How do I fix high Dock usage?

1. Wait a moment after using Mission Control or switching desktops 2. Force quit Dock; macOS relaunches it immediately and this often clears glitches 3. Restart your Mac if it keeps happening

What is Dock on Mac?

Q: Why is Dock using so much CPU or memory?

Mission Control, Spaces or Dock animations in use. Many apps open with lots of windows. A stuck animation or glitch after waking from sleep or changing displays.

Q: Is it safe to quit Dock?

Quit with care. It relaunches by itself straight away, so quitting is a safe way to reset a stuck Dock or Mission Control.

By Junaid, maker of Taskglass · Last reviewed November 5, 2026

Runs the Dock, plus Mission Control, Spaces (multiple desktops), App Exposé and Hot Corners.

The Dock process draws the Dock and also powers Mission Control, Spaces, App Exposé and Hot Corners. It's always running. If you force quit it, it restarts by itself within a second or two, which is a common, harmless fix when the Dock or Mission Control gets stuck.

Category: macOS system
Made by: Apple
Safe to quit:: With care

Shown in Activity Monitor as Dock

Why is Dock using so much CPU or memory?

Mission Control, Spaces or Dock animations in use
Many apps open with lots of windows
A stuck animation or glitch after waking from sleep or changing displays

What to do

1Wait a moment after using Mission Control or switching desktops
2Force quit Dock; macOS relaunches it immediately and this often clears glitches
3Restart your Mac if it keeps happening

Safe to quit? With care.

It relaunches by itself straight away, so quitting is a safe way to reset a stuck Dock or Mission Control.

Typical usage

Rough ranges on Apple Silicon Macs. Yours will vary.

CPU: Near 0% when idle
Memory: 50–250 MB

Related processes

Part of the Taskglass Process Library