How to Remove All Apps From the Mac Dock at Once

A stock Dock ships with a dozen-plus Apple apps you may never open, and clearing them by hand means a dozen-plus drag-to-remove trips. One Terminal command empties the entire app section in a second, leaving a minimal Dock you can rebuild with only the things you launch daily. Fully reversible if you take the ten-second backup first. Works on Ventura, Sonoma, and Sequoia.

Step 0: Take the backup

The clear-out has no built-in undo, so create one — export the Dock's full configuration to a file first:

# snapshot the current Dock, layout and all
defaults export com.apple.dock ~/Desktop/dock-backup.plist

If tomorrow you miss the old lineup, restore it exactly:

defaults import com.apple.dock ~/Desktop/dock-backup.plist
killall Dock

Step 1: Clear every pinned app

# empty the Dock's app section
defaults write com.apple.dock persistent-apps -array
killall Dock

The command replaces the Dock's list of pinned apps (persistent-apps) with an empty list, and the restart applies it. The result: an app section containing only Finder — Finder and the Trash are fixtures macOS won't let anything remove.

Note what survives, by design: folders and stacks on the right side (Downloads, anything you added) live in a separate list, persistent-others, and are untouched. Apps that are currently running also still show up with their indicator dot while open — they're just no longer pinned, so they leave the Dock when you quit them.

Step 2: Silence the recents section

With the pinned apps gone, macOS may still populate a “suggested and recent apps” area, which defeats a deliberately empty Dock. Turn it off either way:

• Settings route: System Settings → Desktop & Dock → switch off Show suggested and recent apps in Dock.
• Terminal route:

# hide the recent-apps section
defaults write com.apple.dock show-recents -bool false
killall Dock

# undo later, if you want recents back
defaults delete com.apple.dock show-recents
killall Dock

Step 3: Rebuild on purpose

Now add back only what earns a slot — drag apps from the Applications folder into the Dock, or right-click a running app's icon and choose Options → Keep in Dock. Two honest questions per app: do you launch it most days, and do you launch it by clicking? Anything you naturally open with Spotlight (Cmd+Space, type two letters, Return) doesn't need a Dock slot at all. Most people land on six to ten apps — a Dock where every icon is a real destination, every position is stable, and muscle memory finally works.

Why an empty-then-rebuild beats pruning

Dragging off icons one by one anchors you to the existing layout — you negotiate with each app about whether it might be useful someday. Starting from zero flips the default: nothing gets in without a reason. It's the same logic as emptying a drawer to organize it. The Dock you end up with is smaller, faster to scan, and — pleasantly — makes each remaining icon bigger if you keep the Dock's overall length the same.

And to be explicit about safety: nothing here uninstalls anything. Dock icons are shortcuts; every app is still in your Applications folder, still in Launchpad, still one Spotlight search away. The command edits a preference list, not your software. The only thing you can lose is the arrangement — which is what the Step 0 backup file is for. Keep dock-backup.plist around for a week; if the minimal Dock sticks (it usually does), delete the file and enjoy the quiet.

Lock in the result

Once the rebuilt Dock feels right, freeze it so nothing drifts — lock the Dock so apps can't be added or removed covers the contents lock that keeps your curation intact.