How To Make Dock Smaller On Mac?

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How to make dock smaller on Mac? It could be due to a number of reasons. You might just not like the way it looks and want to shrink it down, or maybe you have a second display connected to your Mac and don't want the dock to overlap over there. Either way, it's not that difficult.

Make dock smaller on Mac

Facing trouble to maintain the apps on your dock? If you are, then it's better to make the dock small. Because a bigger dock gives you an enlarged vision of the apps, nothing else. You can't monitor all apps in it. And if you are a shortcut-loving person, a large dock will indeed bother you.

So all you need to do is reshape your dock so that you can make a valuable shortcut of every app. But many people don't have the proper knowledge of making the dock small. Because reshaping the dock is accessible only when you know the right way of doing it. So we have come up with some practical ways to get your job done.

Is it necessary to make the dock small?

Having a large dock or a small dock doesn't have any impact on your computer's performance. It only defines how quickly you can access your apps, files, folders on your Macbook. If you have a large dock, then you will get a better view of the dock. And if you have a small dock, you will have a relatively small view, but you will get to access many apps at a time. So making the dock small is not mandatory; it depends on your comfort.

3 Easy ways to make dock smaller

1). Drag and drop technique

So our first technique is called the drag and drop process. And it is one of the easiest ways of making the dock small. All you need is a correctly working mouse.

If you look closely at the dock, you will see the trash icon. On the left of the trash icon, you will see a bar. If you drag the mouse onto that bar, an arrow will pop up. After seeing the indicator, you need to click the mouse's left button and then drag it in the downward direction to make the dock small.

Drag and Drop Technique

2). Apple System Preferences

Another way of making the dock small is by accessing through apple system preferences. Though it is a bit longer than the previous one, we are pretty sure that almost everybody will find it easy.

First, you need to click on the apple icon that can be found on your desktop window's top-left corner. And select the apple system preferences option. Here you will find a dock option on the first row. Click on it, and you will find your desired resizing option.

System Preferences Option


Dock Pane Option


find your desired resizing option

3). Macbook Terminal

If you have some knowledge about the MacBook terminal, our third technique will be exciting to you.

To make the dock small through the MacBook terminal, you will have to start the terminal app on your Mac. You will get it in the applications folder. Once you have opened it, type " defaults write com.apple.dock tilesize -integer 8". After writing it, press return, then type "killall Dock". That's all; you are all good to go.

Pro Tips

  • Don't make your dock too small or too big. Keep it in adorable shape.
  • Don’t use the terminal option without proper knowledge about it.
  • Keep "mostly used apps" in the dock. It will increase accessibility.
  • Don’t get too obsessed with the dock’s size. If you are comfortable with the bigger version, there is no need to make it small.

Summary: Make dock smaller on Mac

  • Right click on the Dock's divider line
  • Click Dock Preferences
  • Use the Scale slider to adjust the size of icons in the Dock.
  • Close System Preferences.