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Hidden Bar VS DockGroups

Compare Hidden Bar VS DockGroups and see what are their differences

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Contents:
  1. ยป Base Details
  2. ยป Videos
  3. ยป Reviews
  4. ยป Alternatives

Hidden Bar logo Hidden Bar

A ultra-light MacOS utility that helps hide menu bar icons.

DockGroups logo DockGroups

The app-grouping feature the Mac Dock never shipped.
  • Hidden Bar Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-08-18
  • DockGroups Main window
    Main window //
    2026-07-30
  • DockGroups Settings
    Settings //
    2026-07-30
  • DockGroups Tray icon
    Tray icon //
    2026-07-30

App Groups

  • Organize apps into named groups, each with a custom emoji icon, stored by bundle ID.

  • Pin important groups to the top of the sidebar.

  • Create and delete groups directly from the main panel โ€” no detour into Settings.

  • Default starter groups (Work, Creative, Utilities) appear on first launch.

  • Group data is saved atomically with owner-only file permissions, and the app tolerates missing fields so updates never wipe your groups.

The Floating Panel

  • A panel anchored next to your Dock that positions itself correctly whether your Dock sits at the bottom, left, or right of the screen.

  • Opens from the Dock icon or the menu bar; closes automatically when it loses focus.

  • A collapsible sidebar toggles between full labels (with shortcut badges) and a compact icon-only rail.

  • Frosted-glass or solid panel style, plus System / Light / Dark themes.

Open All / Close All โ€” the signature feature

  • Open All launches every app in a group with a small stagger (so macOS doesn't choke on simultaneous launches).

  • Close All does the reverse, and this is something no competing dock app offers:

  • Plain click โ†’ hides every app in the group

    • โŒฅ-click โ†’ quits them gracefully
    • โŒ˜-click โ†’ force-quits them

  • Live indicators show which apps in a group are currently running, and clicking a running app restores its windows โ€” including minimized ones.

In-Panel App Management

  • Add and remove apps right in the panel grid.

  • Drag to reorder apps within a group.

  • Right-click any app for Quit, Force Quit, or Show in Finder.

Keyboard Shortcuts

  • โŒ˜1โ€“9 switches groups inside the panel.

  • โŒฅโ‡ง1โ€“9 are true system-wide hotkeys that work even in full-screen apps โ€” with no Accessibility or Input Monitoring permissions needed.

Menu Bar Mode

  • An optional menu bar icon for quick access without using the Dock.

Hidden Bar

Website
github.com
Pricing URL
-
$ Details
-
Release Date
-
Edit details

DockGroups

Website
dockgroups.com
Pricing URL
Official DockGroups Pricing
$ Details
freemium $9.99 / One-off (Pro)
Release Date
2026 May
Edit details

Hidden Bar features and specs

  • Free and Open Source
    Hidden Bar is free to use and its source code is available on GitHub for anyone to inspect, modify, and contribute to. This promotes transparency and community-driven improvement.
  • Minimalist Design
    The app has a simple, minimalist design that integrates seamlessly with the macOS user interface without being obtrusive.
  • Improves Productivity
    By hiding unnecessary menu bar icons, Hidden Bar helps users focus on their tasks without being distracted by clutter.
  • Lightweight
    The application is lightweight and uses minimal system resources, ensuring that it won't slow down your machine.
  • Customizable
    Users can easily configure which icons to hide and which to display, allowing for a tailored experience.

Possible disadvantages of Hidden Bar

  • Limited to macOS
    Hidden Bar is only available for macOS, which limits its usability to Apple computer users.
  • Manual Updates
    As a GitHub project, updates may not be as frequent or automatic as those of apps available on the Mac App Store.
  • Basic Functionality
    While it effectively hides menu bar icons, it lacks additional advanced features that some paid alternatives might offer.
  • Potential Compatibility Issues
    With frequent macOS updates, there is a potential for compatibility issues, which may require manual intervention from the user or the community to resolve.
  • Dependence on Community
    As an open-source project, Hidden Bar relies heavily on community contributions. If the community loses interest, the app could become outdated or unsupported.

DockGroups features and specs

No features have been listed yet.

Analysis of Hidden Bar

Overall verdict

  • Yes, Hidden Bar is considered good by many users due to its functionality, simplicity, and open-source nature, which provides transparency and community-driven development.

Why this product is good

  • Hidden Bar is a popular macOS menu bar management tool that allows users to hide or group icons on the menubar. It is open-source, lightweight, and provides an easy way to declutter the menu bar, making it particularly useful for users who have many apps running simultaneously. Hidden Bar offers simple customization options and runs seamlessly in the background. Its ease of use and effectiveness for organizing icons has led to positive feedback from its user base.

Recommended for

    Hidden Bar is recommended for macOS users who want to keep their menu bar organized and clutter-free, especially those who manage multiple applications and system indicators. It is ideal for individuals who appreciate straightforward tools with minimalistic design and end-users who value open-source software.

Hidden Bar videos

+ Add

THE DECEASED HIDDEN BAR REVIEW @Petaling Street

More videos:

  • Review - 6 hidden bars in Taipei
  • Review - Top 6 Hidden BAR (Bangkok/Thailand) [SUBTITLE]

DockGroups videos

No DockGroups videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

Add video

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Hidden Bar and DockGroups)

Hidden Bar

DockGroups

Productivity
93 93%
Productivity
7% 7
Mac
100 100%
Mac
0% 0
OS & Utilities
0 0%
OS & Utilities
100% 100
Mac Tools
92 92%
Mac Tools
8% 8

Questions & Answers

As answered by people managing Hidden Bar and DockGroups.

Which are the primary technologies used for building your product?

DockGroups's answer:

SwiftUI & AppKit

User comments

Share your experience with using Hidden Bar and DockGroups. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Hidden Bar seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 34 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Hidden Bar mentions (34)

  • Tailscale's New macOS Home
    Tame the clutter, by using another menubar app to hide the overflow. Examples: https://github.com/dwarvesf/hidden https://www.macbartender.com/. - Source: Hacker News / 4 months ago
  • Tailscale's New macOS Home
    Iโ€™ve been using this for years. Itโ€™s simple and works perfectly: https://github.com/dwarvesf/hidden. - Source: Hacker News / 4 months ago
  • Tailscale's New macOS Home
    I had been using Hidden Bar but gonna give Thaw a shot now. Looks a bit more full featured and under active development! https://github.com/dwarvesf/hidden. - Source: Hacker News / 4 months ago
  • Why I'm Spoiled by Apple Silicon (But Still Love Framework)
    25. Left-clicking in a window to raise it _sometimes_ performs actions in the app (e.g. Clicking a button or scrolling the window) and _sometimes_ only raises the window. It seems to depend on the app. 26. No ability to use focus-follows-mouse. 27. Home/End keys send you to the top/bottom of the whole document instead of the start/end of a line. The latter is much more useful to me and I use it all the time. You... - Source: Hacker News / 11 months ago
  • Ice - open source bar manager for macOS
    I use Hidden Bar (https://github.com/dwarvesf/hidden) for this. It works well enough despite not being updated in a while, though there is a bit of jank. Just tried out Ice and it seems to be a nice, lower jank replacement! - Source: Hacker News / about 2 years ago
View more

DockGroups mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of DockGroups yet. Tracking of DockGroups recommendations started around Jul 2026.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Hidden Bar and DockGroups, you can also consider the following products

Bartender Mac App - Bartender is an award-winning app for macOS that superpowers your menu bar, giving you total control over your menu bar items, what's displayed, and when, with menu bar items only showing when you need them.

DockFlow - Switch between dock presets on MacOS instantly

Vanilla - Vanilla is a free Mac app that lets you hide icons from your menu bar.

DockIt Space - Organize your Mac Dock like never before with custom profiles for different workflow, manual profiles and automatic dock ordering!.

Rectangle - Window management app based on Spectacle, written in Swift.

Dozer - Hide menu bar icons with ease โœจ

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