Remove the Auto-Hide Delay of the macOS Dock

01Command

$ defaults write com.apple.dock autohide-delay -float 0 && defaults write com.apple.dock autohide-time-modifier -float 0.15 && killall Dock

02What it does

autohide-delay controls how long the Dock waits after your pointer hits the edge before it starts showing; autohide-time-modifier multiplies the slide-in animation length. Setting the delay to 0 and the time modifier to a small value like 0.15 keeps a snappy micro-animation instead of the slow default slide. killall Dock restarts the Dock so the change applies immediately, and deleting both keys returns Apple's defaults.

03Risk

04Undo

$ defaults delete com.apple.dock autohide-delay && defaults delete com.apple.dock autohide-time-modifier && killall Dock

05Sources

• macOS defaults - read, write and delete macOS user defaults
  SS64 · technical · 2026-09-17
  Evidence: Documents `defaults write domain key -float value` for floating-point preference keys and `defaults delete domain [key]` to remove them, e.g. in the com.apple.dock domain.
• macOS setup dotfiles (.macos)
  mathiasbynens/dotfiles (GitHub) · community · 2026-09-17
  Evidence: Contains 'defaults write com.apple.dock autohide-delay -float 0' and 'defaults write com.apple.dock autohide-time-modifier -float 0' to make the auto-hiding Dock show instantly.

Last verified: 2026-09-19 · Category: System & Settings

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