Guide
How to see window previews in the Mac Dock
The Mac Dock doesn’t show window previews when you hover an app — you get the app’s name and nothing else. The closest built-in options are Show All Windows in the Dock icon’s menu and App Exposé (Control-Down Arrow), which spread that app’s windows across the screen. If you want a thumbnail of every window the moment you point at a Dock icon, a free app like docktor adds exactly that.
“Sometimes, when I’m jumping between different apps for the same project, I forget what I’ve got open where.”
That’s the moment previews are for. Below are the built-in ways to find a window on macOS 26, and then how to see every window of an app from the Dock itself.
Built-in ways to see an app’s windows
macOS can show you an app’s windows, just not from a hover. Each of these works on macOS 26 Tahoe without installing anything.
1. Show All Windows from the Dock
- Control-click (or right-click) the app’s icon in the Dock to open its shortcut menu.
- Choose Show All Windows. macOS lays out that app’s open windows so you can see them all at once.
- Click the window you want to bring it to the front.
This is the only built-in option that starts from the Dock itself, so it’s the one to reach for when you’re already pointing at the icon. It takes two clicks and a menu, though, and you can’t glance and move on.
2. App Exposé from the keyboard or trackpad
App Exposé gets you the same kind of view without the menu. Switch to the app, then press Control-Down Arrow to see all of its open windows. If App Exposé is turned on in System Settings › Trackpad › More Gestures, you can also swipe down with three or four fingers. Press the keys again or swipe up to go back. Because it works on the front app, it pairs well with Command-Tab: tab to the app, then Control-Down Arrow to pick its window. The Cmd+Tab guide covers that combination in more detail.
3. Mission Control for everything at once
When you don’t know which app a window belongs to, Mission Control shows every open window on the current desktop, plus your other desktops along the top. Open it with the Mission Control key, with Control-Up Arrow, by swiping up with three fingers on a trackpad, or by double-tapping with two fingers on a Magic Mouse. If the windows feel scattered, turn on Group windows by application in System Settings › Desktop & Dock so each app’s windows cluster together.
Where the built-in options fall short
- None of them react to hovering. You always have to click, press a key, or swipe, and then leave the view again.
- They take over the whole screen. Checking which of four browser windows has the tab you want means leaving what you’re looking at.
- Nothing appears above the Dock icon itself, so the Dock stays a row of app icons rather than a way to reach a specific window.
The faster way: hover previews with docktor
docktor is a free, native macOS 26 app that adds hover previews to the Dock you already have. Point at an app and a Liquid Glass panel floats up with a thumbnail of each of its windows. Click one and docktor brings that exact window forward, even if it’s minimized or on another desktop.
Set it up in a few minutes
- Download docktor, move it to your Applications folder, and open it. It needs macOS 26 (Tahoe) or later and no account.
- In onboarding, leave Window Previews switched on and grant Accessibility (to list each app’s windows and their positions) and Screen Recording (to capture the image of each window). macOS won’t let any app show another app’s window contents without Screen Recording; if you skip it, the previews fall back to a placeholder outline of each window with its title and app icon.
- Hover any running app in the Dock. The preview panel appears above the icon with one thumbnail per window, captured fresh as you hover.
- Click a thumbnail to switch to that window, or move the pointer away to dismiss the panel without switching.
On the Dock Previews page of docktor’s settings you can choose whether minimized windows and windows on other desktops appear (both are on by default), show only a title when an app has a single window, and adjust how long you rest on an icon before the panel opens. The window previews feature page has more on how the previews look and behave.
Limitations worth knowing
- docktor requires macOS 26 Tahoe. It won’t run on macOS 15 Sequoia or earlier.
- Window thumbnails need Screen Recording as well as Accessibility. Window images are captured with ScreenCaptureKit, held briefly in memory (seconds, not saved to disk), and never sent off your Mac. If you’d rather not grant Screen Recording, docktor shows a placeholder outline of each window with its title and app icon instead of a window image, and the built-in options above still work.
- During the beta, docktor sends anonymous diagnostics (a heartbeat, crash summaries, and a settings snapshot) unless you turn off Settings › General › Beta Telemetry. The privacy policy lists exactly what’s sent.
The same app also replaces Command-Tab with a thumbnail window switcher, which is handy if you’d rather keep your hands on the keyboard. For moving between windows of the app you’re already in, see how to switch between windows of the same app. Comparing preview apps? Here’s docktor vs DockDoor.
Frequently asked questions
- Does macOS have Dock previews like the Windows taskbar?
- No. Hovering an app in the Mac Dock shows only the app's name. The built-in ways to see an app's windows are Show All Windows in the Dock icon's menu and App Exposé (Control-Down Arrow), and both take over the whole screen rather than appearing on hover.
- How do I see all the windows of one app on a Mac?
- Control-click the app's icon in the Dock and choose Show All Windows, or switch to the app and press Control-Down Arrow. If App Exposé is turned on in Trackpad settings, you can also swipe down with three or four fingers. Click a window to bring it forward.
- Can I see minimized windows in the Dock previews?
- In docktor, yes. Minimized windows and windows on other desktops show up in the preview alongside visible ones, and clicking a minimized window's thumbnail restores it. Both are on by default and can be switched off on the Dock Previews page of docktor's settings.
- Why does docktor need Screen Recording permission?
- macOS only lets an app draw another app's window contents if you grant Screen Recording. docktor uses it to capture thumbnails with ScreenCaptureKit while you hover a Dock icon. The images are held briefly in memory (seconds, never saved to disk) and are never sent off your Mac. If you skip it, previews show a placeholder outline of each window with its title and app icon instead.
- Is docktor free?
- Yes. docktor is free, needs no account, and runs on macOS 26 (Tahoe) or later. During the beta docktor sends anonymous diagnostics (a heartbeat, crash summaries, and a settings snapshot) unless you turn off Settings › General › Beta Telemetry; see the privacy policy for everything that's sent.