A Dock you
arrange yourself.
Pier replaces the macOS Dock with one bar you build: apps in named groups, the widgets you pick, a fast search on ⌥Space, and your newest screenshots one click away.
Spotlight, rethought.
It learns what you mean.
Press ⌥Space for one panel with your apps, System Settings, files, links and newest screenshots. It forgives typos, understands initials, finds files by the folders they live in, and puts your usual pick on top.
Everything you reach for.
Nothing you don't.
Groups, and only the widgets you want.
- Pinned apps sit in named groups with a line between each. Drag an app on to pin it, off to unpin it, along the bar to reorder.
- Recent apps, Search, Memory & AI usage, minimized windows, Quick Links, Projects, Downloads and Trash: show, hide and reorder them.
- Changes show up in the bar right away.
Everything, one shortcut away.
- ⌥Space opens search, or ⌘Space once Spotlight's own shortcut is off.
- Apps, System Settings panes, files and links, grouped by kind as you type.
- Your newest screenshots get their own tab: ⌘C copies the image, or drag one out to share it.
See an app's windows before you click.
- Hover an app for previews of its windows, and click one to bring it forward.
- An app with several windows can group them into tabs, and ungroup them again.
- A window list on right-click, and unread badges on the icons.
Downloads, newest first.
- Click Downloads for a grid of what just arrived, updated live.
- Drop a file on the send zone to text it to yourself or hand it to Claude or ChatGPT; you still press Send.
- Drop files on Trash to throw them away.
Set up in a minute.
- A short walkthrough can bring over your Dock's apps, then you pick widgets and permissions.
- Put the bar on the bottom or right edge, on the display you choose.
- Quit Pier and your macOS Dock comes back exactly as it was.
Swap it in, keep your Dock.
Pier sits in front of the macOS Dock instead of removing it, so Mission Control, ⌘Tab and Spaces keep working.
Open Pier
It tucks the macOS Dock away while it runs and draws its own bar on the edge you choose.
Make it yours
Bring over your Dock's apps, sort them into groups and pick the widgets you want. Right-click the bar for Customize Pier… any time.
Change your mind?
Choose Quit Pier and your own Dock settings are put back, just as they were before.
The small things, done properly.
Memory and AI limits
Memory in use, heat, and how much of your Claude and ChatGPT plans is left, at a glance.
Quick Links and Projects
The sites you open often, and your projects' sites and dev servers, one click away.
Minimized windows
Like the Dock, minimized windows get their own tiles in the bar.
Bottom or right
Put the bar on either edge, on the display you pick. Windows keep clear of it.
Permissions optional
Works without any. Accessibility adds window menus and tab groups; Screen Recording adds previews.
Scriptable
Hammerspoon or a mouse utility can open search or paste your newest screenshot.
Runs on your Mac.
Collects nothing.
No account, no analytics, no tracking, no server of ours. Your apps, files and settings stay on your Mac.
Read the privacy policy →- Website iconsFor Quick Links and search, Pier asks each website for its own icon and keeps it on your Mac.
- AI usage, only if you use itIf you're signed in to Claude Code or Codex, Pier asks those services for your plan usage. Each sign-in goes only to its own service. Hide the widget and it stops.
- Everything else stays localWindow previews live in memory only. Search reads file names from your Mac's own Spotlight index.
Questions
Does Pier remove the macOS Dock?
No. It hides the Dock while it runs and puts your own Dock settings back when you choose Quit Pier. The Dock keeps running underneath, because Mission Control, ⌘Tab and Spaces live in it.
Which Macs does it run on?
Macs with macOS 26 Tahoe or later.
What permissions does it need?
None to get started. Accessibility adds window menus, tab groups, unread badges and pasting screenshots; Screen Recording adds window previews. The walkthrough shows what's on, and you can change it later in Customize Pier….
Does Pier send my data anywhere?
No. It fetches website icons for your links, and if you're signed in to Claude Code or Codex it asks those services for your usage. Nothing is sent anywhere else. See the privacy policy.
Can I replace Spotlight's shortcut?
Yes. ⌥Space always opens Pier's search. Turn off Spotlight's shortcut in System Settings and ⌘Space opens it too. Pier only reads that setting, never changes it.
What does it cost?
Nothing. Pier is free and open source under the MIT license. Build it from source today.
Build your bar.
Signed and notarized for macOS 26. Pier updates itself when a new version is out.