HyperDock

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Hover a Dock icon to preview every open window of that app — including minimized ones and windows on other Spaces — then click through to the one you want.

HyperDock is a menu-bar (agent) app for macOS: no Dock tile of its own, runs in the background, and opens Settings from the menu-bar icon or a global hotkey.

Version	1.0.0
Platform	macOS 26.0+, Apple Silicon (arm64)
Bundle ID	com.hyperdock.HyperDock
Languages	English, Simplified Chinese

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Features

Window previews

• Hover any Dock icon to show a bubble of live window thumbnails
• Include windows from all Spaces, minimized/hidden windows, and (optionally) palettes
• Full-size preview when you hover a card longer
• Click a card to raise that window; optional close button per card
• Space indicator for off-Space windows

Dock item shortcuts

• Bind modifier + mouse button (left / middle / right) to actions such as Quit, Hide, New Window, Show All Windows, Minimize All, Relaunch
• Global rules for every Dock icon, plus per-app overrides

Window management

• Edge snap while dragging with the move modifiers held (disables system drag-to-edge tiling while active so the two do not fight)
• Keyboard snap (default ⌃⌥ + arrows / Return / keypad / G for grid tile)
• Move windows by dragging with modifiers (default ⌃⌥)
• Resize windows by dragging with modifiers (default ⌃⌥⇧)
• Configurable tile grid (columns, rows, gap)

Appearance & behaviour

• Light / Dark / Automatic theme
• Bubble size, previews per row, animation, triangle pointer, highlight gradient
• Launch at login, hide menu-bar icon (restored on next launch), open Settings from anywhere (default ⌃⌥⌘H)

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Requirements

• macOS 26.0 or later
• Apple Silicon Mac
• Xcode with command-line tools (for building from source)
• XcodeGen (brew install xcodegen)

Permissions

Permission	Required?	Purpose
Accessibility	Yes	Read Dock tiles; raise, close, move, and resize windows
Screen Recording	Optional	Live thumbnails and window titles

Without Accessibility, HyperDock cannot operate. Without Screen Recording, previews still work for switching, but thumbnails and titles are limited.

Grant both in System Settings → Privacy & Security. The first launch shows a welcome flow that walks through this.

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Install (from source)

# Optional but recommended: stable local signing so Accessibility / Screen Recording
# survive rebuilds (otherwise every rebuild can reset TCC grants for ad-hoc signed apps)
./scripts/setup-signing.sh

# Build (Debug) and install to /Applications/HyperDock.app
./scripts/build.sh

# Or a Release build
CONFIG=Release ./scripts/build.sh

# Launch via Launch Services (do not run the binary from a shell)
open /Applications/HyperDock.app

Important: Starting the binary from a terminal inherits the terminal’s TCC grants, so permissions will look granted when they are not. Always use open or double-click the app.

Release package (DMG)

./scripts/release.sh

Produces dist/HyperDock.dmg. If a Developer ID Application certificate and Notary credentials (HyperDockNotary profile) are available, the script also signs and notarizes for distribution. Otherwise it packages a locally signed image suitable for your own machines.

GitHub Actions builds on main publish the same DMG on Releases. Those CI builds are typically ad-hoc signed (no Developer ID on the runner). After downloading a DMG from the browser or AirDrop, Gatekeeper may block it because of the quarantine flag. Clear it before opening:

xattr -d com.apple.quarantine /path/to/HyperDock.dmg

Then open the disk image and drag HyperDock into Applications as usual.

App icon

swift scripts/make-icon.swift /tmp/AppIcon.iconset
iconutil -c icns /tmp/AppIcon.iconset -o Sources/HyperDock/Resources/AppIcon.icns

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Usage

1. Install and open HyperDock.
2. Complete the welcome steps and grant Accessibility (and optionally Screen Recording).
3. Hover Dock icons to open the preview bubble; click a window card to switch to it.
4. Open Settings from the menu-bar icon, or with the global hotkey (default ⌃⌥⌘H).
5. If the menu-bar icon is hidden, launch HyperDock again (or use the hotkey) to restore access.

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Project layout

hyperdock/
├── project.yml                 # XcodeGen project definition
├── scripts/
│   ├── build.sh                # Generate project, build, install, sign
│   ├── release.sh              # Release build + DMG (+ optional notarize)
│   ├── setup-signing.sh        # Local self-signed identity for stable TCC
│   └── make-icon.swift         # Generate AppIcon.iconset
├── Sources/HyperDock/
│   ├── App/                    # Entry point, status item
│   ├── Core/                   # Preferences, permissions, localization, login item
│   ├── Dock/                   # Dock watching, shortcuts, Dock tweaks
│   ├── Settings/               # Settings + welcome UI
│   ├── System/                 # Accessibility (AX), CGS private SPI, Mission Control
│   ├── Thumbnails/             # ScreenCaptureKit thumbnails
│   ├── UI/                     # Preview bubble, tiles, full-size preview
│   ├── Windows/                # Snap, grid, window index, actions
│   └── Resources/              # Info.plist, entitlements, icon, strings
└── Tests/HyperDockTests/       # Contract tests (lifecycle, input)

The Xcode project is generated on every build (xcodegen generate). Do not commit HyperDock.xcodeproj/, .build/, or dist/ — they are gitignored.

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Development

# Generate the Xcode project only
xcodegen generate

# Build with the script (recommended)
./scripts/build.sh

# Open in Xcode after generating
open HyperDock.xcodeproj

Notes

• App Sandbox is off. Sandboxed processes cannot use Accessibility against other apps.
• Signing: scripts/build.sh prefers the “HyperDock Local Signing” identity from setup-signing.sh, then falls back to ad-hoc. Certificate-based signing keeps TCC grants across rebuilds.
• Swift 6, default actor isolation MainActor, strict concurrency.
• Interface language can follow the system or force English / Simplified Chinese (no restart).

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Settings overview

Pane	Contents
General	Launch at login, previews on/off, activation delay, include filters, order, hover behaviour, reset all
Appearance	Theme, labels, bubble layout, animation
Dock Items	Modifier + click shortcuts (global and per-app)
Window Management	Edge snap, keyboard snap, move/resize modifiers, tile grid
Advanced	Pause HyperDock, timing, thumbnail quality/live refresh, Dock autohide speed, settings hotkey
About	Version, language, permission status

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Uninstall

1. Quit HyperDock from the menu-bar icon (or disable launch at login in Settings).
2. Remove the app: rm -rf /Applications/HyperDock.app
3. Optional cleanup:

# Preferences
defaults delete com.hyperdock.HyperDock 2>/dev/null || true

If you used “Reveal a hidden Dock instantly”, turn that option off before quitting so Dock defaults can be restored, or reset settings from General → Reset All Settings….

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License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.