System launcher

KSmoothDock

For something that most users don't think about, there's plenty of choice when it comes to the Linux desktop launch panel. While the overall principle hasn't changed since the early days of Windows, its presentation has changed dramatically. This seems mostly thanks to Apple, who for many years did without a dock completely and then introduced a simplified icon-only launcher in Mac OS X. The same launcher then appeared on its iPhone and iPad, cementing the idea of what kind of tools work best when it comes to managing running apps. There are now several Linux launchers that mimic the style of Apple's dock, but none quite get to the same level of integration and refinement as the one you find in macOS. However, KSmoothDock gets very close.

KDE is rather well equipped to handle new docks, because you can often use more than one panel at a time and work with as many as you need until you find a configuration you like. You can even do this with the panels that come by default. The first options KSmoothDock presents to you are where you'd like your new panel to exist and which functions you'd like it to perform, including launch menu, pager, task manager, launchers, and clock. When it appears, it looks and feels very similar to the equivalent macOS dock, complete with fast and efficient zooming, running icons in the lower panel, and configurable opacity. There are even options to control the small and large icon sizes, background color, and whether there's a panel border – none of which you can do on macOS without a hack. It looks and feels fantastic. If you've been after that macOS look and responsiveness, this is perhaps the best we've come across on the Linux desktop.

Project Website

https://store.kde.org/p/1081169/

KSmoothDock is actually a stand-alone application, rather than a Plasma widget, which means it can be easily added to your current configuration.

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