boringBar
Dock replacement in Productivity & writing
Recommended for replacing the macOS Dock with a taskbar-style bar that tracks windows and Spaces cleanly. Common caveat: the subscription price, which many find too high for a utility.
Recommended for replacing the macOS Dock with a taskbar-style bar that tracks windows and Spaces cleanly. Common caveat: the subscription price, which many find too high for a utility.
114 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 62
- criticize it
- 52
- approval share
- 54%
Recommended in 2 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 62 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 1.1 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 2 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
People say they will buy it
“I‘d be happy to pay for an upgrade if future macOS changes break the functionality of this - cool - app”
Comment from 12 Apr 2026 in “Show HN: boringBar – a taskbar-style dock replacement for macOS” “I'll buy it just to support this move. (Though it should be $20.)”
Comment from 13 Apr 2026 in “Show HN: boringBar – a taskbar-style dock replacement for macOS” “I really like this project and just bought a copy for myself.”
Comment from 13 Apr 2026 in “Show HN: boringBar – a taskbar-style dock replacement for macOS” - Comment from 13 Apr 2026 in “Show HN: boringBar – a taskbar-style dock replacement for macOS”
Polished, clean design
“It feels polished and feature-full, but like others commented, I'm not seeing myself paying for this.”
Comment from 13 Apr 2026 in “Show HN: boringBar – a taskbar-style dock replacement for macOS” “I Appreciate the little design touches and thought that is on display in this app.”
Comment from 13 Apr 2026 in “Show HN: boringBar – a taskbar-style dock replacement for macOS” “Looks really cool. just downloaded it will definately give it a try. nice UI btw”
Comment from 13 Apr 2026 in “Show HN: boringBar – a taskbar-style dock replacement for macOS” - Comment from 12 Apr 2026 in “Show HN: boringBar – a taskbar-style dock replacement for macOS”
- Comment from 12 Apr 2026 in “Show HN: boringBar – a taskbar-style dock replacement for macOS”
Frees Dock space, clarifies windows
“I just want to offload the which-window-is-where tracking to some other app - in this case boringBar.”
Comment from 13 Apr 2026 in “Show HN: boringBar – a taskbar-style dock replacement for macOS” “It frees up real estate taken up by the Dock and makes it much easier to figure out what goes where.”
Comment from 2 Jun 2026 in “macOS Needs Its Grid Back” Shows windows per Space clearly
“boringBar addressing the "show me what is in this Space" problem is exactly right.”
Comment from 13 Apr 2026 in “Show HN: boringBar – a taskbar-style dock replacement for macOS” “it's present on all spaces and it only shows windows on that space”
Comment from 13 Apr 2026 in “Show HN: boringBar – a taskbar-style dock replacement for macOS”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Subscription pricing feels too high
“Looks great but even $40 for a perpetual license with only two years of updates still seems excessive.”
Comment from 13 Apr 2026 in “Show HN: boringBar – a taskbar-style dock replacement for macOS” “Pricing the app even at a higher range ($40-50), one—time payment makes way more sense.”
Comment from 12 Apr 2026 in “Show HN: boringBar – a taskbar-style dock replacement for macOS” “a subscription to a taskbar is just not something I (or many I imagine) can justify”
Comment from 12 Apr 2026 in “Show HN: boringBar – a taskbar-style dock replacement for macOS” - Comment from 12 Apr 2026 in “Show HN: boringBar – a taskbar-style dock replacement for macOS”
- Comment from 12 Apr 2026 in “Show HN: boringBar – a taskbar-style dock replacement for macOS”
- Comment from 12 Apr 2026 in “Show HN: boringBar – a taskbar-style dock replacement for macOS”
- Comment from 12 Apr 2026 in “Show HN: boringBar – a taskbar-style dock replacement for macOS”
- Comment from 12 Apr 2026 in “Show HN: boringBar – a taskbar-style dock replacement for macOS”
- Comment from 12 Apr 2026 in “Show HN: boringBar – a taskbar-style dock replacement for macOS”
- Comment from 12 Apr 2026 in “Show HN: boringBar – a taskbar-style dock replacement for macOS”
- Comment from 12 Apr 2026 in “Show HN: boringBar – a taskbar-style dock replacement for macOS”
- Comment from 12 Apr 2026 in “Show HN: boringBar – a taskbar-style dock replacement for macOS”
- Comment from 12 Apr 2026 in “Show HN: boringBar – a taskbar-style dock replacement for macOS”
Minimizes windows when switching apps
“That's a tiny papercut. Minimizing windows is a form of window management and everything got reset.”
Comment from 12 Apr 2026 in “Show HN: boringBar – a taskbar-style dock replacement for macOS” “I wish it would not minimize applications when switching”
Comment from 13 Apr 2026 in “Show HN: boringBar – a taskbar-style dock replacement for macOS” Needs server; contacts many domains
“I'm having hard time accepting that I shouldn't be able to run something I'm about to purchase if YOUR server is down”
Comment from 14 Apr 2026 in “Show HN: boringBar – a taskbar-style dock replacement for macOS” “Why does it need to talk to facebook.com, ntp.org, aws.com, cloudflare.com, google.com, and windows.com?”
Comment from 12 Apr 2026 in “Show HN: boringBar – a taskbar-style dock replacement for macOS” Missing autohide and vertical layout
“it's matches your criteria except that it doesn't have an option to go vertical”
Comment from 13 Apr 2026 in “Show HN: boringBar – a taskbar-style dock replacement for macOS” “Something that would make this perfect for me would be autohide on the bar.”
Comment from 13 Apr 2026 in “Show HN: boringBar – a taskbar-style dock replacement for macOS”
What people said
40 of the 135 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“It frees up real estate taken up by the Dock and makes it much easier to figure out what goes where.”
“I'm having hard time accepting that I shouldn't be able to run something I'm about to purchase if YOUR server is down”
“Already started trial and loving it so far but there's one annoying bug/QoL improvement.”
“this one looks good. will gibe it a few days and then buy”
“I think it's a great idea. I have been a gamer for the last 20+ years, and I work on Mac for development.”
“it's matches your criteria except that it doesn't have an option to go vertical”
“Looks really cool. just downloaded it will definately give it a try. nice UI btw”
“Two minor irritations I thought it would help with, but it didn't”
“Great idea. But, I'm will to wait for the AI sloppified OSS version of this.”
“$10/year as you have it is already cheap considering I'll end up using it every day”
“I wish it would not minimize applications when switching”
“It feels polished and feature-full, but like others commented, I'm not seeing myself paying for this.”
“I really like this project and just bought a copy for myself.”
“I just want to offload the which-window-is-where tracking to some other app - in this case boringBar.”
“it's present on all spaces and it only shows windows on that space”
“boringBar addressing the "show me what is in this Space" problem is exactly right.”
“Limiting to 6 apps and keeping it taskbar-style is a deliberate constraint that I appreciate.”
“I Appreciate the little design touches and thought that is on display in this app.”
“boringBar is notarized by Apple and will work well with Gatekeeper if that makes it any better.”
“I'll buy it just to support this move. (Though it should be $20.)”
“Looks great but even $40 for a perpetual license with only two years of updates still seems excessive.”
“Something that would make this perfect for me would be autohide on the bar.”
“I'm not paying $40 for a taskbar replacement. And not for two years of updates and a two device limit on top.”
“with my background photo it cashes out to an illegible black on black”
“Why does it need to talk to facebook.com, ntp.org, aws.com, cloudflare.com, google.com, and windows.com?”
“The subscription is a tell sign of an egoisticBar. A real boringBar wouldn't do that to its users.”
“the general feeling I and others have is subscription fatigue”
“Fantastic work, but ubar is going to eat your lunch with that subscription”
“Subscriptions for apps that require absolutely no infrastructure to run make absolutely no sense to me.”
“That's a tiny papercut. Minimizing windows is a form of window management and everything got reset.”
“I prefer the design on yours based on a quick look through the page.”
“a lifetime license for 10 years' worth of the subscription, which you may no longer even support by then”
“I‘d be happy to pay for an upgrade if future macOS changes break the functionality of this - cool - app”
“Monthly fee? For what exactly? There is no recurring cost like server space or anything else.”
“Subscription on something like this is goofy, and extra subscription per seat even for personal is goofier.”
“it looks great, looks clean, seems like people want it.”
“a subscription to a taskbar is just not something I (or many I imagine) can justify”
“I really like boringBar but can’t justify a subscription”
“A subscription for a menu bar, though, kills it for me.”
“Pricing the app even at a higher range ($40-50), one—time payment makes way more sense.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.