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Docktopus for macOS

Shortcuts & Automation

Shortcuts actions, docktopus:// links for Raycast and Stream Deck, triggers that react to displays, apps, meetings, Wi-Fi and power, and a few more everyday tools.

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Three distinct themes. Light and dark presets. Free to try, one purchase to keep.

Shortcuts & Automation

Tell Docktopus what to do, from anywhere.

Docktopus adds its actions to the Shortcuts app and understands docktopus:// links. Let a Focus mode, a schedule, a Stream Deck button, or a launcher such as Raycast or Alfred switch your dock without opening Settings.

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Twenty actions in Shortcuts

Apply Theme Preset, Switch Workspace, Restore Previous Workspace, Apply Display Preset, Set Brightness, Toggle Dynamic Island, Toggle Coffee, Time Spent Timer, Paste Pinned Clip, Paste Snippet, Open Quicklink, Focus Session, Apply Window Layout, Toggle Focus Blur, Capture Text from Screen, Set Audio Output, Run Script, Set macOS Tweak, Set Charge Limit, and Full Battery Cycle. Saved workspaces, presets, templates, clips, scripts, and output devices appear as pickers in the Shortcuts editor.

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Links for everything else

Every action also works as a docktopus:// link, so Raycast, Alfred, Stream Deck, cron jobs, and shell scripts can drive Docktopus with open "docktopus://coffee?state=on&minutes=90".

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Off until you say so

Links stay disabled until you allow them in Settings → Automation, because any app on your Mac can open one. Actions follow the same trial and licence as the rest of Docktopus.

Work Focus, work dock

A Shortcuts automation for your Work Focus applies the Work workspace, dims the second display to 40%, and turns Coffee on for the afternoon. When the Focus ends, Restore Previous Workspace puts the dock back.

One button on your Stream Deck

Point a Stream Deck or Raycast hotkey at docktopus://timer?action=start&name=Client%20Call to start a Time Spent timer, and at docktopus://timer?action=stop to end it. Unknown names start an ad-hoc timer without saving a template.

Paste what you always paste

A Shortcut or an Alfred hook that runs Paste Pinned Clip drops your signature, an address, or a code snippet into the active app. Choose Copy instead to leave it on the clipboard.

Evening display preset on a schedule

Let a scheduled personal automation apply the Evening display preset at 20:00 and switch to the dark Liquid Glass theme, then undo both in the morning. No manual clicking, no extra apps.

Ask Siri or Spotlight

App Shortcuts such as “Toggle Coffee in Docktopus”, “Toggle Dynamic Island in Docktopus”, “Toggle Focus Blur in Docktopus”, and “Restore my previous Docktopus workspace” are available without building a Shortcut first.

Keep an eye on what ran

Settings → Automation lists every action with copyable example links and shows the last link Docktopus handled, including why one was rejected. Actions report clear errors in Shortcuts instead of failing silently.

Links and parameters

Themes, workspaces, and display presets

docktopus://theme?preset=default-liquid-glass-dark or docktopus://theme?name=Windows%2095 applies a theme. docktopus://workspace?name=Work switches a saved workspace; docktopus://workspace/rollback restores the previous configuration. docktopus://display-preset?name=Desk applies a display preset.

Brightness, Dynamic Island, and Focus Blur

docktopus://brightness?level=40 sets every display; add &display=Built-in%20Display for one of them, or use delta=-10 for a relative change. docktopus://dynamic-island?state=off and docktopus://focus-blur?state=on accept on, off, or toggle, and toggle when no state is given.

Coffee, timers, and clips

docktopus://coffee?state=on&minutes=90 keeps your Mac awake for 90 minutes; omit minutes for indefinitely, or send state=off. docktopus://timer?action=start&name=Client%20Call starts a manual timer; use pause, resume, or stop. docktopus://clip?name=Signature copies a pinned clip, and &mode=paste pastes it into the active app.

Sound output, scripts, and macOS tweaks

docktopus://audio-output?name=AirPods%20Pro switches the sound output to a connected device. docktopus://script?keyword=port&arg1=3000 runs a script command, matched by its exact title or keyword, with the arguments it declares; community gallery scripts must be run once from the search palette first. docktopus://macos-tweak?id=dock/autohide&value=true&restart=yes sets a macOS tweak with the same checks and backups as Settings, and docktopus://macos-tweak/reset?id=dock/autohide puts the macOS default back. Tweaks that pick a folder, such as where screenshots are saved, can only be changed in Settings. docktopus://charge-limit?value=80 sets the battery charge limit, and docktopus://full-cycle?state=on starts a full battery cycle.

Names and identifiers

Names match saved items case-insensitively; encode spaces as %20. Shortcuts shows the identifier of a workspace, preset, template, or clip when you need a link that survives a rename. Unknown actions and invalid values are rejected with a readable message.

What automation needs

Shortcuts actions work during the trial and with a licence. Pasting a clip needs the clipboard manager and the Accessibility permission Docktopus already uses for pasting. Display presets and brightness briefly start the display controls when no display widget is active. Links need the switch in Settings → Automation.

Where it shows up

Find the actions under Docktopus in the Shortcuts app, in Spotlight, and in Siri. Combine them with Focus Filters: the Docktopus Workspace filter still applies a workspace for the length of a Focus, while the new actions let you build everything else around it.

Triggers

When this happens, do that.

Settings → Triggers runs the same actions on their own when something on your Mac changes. Plug in your monitor and your desk workspace and window layout appear; unplug it and the laptop setup comes back.

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Fourteen kinds of events

A display connects, an app is running, a time window or a time of day on chosen weekdays, the Mac wakes, goes to sleep or is unlocked, a calendar event is in progress, the Mac joins a Wi-Fi network, is plugged in or runs on its battery, the battery reaches a level, or it gets hot. Two more come from battery care: an app keeps using significant energy on battery, and a top-up for travel starts.

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A start and an end

Rules for conditions that last get two action lists: one when the condition starts and one when it ends. Pick actions from menus of your workspaces, layouts, presets, quicklinks, scripts, and macOS tweaks, or paste any docktopus:// link.

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Calm by design

A change has to last a few seconds before it counts, so a loose cable runs nothing, and changes right after waking wait ten seconds. A rule that keeps setting itself off is turned off and tells you why.

Desk mode

When your Studio Display connects: switch to the Desk workspace, apply the Coding window layout, and play sound through the display. When it disconnects: Restore Previous Workspace.

Meetings without the noise

While a calendar event with “Standup” in its title is in progress, start a focus session; when it ends, stop it. Limit a rule to your work calendars if you like; all-day events never count.

Office hours

A Time Window rule from 9:00 to 17:00 on weekdays turns Coffee on when it starts and off when it ends. Prefer to follow where you are? Use a Wi-Fi rule for the office network instead.

Try it, then trust it

Run Now tries a rule's actions straight away, and Recent Runs lists the latest actions your rules ran and any problem, such as a workspace that was renamed.

What triggers need

Permissions

Calendar rules use the Calendar access Docktopus already asks for. Wi-Fi rules need Location access, because macOS only shares Wi-Fi network names with apps that have it; macOS asks when you add the first Wi-Fi rule. Docktopus reads the network name only and does not use your location.

Links, licence, and other Macs

Triggers run while docktopus:// links are off in Settings → Automation, because they are your own rules. They do nothing while Docktopus is locked. Displays, apps, and networks differ between Macs, so triggers stay on each Mac and are not synced or exported.

Already true at launch

A rule runs when its condition changes. Turn on “Also run when already active” for rules that should also run when Docktopus starts, or when you turn the rule on, while the condition is already true.

Workflow tools

A few more ways to make work easier.

Launch profiles

Give an app, website, file, folder, or command its own named dock launcher. Set arguments, environment variables, and a working directory for apps and commands, and choose automatic or custom profile data folders for supported apps. Open websites as isolated web apps or in your default browser.

Tweak macOS

Browse and search macOS and app preferences in Settings. Review changes before Apply, reset individual preferences, or restore their saved previous values. Explore macOS Tweaks.

Clipboard manager

Search copied text, images, files, and links; organize reusable clips into pinned categories; and choose how to paste them. Explore all clipboard features.

Time Spent and Remembrance

See where your time went with Time Spent, then revisit what was on screen with optional Remembrance captures. Both keep their history locally on your Mac, with app exclusions and retention controls for captures.

Window switching

Find a window in a themed preview grid, navigate with the keyboard or click a card, and switch when you release the modifier. Explore the Window Switcher.

Focus Blur

Keep your focused window and Docktopus clear while softening the desktop behind them. Click through the effect to switch windows as usual. Explore Focus Blur.

Mission Control actions

Close a window, hide its app, or quit its app directly from Apple’s Mission Control. Hover over a window to use the controls, or press ⌘W to close, ⌘H to hide, and ⌘Q to quit. Click a window to switch to it as usual.

Enable Mission Control Actions in Settings → Switcher → Mission Control. It is off by default and requires Accessibility permission.

Middle Click

Use middle-click actions, such as opening browser links in a new tab, from your trackpad or mouse. Choose a trigger such as Fn-click or Option-click in Settings → Middle Click. Requires Input Monitoring and Accessibility permission.

Developer utilities

Check local projects and listening ports with Dev Servers, save items in Drop Zone, keep quick tools in the dock or menu bar, and reach Color Picker, Coffee, Timer, Calendar, Xeyes, and Stats without opening separate apps.

Shortcuts and links

Switch workspaces, apply themes and display presets, set brightness, toggle Coffee, Dynamic Island, and Focus Blur, run Time Spent timers, and paste pinned clips from the Shortcuts app or docktopus:// links, or let triggers run them when something changes. Explore Shortcuts & Automation.

Settings and safety

Set up your dock, check permissions, collect diagnostics, manage stored data, and uninstall cleanly from the existing settings tools.