps and folders (including inserting spacer tiles) without touching System Settings.

• From RubyGems:

gem install dockedit

• From source (local clone):

bundle install
bundle exec rake test

This installs the dockedit executable.

• Standalone file (no gem install required):

The repository includes a standalone dockedit file in the root directory that can be used directly without installing the gem. To regenerate this file after making changes to library files, run:

ruby build_standalone.rb

Note: If you add new library files, you must include them in the FILE_ORDER array in build_standalone.rb before running the script.

dockedit <subcommand> [options] [args]

Global behavior:

• dockedit --help: Show top‑level help and subcommand list.
• dockedit help <subcommand>: Show detailed help for a subcommand (add, move, remove, space).
• dockedit -v / dockedit --version: Print the current version.

Subcommands:

• add – add apps and/or folders to the Dock.
• remove – remove apps and/or folders from the Dock.
• move – move an existing Dock item after another item.
• space – insert one or more spacer tiles in the apps section.

Folder shortcuts you can use instead of full paths:

• desktop, downloads, home/~, library, documents, applications/apps, sites.

Usage:

dockedit add [options] <app_or_folder> [...]

You can pass any mix of:

• App names (e.g. Safari, Terminal, Notes) – resolved via Spotlight-style search.
• Explicit app paths (e.g. /Applications/Safari.app).
• Folder paths (e.g. ~/Downloads, ~/Sites), including the folder shortcuts above.

If a folder already exists in the Dock, dockedit add will update its view/style if you pass --show or --display rather than adding a duplicate.

Options:

• -a, --after ITEM Insert the new item(s) after the specified Dock item (app or folder). ITEM is matched fuzzily by name (e.g. Safari, Terminal, or a folder name).

• --show TYPE, --view TYPE (folders only) Set the folder view mode. TYPE accepts:

  • fan / f
  • grid / g
  • list / l
  • auto / a (default)

• --display TYPE (folders only) Set the folder style/appearance. TYPE accepts:

  • folder / f – shows the folder icon
  • stack / s – shows a stack of contents

Examples:

# Add apps to the end of the apps section
dockedit add Safari Terminal

# Add Downloads folder as a grid-style stack
dockedit add ~/Downloads --show grid --display stack

# Add Notes after Safari
dockedit add --after Safari Notes

# Add Sites folder with folder icon and grid view
dockedit add ~/Sites --display folder --show grid

Usage:

dockedit remove <app_or_folder> [...]

You can pass:

• App names or bundle identifiers (e.g. Safari, com.apple.Safari).
• Folder paths or folder names (including the defined shortcuts).

If an item can’t be found, dockedit prints a warning and continues with the remaining items.

Examples:

# Remove multiple apps
dockedit remove Safari Terminal

# Remove Downloads folder
dockedit remove ~/Downloads

To see help for this subcommand:

dockedit help remove

Usage:

dockedit move --after <target> <item_to_move>
# or
dockedit move <item_to_move> --after <target>

move lets you reorder existing Dock items relative to another item. Both items must already be in the Dock, and they must be in the same section (apps or folders) — moving between sections is not allowed.

Options:

• -a, --after ITEM (required) The target item after which item_to_move should be placed. Fuzzy‑matched by name.

Rules and behavior:

• If either the target or the item to move is not found, dockedit exits with an error.
• You cannot move an item after itself.
• You cannot move items between the apps section and the folders section.

Examples:

# Explicit: move Safari after Terminal
dockedit move --after Terminal Safari

# Alternative order: same effect
dockedit move Safari --after Terminal

To see help for this subcommand:

dockedit help move

Usage:

dockedit space [options]

space inserts one or more spacer tiles in the apps section of the Dock. You can add a space at the end of the apps list, or after specific apps.

Options:

• -s, --small, --half Insert a small/half-size space instead of a full-size spacer.

• -a, --after APP (repeatable) Insert a space after the specified app. You can use this option multiple times to insert several spaces in different locations in one command. Each APP is fuzzy‑matched by name.

Behavior:

• With no --after options, a single space (small or full) is added at the end of the apps section.
• With one or more --after options, a space is inserted after each referenced app, one by one.
• If an APP is not found, dockedit exits with an error.

Examples:

# Add a full-size space at the end of the apps section
dockedit space

# Add a single small space at the end
dockedit space --small

# Add a full-size space after Safari
dockedit space --after Safari

# Add small spaces after Terminal and Safari (in that order)
dockedit space --small --after Terminal --after Safari

To see help for this subcommand:

dockedit help space

Top-level help:

dockedit --help
dockedit help

Shows the main usage, subcommand list, folder shortcuts, and examples.

Subcommand help:

dockedit help add
dockedit help move
dockedit help remove
dockedit help space

Version:

dockedit -v
dockedit --version

Prints the current dockedit version (from DockEdit::VERSION).

• DockUtil - A more complete dock editing utility written in Swift