How to get the Dock on your second monitor on a Mac

If you work with an external display, you know the moment: the Dock sits on one screen and as soon as your pointer brushes the bottom edge of the other screen, it jumps across. macOS has one Dock and it lives on one display at a time. This guide explains why, what macOS itself lets you do about it and how to have a Dock on your second monitor and every other display at once.

Why macOS shows the Dock on only one screen

macOS has exactly one Dock. With Displays have separate Spaces switched on, which is the default, that Dock follows you: move the pointer to the bottom edge of another display (or the side edge if your Dock sits on the left or right) and keep it there for a moment: the Dock then relocates to that display.

So the Dock can be on your second monitor, but only by leaving your first. Because it moves whenever the pointer wanders to a bottom edge, it often ends up on the display you are not using. That is why the Dock keeps moving to the other monitor even when you have not asked it to.

Option 1: move the Dock to your second monitor

This is built into macOS and needs nothing extra.

1. Open System Settings > Desktop & Dock and check that Displays have separate Spaces is on. It sits in the Mission Control section. macOS marks this setting Requires log out, so if you change it, log out and back in before it takes effect.
2. Move the pointer to the bottom edge of the display where you want the Dock and hold it there briefly. The Dock appears on that display.

The limit: there is still only one Dock. It is now on your second monitor and gone from the first. It moves again the next time your pointer rests on another display's bottom edge.

Option 2: choose which display is the main one

The Dock and the menu bar start on your main display. To make your external monitor the main one, open System Settings > Displays and click Arrange Displays, then drag the white strip that represents the menu bar onto the display you want.

This decides where the Dock starts, but not where it stays: with separate Spaces on, it still follows the pointer.

Option 3: stop the Dock from moving

If you switch Displays have separate Spaces off, the Dock stays on the main display and no longer jumps between screens. The trade-off is that your displays then share one Space: full-screen apps and Mission Control behave differently and the menu bar is shown on the main display only. This change also requires logging out.

Option 4: a Dock on every display at once, with SeconDock

SeconDock is a small Mac app from Studio Barbanson that adds a real Dock to every display that macOS leaves without one. Apple's own Dock stays exactly where it is, badges and all.

• Mirrors your Dock: the same apps in the same order, updated live. Or keep a separate list of apps for each display.
• Works like the Dock you know: a dot marking running apps; click to open, bring forward or hide; drag to reorder; drag an app from Finder to add it; Trash and Downloads included.
• Your layout: bottom, left or right, with magnification on hover and auto-hide. On macOS 26 Tahoe it uses the native Liquid Glass look.
• Optional window controls: anchor Apple's Dock to one display so it stops jumping, open an app's window on the display you launched it from, pull a running app's window over or fill a display with one double-click. These four need Accessibility permission, which you only grant if you turn them on.
• Nothing leaves your Mac: the second Dock itself needs no permissions at all and the app has no account, no analytics and no network connection.

Requirements: a Mac with Apple silicon and macOS 15 Sequoia or later. Intel Macs are not supported.

Price: free for 3 days, then a one-time EUR 9.99 that includes twelve months of updates. One licence works on all your Macs. No subscription.

How the trial and the licence work

Download SeconDock from the SeconDock page and everything is available for the first 3 days, with nothing to enter and no account to create. When the trial ends the extra Docks disappear, SeconDock opens its purchase window and stays in your menu bar, so you can buy whenever you are ready. Your Mac's own Dock is never touched at any point.

To buy, click Buy in that window or buy SeconDock here at any time, during the trial or after it. You pay EUR 9.99 once through Stripe's secure checkout.

After you buy, your licence key arrives by email. Open SeconDock from its menu bar icon, choose Settings, paste the key at the top and click Activate. The check runs on your own Mac, so it works offline and there is no account and no activation server. The same key works on all your Macs.

What SeconDock does not do

It is better to know this before you download:

• It cannot reserve screen space. macOS keeps room only for its own Dock, so a maximised window can run underneath SeconDock. Turn on auto-hide if you want the whole display free.
• It does not hide itself over full-screen apps. It stays visible there and auto-hide is the way to keep it out of sight.
• No badge counts, minimised windows, folders, stacks, Launchpad or recent apps. Badge counts are only possible with private Apple interfaces, which SeconDock does not use.
• Not on the Mac App Store. Reading your Dock's configuration is not possible inside the App Store sandbox, so SeconDock is sold directly from this site.

Quick answers

Can the Mac Dock be on two screens at the same time?

Not with macOS alone: there is one Dock and it sits on one display at a time, so you cannot have the Mac Dock on both screens. SeconDock adds a Dock to every other display, so each screen has one.

Why does my Dock keep jumping to my other monitor?

With Displays have separate Spaces on, the Dock moves to whichever display you rest the pointer on at the bottom edge. Switch that setting off to keep it on the main display or use SeconDock's optional anchor to keep Apple's Dock in place while every other display gets its own.

How do I get the Dock on my external display?

Rest the pointer on the external display's bottom edge to move the Dock there, make it your main display under System Settings > Displays > Arrange Displays or add a permanent Dock to it with SeconDock.

What happens when the SeconDock trial ends?

The extra Docks disappear, the purchase window opens and the app stays in your menu bar. Your Mac's own Dock is untouched throughout, so nothing you already rely on stops working. Buy a licence from the purchase window or buy SeconDock here, paste the key from your email and the other Docks come straight back.