How to add a Recently Used Applications Stack to your Dock

April 28th, 2008 by Ross McKillop |

To add a Stack to your OS X Dock that contains the most recently used Applications, open a Terminal and enter the following line of text:

defaults write com.apple.dock persistent-others -array-add '{ "tile-data" = { "list-type" = 1; }; "tile-type" = "recents-tile"; }'

And then type:

killall Dock

os x terminal with the line to add a recently used apps stack to your dock

Your dock will now have a new Stack. Give it a click.

3 Responses to “How to add a Recently Used Applications Stack to your Dock”
By Bill K on Apr 28, 2008 | Reply

Thanks Guys. Now my dock will not start up again. I entered the command EXACTLY as written in this article, and no matter how many times I reboot my mac, the dock will not start. Thanks again!
By Ross McKillop on Apr 28, 2008 | Reply

Bill -

Do you have any special “customize your Dock” software installed? Try clicking the Apple Button and selecting Dock > Turn Hiding On and then Apple Button again, Dock > Turn Hiding Off.

This command when copied/pasted or entered correctly only adds a stack - it doesn’t do anything else to your dock. But if you have other dock software installed that might explain it..

Note to other users: I’ve tried this on 3 Macs. It worked exactly as it was supposed to. I’ll update again when I hear back from Bill (I emailed him directly)
By Simon on Apr 29, 2008 | Reply

Works for me!

Cheers Ross