09:41
09:41Thursday, 22
Free and open source · Windows 10 and 11
One Windows PC.A dock for every moment.
WinDock draws a glass dock at the bottom of every screen. Work apps from 9 to 6, games after hours, each set with its own icons, widgets and color.
VS Code
Terminal
Brave
Chrome
Obsidian
Notion
3Slack
Downloads
Steam
Epic Games
12Discord
Spotify
OBS Studio
Battle.net
Obsidian
Notion
Chrome
Anki
Calculator
Notepad
Downloads
Spotify
Steam
5Discord
Chrome
Move the pointer over the dock. Scroll on it to switch environment.
Environments
The dock follows your week
Each environment keeps its own apps, widgets and accent color. Set the days and hours, and WinDock switches by itself. Want a different one right now? Scroll the wheel over the dock, press Ctrl+Alt+1 to 9, or right-click the glass.
Monday, 09:00
Work
Mon to Fri, 09:00 to 18:00
VS Code, the terminal, Slack and Notion. A Pomodoro and the progress of your day sit next to the clock.
Monday, 18:00
Games
Mon to Fri, 18:00 to 09:00
Steam, Discord, Spotify and OBS take over. The activity widget shows processor and memory while you play.
Saturday, 10:00
Weekend
Sat and Sun, all day
Spotify, Steam and Discord, plus a countdown with the days left to Christmas.
Whenever you need it
Study
Manual, no schedule
Study has no schedule. You switch to it by hand when the exam gets close, and the timer and Pomodoro come along.
VS Code
Terminal
Brave
Chrome
Obsidian
Notion
3Slack
Downloads
Steam
Epic Games
12Discord
Spotify
OBS Studio
Battle.net
Obsidian
Notion
Chrome
Anki
Calculator
Notepad
Downloads
Spotify
Steam
5Discord
Chrome
Your windows can follow along
Turn on Windows follow the environment and the windows of the last environment step aside when you switch. They come back when you return. Apps in the Always pinned card stay on every dock.
Environments are plain JSON files in %APPDATA%\WinDock\presets. The settings window edits them for you.
The lens
Icons grow like on a Mac
The icon under the pointer grows from its base, past the edge of the glass, and pushes its neighbors aside. This page runs the same math as the app. Play with the settings from the Dock tab:
VS Code
Terminal
Brave
Chrome
Obsidian
Notion
3Slack
Downloads
The dock
It works as a taskbar, too
Everything you expect from the bottom of the screen, on glass.
Unread badges
A red count on WhatsApp, Teams and Mail, and on any window whose title starts with a number, like “(3) WhatsApp” in the browser.
Live previews
Rest the pointer on an open app to see each of its windows live, each with its own close button.
Folder stacks
Pin Downloads and it opens as a grid of the newest files, with a badge for what just arrived. Drag a file out into any app.
Open apps
A dot marks what is running. Apps you never pinned show after a divider, so you never lose a window.
Every screen
One dock per monitor, or a dock per screen with its own environment. Plug a monitor in and the dock shows up there.
The Windows basics stay
With the taskbar out of sight, the dock brings Start, Wi-Fi, volume, battery, the clock, the calendar and the tray icons.
Sound in one scroll
Scroll on the speaker for volume, middle-click to mute, click to hop between speakers, headphones and the monitor.
Full screen aware
Start a game or a video in full screen and the dock gets out of the way until you are done.
Themes
Nine looks for the glass
Pick one in the Dock tab. Click a theme here to try it on the dock.
Steam
Epic Games
12Discord
Spotify
OBS Studio
Battle.net
Safe by design
Replace the taskbar. Get it back exactly as it was.
Turn on Replace the taskbar and the Windows taskbar hides while WinDock runs. Close WinDock and it comes back. If WinDock crashes, a tiny watchdog brings back the taskbar and every window it hid.
Windows taskbar
- <1%
- of one processor core at rest
- 170 MB
- of memory, most of it the .NET runtime packed inside
- 1 file
- a 75 MB exe, with no .NET to install
- 0
- polling loops. It listens to Windows window events instead
What it reads, and what it sends
- Badges
WinDock reads only the number each app puts on its taskbar icon. It never opens the text of a notification.
- Claude usage
Two percentages and their reset times, from the same Anthropic endpoint Claude Code uses. Your chats stay out of it.
- Weather
The city you typed goes to Open-Meteo, every 10 minutes while the widget sits on the dock.
- Updates
Every few hours WinDock asks GitHub for the latest release tag. It never downloads or installs anything by itself.
Shortcuts
Keys and gestures
Keyboard
- Ctrl+Alt+WOpen or hide the settings window
- Ctrl+Alt+1…9Switch to the 1st to 9th environment
- Win+1…9Open the dock apps when the dock replaces the taskbar
- EscClose the settings. WinDock keeps running
Mouse on the dock
- Scroll the wheelPrevious or next environment
- Shift + clickOpen a new window of the app
- Ctrl + clickShow the program in File Explorer
- Drag an icon sidewaysMove it. Drag it up to remove it, with Undo
- Drop files on an appOpen them with that app
- Drop files on the glassPin them to this environment
Install
Download, double-click, done
- 1
Download WinDock.exe
About 75 MB with everything inside. It needs Windows 10 version 2004 or newer.
- 2
Double-click it
Windows may show a blue “Windows protected your PC” screen, because the file is not code-signed yet. Click More info, then Run anyway.
- 3
The dock appears
On every screen, with a short tour of the gestures. From then on it starts with Windows, and you can turn that off in the Dock tab.
To remove it, right-click the dock, pick Exit, then delete WinDock.exe and the %APPDATA%\WinDock folder.
Prefer building from source? Install the .NET 10 SDK and run dotnet run --project src/WinDock
FAQ
Questions people ask
How do I get a Mac-style dock on Windows 11?
Install WinDock: download WinDock.exe, double-click it, and the dock appears at the bottom of every screen with a lens that magnifies icons like on macOS. It is free and open source, and it can sit above the taskbar or replace it.
Does WinDock replace the Windows taskbar?
Only if you turn it on. By default the dock sits above the taskbar. With Replace the Windows taskbar on, the taskbar hides and the dock brings Start, the clock and quick settings. Close WinDock and the taskbar comes back as it was, even after a crash.
What does the watchdog do?
When WinDock hides the taskbar or a window, it starts a tiny copy of itself that only waits. If WinDock ends for any reason, the watchdog shows the taskbar and every hidden window again. If both get killed, the next start of WinDock cleans up.
Are environments virtual desktops?
No. They work on the desktop you are on. With Windows follow the environment on, WinDock hides the windows of other environments and brings them back when you switch back.
Does it slow the PC down?
At rest it uses under 1% of one processor core and around 170 MB of memory, most of it the .NET runtime packed inside the exe. It listens to Windows window events instead of polling.
Which programs can I pin?
Any .exe, .lnk or folder, Microsoft Store apps, and installed Steam and Epic Games games. A running game lights up its pinned icon.
Does it work on Windows 10?
WinDock uses no API that only exists on Windows 11, and it needs Windows 10 version 2004 or newer. So far it has been tested on Windows 11, and reports from Windows 10 are welcome.
Why does Windows warn me when I open it?
The file is not code-signed yet, so SmartScreen plays it safe. The whole source code is on GitHub. WinDock changes only your own user settings: the taskbar visibility while it replaces it and, in the old taskbar mode, the taskbar pins.
Does the Claude usage widget read my chats?
No. It reads the two usage percentages and their reset times, with the sign-in Claude Code already keeps on your PC, at most every five minutes. The sign-in goes only to Anthropic.