MacOS – customize the launchpad grid

launchpadmacos

my launchpad feels congested. each screen displays 35 icons made up of 5 rows and 7 columns. i would like to have more space and wanted to try a 4×6 grid instead.

I tried looking in system preferences but couldn't find any way to configure the launchpad. I also tried right clicking on its dock icon, but this only gave me the option of removing it from the dock or launching it. when it is launched, there's no way to see its preferences.

Can I customize the launchpad grid to try a 4×6 grid?

Best Answer

Yes, this is totally possible, assuming you're okay to run some terminal commands.

Follow these steps:

  1. Launch Terminal (usually found in Applications > Utilities)

  2. First enter the following command (just copy and paste it) and press enter:

    defaults write com.apple.dock springboard-columns -int 6

  3. Second enter this command (just copy and paste it) and press enter:

    defaults write com.apple.dock springboard-rows -int 4

  4. Finally enter this command to quit and relaunch the Dock and Launchpad (again, just copy and paste it and press enter):

    defaults write com.apple.dock ResetLaunchPad -bool TRUE;killall Dock

  5. Once the Dock reappears, open Launchpad

  6. Now you'll see a screen similar to the following:

enter image description here

  1. Be patient and wait for Launchpad to reload all the apps.

Now you'll have a 6 x 4 grid. You can also change the values at the end of the commands at Steps 2 and 3 to other values.

Finally, if you'd like to restore the defaults, you can run the same commands again and replace the values with the original 7 columns and 5 rows. Remember to also run the command at Step 4 whenever you make changes.

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