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xfce4-docklike-plugin - Docklike Taskbar
A modern, minimalist taskbar for Xfce.
Docklike Taskbar behaves similarly to many desktop environment's and other operating system's equivalents. Wherein all application windows are grouped together as an icon and can be pinned to act like a launcher when the application is not running. Commonly referred to as a dock.
Usage
Mouse Actions
- ctrl+left-click to begin dragging an item in the dock
- ctrl+right-click to access Properties, move/remove the plugin
- shift+click to launch another instance of an application
- middle-click to close all instances of an application
- mouse wheel to cycle through open windows in either direction
Keyboard Shortcuts
Keyboard shortcuts are disabled by default. Be careful to avoid conflicting keyboard shortcuts!
- super+[1,2,…] to switch between applications based on dock position
- super to switch to the previous window
It would be nice to add a setting to change the modifier key in the future.
Hidden Settings
Your settings file is located at ~/.config/xfce4/panel/docklike-1.rc (or something like that). The file is only created after changing anything in the xfce4-docklike-plugin Properties window.
- dockSize=<int> sets the minimum width/height (depending on panel orientation) of the dock widget (unset by default)
- previewScale=<double> adjusts the scale factor of preview images (the default value is 0.125)
- previewSleep=<int> adjusts the time, in milliseconds, between new preview images being generated (the default is 250)
Screenshots
Theming
You can modify the appearance of dock items with CSS. Create (or modify) ~/.config/gtk-3.0/gtk.css and add:
/* Taller or wider buttons */
#docklike-plugin button {
min-height: 48px;
min-width: 48px;
}
/* Brightly colored buttons */
#docklike-plugin .open_group {
background-color: lightblue;
}
#docklike-plugin .active_group {
background-color: hotpink;
}
#docklike-plugin .hover_group {
background-color: orange;
}
Changes will take effect after the panel is restarted (xfce4-panel -r).
Latest Release
- xfce4-docklike-plugin 0.5.1 released (2026/03/02 13:16)xfce4-docklike-plugin 0.5.1 is now available for download from https://archive.xfce.org/src/panel-plugins/xfce4-docklike-plugin/0.5/xfce4-docklike-plugin-0.5.1.tar.xz https://archive.xfce.org/src/panel-plugins/xfce4-docklike-plugin/0.5/xfce4-docklike-plugin-0.5.1.tar.xz?sha1 https://archive.xfce.org/src/panel-plugins/xfce4-docklike-plugin/0.5/xfce4-docklike-plugin-0.5.1.tar.xz?sha256 What is xfce4-docklike-plugin? ============================== Docklike Taskbar behaves similarly to many other desktop environments and operating systems. Wherein all application windows are grouped together as an icon and can be pinned to act as a launcher when the application is not running. Commonly referred to as a dock. Website: https://docs.xfce.org/panel-plugins/xfce4-docklike-plugin/start Release notes for 0.5.1 ======================= - build: Rename POTFILES.in to POTFILES - AppInfos: Remove GIO search - Update debug instructions - x11: Add exceptions where instance-id should be preferred to class-id - I18n: Update po/LINGUAS list - wayland: Handle null workspace group list when a group is destroyed - fix docklike menus disappear even if the mouse is on them - Improve GroupMenu CSS - build: Fix typo in optimization level - I18n: Update po/LINGUAS list - GroupWindow: Add missing sanity check - Xfw: Do not rely on window list order to determine last active window - Hide workspace-related visibility option on wayland - GroupWindow: Don't unactivate group when a window is closed - I18n: Update po/LINGUAS list - README.md: Add uninstall info - I18n: Update po/LINGUAS list - SettingsDialog: Fix leak when closing via close button - Stop using xfce_panel_plugin_(block|unblock)_menu - Remove autotools build - I18n: Update po/LINGUAS list - Translation Updates: Albanian, Basque, Bulgarian, Catalan, Chinese (China), Chinese (Taiwan), Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English (Canada), English (United Kingdom), Estonian, Finnish, French, Galician, German, Greek, Hebrew, Indonesian, Interlingue, Italian, Japanese, Kazakh, Korean, Lithuanian, Norwegian Bokmål, Occitan (post 1500), Polish, Portuguese, Portuguese (Brazil), Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Uyghur, Vietnamese