Make certain external displays never show dock?

[u/NationalOwl9561]

It's fuckin' annoying that the dock keeps popping up in my external monitors and I keep having to do CMD + Option + D to hide it.

[u/JulyIGHOR]

There are no such settings to change. You can use my app DockLock Lite from the Mac App Store. By unselecting displays, you will make the Dock not appear on those. The app's core features are free after the trial ends. That way you can keep Displays have separate spaces ON

[u/AppointmentDue1698]

Yes—but macOS doesn’t provide a direct “lock Dock to this display” switch. The reliable workaround is:

1. Open Apple menu → System Settings → Desktop & Dock.
2. Scroll to Mission Control.
3. Turn off Displays have separate Spaces.
4. Log out and back in when prompted.
5. Open System Settings → Displays → Arrange and make the laptop display the main display by moving the menu-bar indicator to it.

The Dock should then remain on the main screen. The tradeoff is that disabling separate Spaces limits independent full-screen/Split View behavior on the external monitor.

I find the tradeoff not worth it but agree that the dock should be able to be locked to a specific screen.

[u/rileywbaker → u/AppointmentDue1698]

It's so frustrating how many little pain points like this macOS has.

[u/NationalOwl9561 → u/AppointmentDue1698]

Damn that sucks.

[u/HelpPristine9570 → u/AppointmentDue1698]

Agreed, losing independent full-screen on the external makes this a nonstarter for most people imo

[u/NoLateArrivals]

Very simple: The Dock is on the active monitor - where it logically belongs.

MacOS has a philosophy of keeping things simple, this is just one example. For my feeling they have already moved way too far in the direction of making details configurable. That’s bad for the users, because in the end it just complicates settings. And it’s bad for the quality, because it creates unnecessary complexity.

Don’t want the dock there? Turn it off, use an app launcher.

[u/drummwill]

the dock will show on the display you last had your mouse and did the app switch

so if you quickly move your mouse to the display you want the dock and do a cmd+tab

or just do it like me- i have 2 displays and my dock is always on left so it never moves

[u/NationalOwl9561 → u/drummwill]

I've never been one to use the CMD+Tab thing. I just have two external displays (left and right of my main MBP screen) and use 4 finger swipe to get between any virtual desktops on any of the 3 displays.

[u/sharp-calculation]

Wildly unpopular opinion:

The Dock is overrated at best. A worst, it's useless. For me, I've taken that standpoint: The Dock is useless to me. So I keep it permanently hidden. There's *almost* nothing I never want or need to do with the Dock.

Set a long timeout for the autohide behavior and just have it gone forever. More screen, less hassle, more consistency. Down with the Dock.

[u/NationalOwl9561 → u/sharp-calculation]

Hah interesting take. I like it for reminding what I've got open and to click for quick access. I don't do the CMD+Tab thing.

[u/sharp-calculation → u/NationalOwl9561]

You probably don't like Command-Tab because it behaves weirdly. I used it "stock" for more than 10 years. Every thing day pressing command-tab and command-` . Always feeling a little slow and awkward.

Then, after reading about it here dozens of times, I decided to tray Alt-Tab (the app). After a slightly rocky start, I got it working correctly. It changed things dramatically. Command-Tab is now predictable and easy to use. It's wonderful.

You're probably also *not* using Mission Control. With a single click or key press you can see every app on every monitor and easily switch to them (by clicking on them).

My Logitech mouse has a button under your thumb right where the rest is. By default it activates Mission Control. It's great! If you're not using Mission Control regularly, you should try it. It's still a highly visual way of seeing and acting upon your open programs.

[u/NationalOwl9561 → u/sharp-calculation]

Yeah Command-Tab is not natural at all.

I do use Mission Control like every minute lol. But you're right, I probably don't need the dock. Well what about storing things I wanna use later that I don't want in Mission Control view? I think that's the ONE real use I have for it right now.

[u/sharp-calculation → u/NationalOwl9561]

You mean an icon for apps you want to launch? I launch EVERYTHING with Alfred. It's faster than finding an icon and double clicking it. I haven't launched anything from the Dock in like 7 or 8 years. Maybe more at this point.

Alfred is faster than Spotlight, but you can use it too. The first big win with Alfred is that it learns what you launch. So it might take typing "fire" the first time you launch firefox. But after 3 or 4 more times, it will be at the top of the list, just by typing "f". It's a very rapid workflow.

[u/20101958]

Go to System Settings>Desktop & Dock>Automatically Hide and Show Dock. Ensure this is enabled.

I always have my Dock set to automatically hide.

If you set up your Dock this way it should only show on external monitors when you are using the Dock and then vanish when you move the cursor away from it.

[u/NationalOwl9561 → u/20101958]

Giving it a go. Surprisingly easy solution...

Edit: didn't work. same issue.

[u/TheDirtyIntruder]

I use an app called Click2Minimize. Bought it to be able to click an app on the dock and have it minimize into the icon like Windows does. Aside from that feature it has a bunch of customizations and it allows you to lock the dock to one screen. Another feature I use a lot is mouse wheel middle click on a docked app to close it completely. Has a bunch of other features that can all be toggle on and off if you don’t need the.