How to organize your Mac Dock
A full Dock makes every click a little slower. Five steps to a Dock that holds only what you need.
1. Remove the apps you rarely open
Drag an app out of the Dock until you see Remove, then let go. The app stays on your Mac – only its Dock icon goes. More on this: how to remove apps from the Mac Dock.
2. Turn off recent apps
Open System Settings, click Desktop & Dock and turn off “Show suggested and recent apps in Dock”. The Dock stops adding apps on its own.
3. Put the rest into folders
Apps you need now and then don’t have to sit in a row. Group them in a folder: a Dock stack of app aliases, or a TinyFolder folder right in the Dock. Step by step: how to make app folders in the Mac Dock.
4. Put the apps you use most first
Drag icons to change their order. Keep the apps you open every day where your pointer usually is.
5. Make the Dock fit your screen
In System Settings → Desktop & Dock you can change the Dock’s size, turn magnification on or off, move the Dock to the left or right edge, and hide it until you point at it.
Why some apps still show up
Every app that is running shows in the Dock – macOS does that for all apps, and no app can switch it off. Quit an app and its icon leaves.