Skip to main content

DockBuilder allows for the building of a user's Dock based on an organization's needs. DockBuilder eliminates the need for a user template which only allows for a static Dock for all users, and template manipulation can cause issues in newer versions of macOS. DockBuilder not only allows for easy creation of a new user's Dock out of the box, but also has the potential to dynamically set up a different Dock for users based on some criteria; like AD groups for example (you'd have to modify the source based on your criteria).

Features
- Builds a Dock based on pre-defined defaults
- Logs to ~/Library/Logs/DockBuilder.log (by default)
- Does not start until the Dock.app is loaded upon login
- Only builds a Dock for user's who's Dock is younger than 300 seconds (to minimize re-building a pre-existing user's Dock after the installation of DockBuilder)
- Option to hide the Dock and display a message to the user while the Dock is being built

I created a version of this for my workplace, but this includes a lot more functionality and leverages a plist to store preferences for easy manipulation in the future.

Use it, or don't. Create an issue if you have any or submit a PR.

https://github.com/ryangball/DockBuilder

Hey @ryan.ball
Looks like Monterey is complaining that "DockBuilder" needs to be updated. This app will not work with future versions of macOS… blah blah.
Is there something you might be able to fix or is it Platypus that is not creating a Universal .app?


@remus This needs to be updated to a signed Swift app, but I don't use this any longer and don't know if I want to update it. Alternatively you can build the project and then sign/notarize it yourself which might be a quick work-around.


Hey @ryan.ball
Looks like Monterey is complaining that "DockBuilder" needs to be updated. This app will not work with future versions of macOS… blah blah.
Is there something you might be able to fix or is it Platypus that is not creating a Universal .app?


It's looking like a rebuild, sign and notarization of DockBuilder.app is working for me. FYI


Hey @ryan.ball
Looks like Monterey is complaining that "DockBuilder" needs to be updated. This app will not work with future versions of macOS… blah blah.
Is there something you might be able to fix or is it Platypus that is not creating a Universal .app?


Well, I may have spoken too soon. Subsequent build attempts after my first couple seem to be showing the alert again. Not sure what to do at this point.


For anyone looking to build a custom dock in Monterey, I piggybacked off @ryan_ball 's awesome work, rewrote a bunch of stuff and created a new post here:

https://community.jamf.com/t5/jamf-pro/build-a-custom-macos-dock/m-p/264565#M243152