Dock-Key

A lightweight macOS menu bar app that lets you launch your Dock apps using keyboard shortcuts.

Features

• Global Keyboard Shortcuts: Use Cmd+1 through Cmd+9 to instantly launch apps
• Dynamic Dock Integration: Automatically reads your Dock configuration
• Menu Bar App: Runs quietly in your menu bar, no Dock icon clutter
• Finder Quick Access: Cmd+1 always opens Finder

How It Works

Shortcut	Action
Cmd+1	1st app in your Dock (always Finder)
Cmd+2	2nd app in your Dock
Cmd+3	3rd app in your Dock
Cmd+4	4th app in your Dock
...	...
Cmd+9	9th app in your Dock

The shortcuts map directly to your Dock order. If you rearrange your Dock, the shortcuts update automatically.

Requirements

• macOS 13.0 or later
• Accessibility permissions (required for global keyboard shortcuts)

Installation

1. Download the latest Dock-Key.zip from the Releases page
2. Unzip the archive
3. Drag Dock-Key.app to your Applications folder

First Launch (Important!)

Since this app is not signed with an Apple Developer certificate, macOS will show a security warning.

To open the app:

1. Double-click Dock-Key.app (it will be blocked)
2. Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security
3. Scroll down and click "Open Anyway" next to the Dock-Key message
4. Click "Open" in the confirmation dialog

Grant Accessibility Permissions

For keyboard shortcuts to work, you need to grant accessibility permissions:

1. On first launch, macOS will prompt you to grant access
2. Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility
3. Enable the toggle for Dock-Key
4. If Dock-Key doesn't appear in the list, click the + button and add it manually

Usage

Once running, Dock-Key appears as a small icon in your menu bar.

• Click the menu bar icon to access Settings or Quit
• Use Cmd+1 through Cmd+9 to launch apps
• The Settings window shows your current keyboard shortcut mappings

Building from Source

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/Dock-Key.git
cd Dock-Key

# Build with Xcode
xcodebuild -project Dock-Key.xcodeproj -scheme Dock-Key -configuration Release build

# Or open in Xcode
open Dock-Key.xcodeproj

License

MIT License - feel free to use, modify, and distribute.

Author

Created by Toni Corentti