Set up the Dock the way you want it
Hide it when you are not using it, keep only the apps you open, and stop minimised windows piling up on the right.
Works on: macOS Ventura 13 and later · checked on macOS Golden Gate 27
Published: · Source: Genius Manu
The Dock arrives full of apps you did not choose and permanently occupying the bottom of the screen. Three changes in System Settings → Desktop & Dock fix that.
Get the screen back. Turn on Automatically hide and show the Dock. It slides away and reappears when you push the pointer to the bottom edge.
Keep only what you use. Drag an icon out of the Dock until Remove appears, then let go. To add one, drag it from the Applications folder into the apps side of the Dock, before the separator line.
Stop the pile-up on the right. By default a minimised window becomes a new thumbnail at the right end of the Dock, so after an hour there are eight of them. Turn on Minimize windows into application icon and the window tucks into the app’s existing icon instead.
While you are there, Size and Magnification control how big the icons are and whether they grow as the pointer passes over them.
Related tips
Dark mode, accent colour and tinted icons
Appearance settings go well past light and dark: accent colours, icon styles and even the colour of folders.
Stop apps opening on their own when you log in
The queue of programs that launch with your Mac is editable, and most of what is in it got there without asking.
Stretch the battery with Low Power Mode
Energy Mode trades a little performance for battery life, separately on battery and on the power adapter.