How to Build Workflow Groups on the Mac Dock: Two Complete Examples

A workflow group bundles everything one recurring task needs, apps, folders, documents and web links, behind one Dock icon. Build it in Otterdock, put it in the Dock (Sync Now in Direct, drag the group in the App Store edition), and open items from the popup or stack, or all of them with Command-A. Two complete examples below: a development group and a writing group, each within the free eight-item limit.

A workflow group is the opposite of a category. "Utilities" is a category; nobody opens all their utilities together. "Monday invoicing" is a workflow: a spreadsheet, an accounting app, a bank website, a folder of PDFs, opened together, every Monday. Groups built around workflows get used; groups built around categories get ignored. This guide shows two complete workflow groups and how to build them in Otterdock, within the free limits.

Start from the task, not the apps

Before touching Otterdock, write down one task you repeat at least weekly and list what you open to do it. Be literal: not "my editor" but "VS Code, the ~/Code/shop folder, Terminal, the staging site, the Linear board". If the list is longer than eight, the task is probably two tasks. If it is shorter than three, a Finder folder or Spotlight may be enough and you can stop here; how to group apps in the Mac Dock compares those lighter options.

Example 1: A development group (7 items)

Order them by how often you open each: editor first, staging last. In the Direct popup the first nine items answer to Command-1 through Command-9, so this order becomes your muscle memory.

Example 2: A writing group (6 items)

Both examples leave room under the eight-item limit for the one thing you forgot.

Build the group in Otterdock

1. Open Otterdock from the menu bar and click New Group. Name it after the task ("Shop dev", "Articles").
2. Add items. Applications lists installed apps; From Dock pulls apps you already pinned; Files and Folders open a picker; for a web link, drag it from your browser's address bar into the group. Files and folders can be dragged in from Finder too.
3. Drag to reorder. Put the item you open first at the top.
4. Choose an icon style so the group is recognizable in the Dock. Free styles are Shelf, Gradient and Otter; Pro adds full skins.
5. Put it in the Dock. Direct: click Sync Now. Mac App Store: drag the group's card to the right side of the Dock divider, next to the Trash. Details for the drag are in adding Otterdock groups to the Mac Dock.

Repeat for the second task. Two groups are free; a third needs Pro, and the limits are listed in Free vs Pro.

Open one item or everything

One item at a time. Click the group in the Dock. The App Store edition shows a native stack; Direct can show its popup (with Accessibility permission), where you can type to filter or press Command-1 to Command-9.

Everything at once. In the Direct popup, press Command-A. Every app launches, every folder opens in Finder, every file opens in its app, every link opens in the browser. For the development group above, that is the whole environment in one keystroke.

Both editions also expose Launch Group to the Shortcuts app, which is how the App Store edition gets a one-step "start work" trigger; see running Mac Shortcuts from the Dock or keyboard. If you would rather not install anything, the Shortcuts app can open a fixed list of apps on its own, as described in open multiple apps at once on Mac, though it cannot open folders, files and links in the same action as neatly.

From the keyboard, from any app. Direct assigns Control-1 to Control-6 to your first six groups. Press one and the popup appears without touching the Dock.

Files that should open in a different app

A folder of Markdown notes that opens in a preview app instead of your editor defeats the group. In the Direct edition, Pro's custom opener lets a group say "open .md with this editor" by extension, with per-item exceptions, without changing your Mac's default app. The macOS-only alternatives (Get Info > Open with > Change All, or a per-file choice) are compared in open files with a specific app on Mac.

Keep the group outside the Dock too

Add the same group to a desktop or Notification Center widget: Control-click the desktop, choose Edit Widgets, drag an Otterdock widget in, and pick the group. Small shows 4 items, medium 8, large 12, one item per click. A widget is useful when the Dock is hidden or when you want the group pinned to a particular display. Setup is in the desktop widgets guide.

Keep groups from rotting

Workflow groups decay in predictable ways. A monthly check takes two minutes:

• Remove what you stopped opening. If an item has not been clicked in a month, it is a candidate for Spotlight instead.
• Fix moved folders. An item that no longer opens from the group usually means the folder moved; remove it and re-add it from the new location. Keeping project folders in a stable place such as ~/Documents/Projects avoids this; the desktop is the worst place for them, for reasons covered in how to keep your Mac desktop clean.
• Retire finished projects. Delete the group, or replace its folder and links with the next project's. Groups are cheap to rebuild.
• Rename when the task changes. A group named after last quarter's client is a group you will stop trusting.

The goal is a Dock where each icon stands for a thing you actually do, and where opening that thing takes one click or one keystroke.