Desktop window and dock utilities
Desktop enhancement apps, mostly for macOS, that manage and switch windows, replace or extend the dock and taskbar, add notch overlays, radial launchers, widgets, and menu bar tools for power users who want a more efficient or customized desktop.
Built for: Mac and Windows power users
Projects since May 04
298
Different builders
281
Last 4 weeks vs 8 before
▲ +69%
AI is the core
1.7%
Projects per week
Mostly desktop app (93%), web app (2.3%), developer tool or library (1.7%) · from r/SideProject, r/vibecoding, r/IMadeThis, r/ShowYourApp
Latest
- Fling — Launches apps, folders, links, shortcuts and window actions from radial gestures around the cursor on macOS.“I kept opening the same apps, folders and shortcuts on my Mac, so I put them around my cursor”
- Halo — Launches or switches to macOS apps from a radial wheel that appears at the cursor, and quits running apps from a second wheel.“I made Halo, a free radial app launcher + quitter for macOS. [FREE]”
- Greypaint — Updates Mac apps and developer tools from one window by using each app's existing update source.“Made a mac updater for apps and dev tools, Greypaint”
- Glassline — Replaces the Windows 11 taskbar and Start menu with a macOS-style menu bar and dock.“I built Glassline: a macOS-style menu bar and dock that replace the Windows 11 taskbar”
- RemoveMacAI — Disables Apple Intelligence features on macOS and removes their downloaded model files to free disk space.“I built a CLI that turns off Apple Intelligence on macOS 27 and frees about 12 GB”
- Ralven — Inspects Windows system settings, lets users review manual adjustments before applying them, and keeps an operation history with restorable supported settings.“Sharing Ralven, a Windows app focused on understanding maintenance changes”
- IsolatedTester — Launches macOS apps on virtual displays and lets vision LLMs control them for automated testing, exposed via MCP or a REST API.“My Free MCP Agent Tools I Built and Used Daily”
- Stacker Pro — Groups related desktop apps and windows into shared stacks on the screen so they occupy one slot and can be switched within the stack.“I got tired of hunting around my screen for apps, so I made Stacker Pro”
- Tack+ — Opens a panel from the MacBook notch showing music controls, messages, clipboard history, stashed files, widgets and a focus timer.“I created a Mac app that opens your MacBook notch: push the cursor against it and your music, messages and clipboard are right there”
- Ultra Widgets — Provides customizable iOS home-screen, lock-screen and StandBy widgets with preset visual themes and coordinated widget sets.“Ultra Widgets - Custom home-screen widgets, 22 widget types with 32 premium designs”
- EdgeOS — Puts customizable widgets such as clock, weather, system stats and calendar on the Windows desktop.“I built a free Windows app that turns your desktop into a live widget dashboard”
- Dinamic Island for PC — Shows a Dynamic Island-style pill overlay on the Windows desktop.“Dinamic Island for pc”
- Spun for macOS — Runs the Spun app on macOS as a port of the original project.“I really liked Spun, so I made it run on macOS”
- Vigil — Keeps a Mac awake while AI agents are running tasks.“Vigil - A small MacOS app that keeps your Mac awake whenever agents are working”
- Fluid Pointer — Adds Option-key screen magnification and Control-key file preview to the Mac cursor.“I made a Mac utility that gives your cursor two new interactions”
- Perch — Combines several small utilities like tasks, server stats, internet checks and gym crowding into one macOS menu bar app with plugins.“Made a free menu bar app that does a bunch of small things so I could stop installing a new one for each”
- Drain — Shows live battery metrics in the macOS notch and reports per-process power draw so high-consumption processes can be spotted and closed.“Drain: the macOS battery monitor that lives in the notch”
- PrivLock — Locks Windows apps and schedules or limits their use, and encrypts individual files with AES-256 in a password-protected vault.“I got tired of bloated, subscription-based app lockers, so I built PrivLock: a native, zero-telemetry Windows 11 app & file guard. Giving away 10 lifetime free Store codes to early testers!”
- Eddie — Puts a clipboard, notepad, music controls, focus timer and agent status indicator in the MacBook notch area.“We launched Eddie for your Mac’s notch and it already got 3 paid users”
- Mellow — Warms, dims and softens screen colors on macOS and reminds the user to look away every 20 minutes.“Imade Mellow, app what works like Night Shift but better”
Most discussed
- Flairy — Applies themed, visually distinct icons to macOS folders so they can be recognized at a glance.“I built Flairy, a free macOS app that makes folder organization more visual”
- Saves groups of related Mac apps with their window layouts and restores them with a shortcut.“My Mac app finally got its first paying user”
- Droppy — Puts a hover-activated menu bar pill at the top of the Mac screen that holds dragged files, keeps clipboard history, and bundles media, notification, and lock screen controls.“macOS never shipped a real productivity hub. So I built one. Meet Droppy.”
- Lockpaw — Locks a Mac screen while keeping background work running, with an optional cat avatar.“My little open source project has thousands of downloads and now a cat mode”
- Tack+ — Opens a panel from the MacBook notch showing music controls, messages, clipboard history, stashed files, widgets and a focus timer.“I created a Mac app that opens your MacBook notch: push the cursor against it and your music, messages and clipboard are right there”
- Sharp — Streams a Mac's desktop to another Mac over Ethernet as a second display, using compressed video with lossless tiles for sharpness.“Use Your iMac as a High-Resolution Display Over Ethernet [Sharp 1.0 Beta 1]”
- lumabar — Replaces the Windows taskbar with a floating dock that shows live widgets and system tray icons.“Introducing lumabar 0.1 - An iOS-style floating dock for Windows”
- MacBook Duo — Plays a folding perspective warp and blur animation on screen as the MacBook lid closes and opens, using the lid angle sensor.“Macbook Dua AN macbook lid close animation”
- FaceGate — Locks individual macOS applications and unlocks them with on-device Face Unlock, Touch ID, or a password.“I built FaceGate — World's first macOS app locker with on-device Face Unlock (Open Source)”
- Halo Bar — Puts an expandable taskbar widget on Windows that shows system stats, weather, clipboard history, media controls, a Pomodoro timer and a file shelf.“Windows Widgets Suck. So I Built My Own, And Made It Actually Useful.”