macOS Sonoma: How to use ‘Add to Dock’ in Safari to turn websites into Mac apps

Zac Hall | Nov 17 2023 - 8:57 am PT

New in macOS Sonoma, Apple gives everyone new reasons to never need to open Chrome again. One of those is a new feature for turning any website into an app on your Mac’s Dock.

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Add to Dock is a new feature in Safari 17 exclusive to macOS 14. In short, it lets you turn your favorite websites into standalone apps — no need for additional software.

Chrome has long supposed a feature like this, but the biggest drawback is you have to run Chrome. Even if you just want to use the site’s web app, Chrome needs to run.

From web apps to user profiles, Safari has learned a thing or two from Chrome this year while still remaining efficient.

The new Add to Dock function has been highly useful for turning Threads into its own Mac app. Using Safari for this means all links will open with the browser I actually use, and setup requires just a few clicks.

How to turn web sites into Mac apps

Here’s how to get started:

Before you start, you will need to run desktop Safari version 17.0. That’s the built-in version of Safari on macOS Sonoma 14.
From there, go to the web site that you want to turn into an app. Once you’re there, select File from the Menu Bar, then click Add to Dock.
Next, confirm the name that you want to give to your new Dock icon. This will appear on your Dock as well as Launchpad, and you can even search Spotlight to launch the app just like other apps.
Finally, you can confirm the name and icon, or you can click the icon to select your own from your files in Finder.

This works for lots of websites and services including Instagram, Threads, and more. This form of web app can even request to send notifications like actual Mac apps.

The tool is especially useful for turning apps that would otherwise mostly be web views into a Mac app of sorts. In many cases, a simple bookmark will get the job done, but the new Add to Dock feature lets you create windows that identify separately from Safari.