AppShelf gives you instant access to your essential apps—without Dock clutter, without distractions, and without breaking your workflow.
Open your launcher with a global shortcut
Keep a clean, minimal grid of only the apps you choose
Customize the layout (Pro) to match your exact style
Enjoy a native, lightweight macOS experience
⚡ Quick launcher window for your selected apps
⌨️ Global hotkey to show/hide the launcher
🖱️ Drag & drop to rearrange apps
➕ Add / remove apps from Settings
🔄 Launch at Login option
⏱️ Idle auto‑hide option
🌍 Localized in 16 languages
Up to 8 apps
Fixed defaults:
Columns: 4
Icon size: 72
Icon spacing: 0
Idle hide delay: 0
Unlimited apps
Appearance customization:
Columns
Icon size
Icon spacing
Idle hide delay
Shortcut customization:
Modifier keys
Activation key
Restore Purchases support
AppShelf is fully localized in:
English
Arabic
Arabic (UAE)
German
Greek
Spanish
French
Hindi
Italian
Japanese
Korean
Portuguese (Brazil)
Romanian
Turkish
Chinese (Simplified)
Chinese (Traditional)
Built with care by Efthymios Tampouris.
AppShelf Help (in-app, bundled) · Last updated: 26 Apr 2026
AppShelf is a lightweight macOS app shelf for launching your selected apps from a single grid-based pad.
Open fast with a shortcut, launch in one click, and manage layout and boards from Settings.
Included
App management (add/remove/reorder)
Two boards (Main/Work) with renaming
Search inside the active board
Pad layout customization
Global shortcut toggling
Open-on-demand from menu bar or shortcut
Local data
Settings and app list are stored on your Mac.
Help content is part of the app bundle.
Licensing state uses your Apple ID entitlement flow.
• Searchable app grid with labels
• Board menu in header (switch active board)
• Global show/hide by shortcut
• Optional translucent background and rounded chrome
• Auto-hide timer after configured inactivity
• Settings access and license indicators
Open via menu bar icon or configured global shortcut.
Use the board menu in the header to switch between boards.
Click an app icon to launch it.
Move through your app list by adding, removing, and reordering entries.
Use auto-hide and opacity controls for desktop blending and attention style.
Use larger icons with fewer columns if text is hard to read.
Enable a moderate opacity for readability against bright wallpapers.
Set hide delay to match your workflow (0 for manual mode, higher for auto-hide).
Go to Settings → Manage Apps.
Use the board selector to switch between available boards.
Use Rename board to rename the selected board.
Apps are added to the currently selected board.
Open Settings and go to Manage Apps.
Choose Add App.
Select an app and confirm.
New item appears in the panel list and is available on next AppShelf pad render.
Press-and-hold the app tile and drag it to a new position.
Drop to apply the new order.
If drag feels inconsistent, close and reopen Settings once.
Select the entries you want to remove.
Use delete action to remove from the list.
Deleted entries are removed from the pad immediately.
If an app was moved to a new folder/path, remove old entry and re-add with the current path.
Appearance controls define the AppShelf pad density and feel.
Columns: number of columns in one row.
Icon Size: visual size of app icons in points.
Spacing: gap between icon tiles.
Pad Opacity: background transparency level.
Hide Delay: time before auto-hide.
In Free mode appearance and shortcut customization are locked and default values are enforced. Pro unlocks appearance controls and shortcut customization.
Free tier supports Manage Apps, boards, and board renaming, with up to 10 apps total.
Set a global keyboard shortcut to open/close AppShelf quickly.
Select modifier keys plus a base key in Settings.
Changes apply immediately.
Shortcut is treated as global while AppShelf is active under macOS permissions.
This setting is a Pro feature.
If another app uses your combo, choose a unique one to prevent conflicts.
Optionally start AppShelf at login.
Enable launch-at-login in Settings.
Complete any permission prompts for login item management.
Verify in macOS login startup entries if needed.
Tip: keep this enabled if you use AppShelf on every new desktop session.
Pro is delivered as a lifetime entitlement via StoreKit for your Apple account.
Use Upgrade to Pro to unlock additional controls.
Use Restore Purchases after reinstall/device changes.
Restore requires Apple ID access and network.
Sandbox can behave differently from production App Store accounts.
Wrong Apple ID
Offline / store unreachable
Entitlements still refreshing in the current session
App build/environment mismatch
Local first: all feature instructions are in this offline Help file.
Storage: app list and preferences are stored locally.
Network needed: only when StoreKit or remote documentation links are used.
Permissions: accessibility and startup permissions can affect behavior.
Use the menu bar toggle first to rule out shortcut conflict.
Confirm the app is not hidden behind another window or full-screen transition.
Restart AppShelf and test again.
System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility: allow AppShelf.
Pick another combo if another utility owns the existing one.
After changing shortcut, reopen Settings once if needed.
Check if the app path exists.
Re-add an app that was moved after upgrade.
For unsigned binaries or scripts, check execution permissions.
Restart the target app manually to clear stale process state.
Drag with a steady pointer and pause briefly over the target.
Move one tile at a time; avoid rapid repeated drags.
Close and reopen Settings for a clean gesture state.
Tap Restore Purchases with active internet.
Reopen Settings and wait a moment for entitlement refresh.
Verify you are signed into the correct Apple ID.
Verify idle hide delay is not set too low.
Check whether focus transitions are dismissing the pad.
Use manual mode if auto-hide is too aggressive.
Help is shown in an in-app local HTML window by design.
The Help content is bundled with AppShelf and available offline.
Local copy remains offline and fast regardless of internet state.
Capture the exact steps before the issue occurs.
Include shortcut used, OS version, and app version in your report.
Mention any permission toggles you changed recently.
If issue persists and repeats in a clean session, include Console logs for the AppShelf process with timestamp.
If a behavior appears only with one macOS version, include that version in support details.
Support: Email us
Support page: AppShelf Support Form
Need help with setup, purchases, or troubleshooting? Contact support below.
Open Settings and check apps in Manage Apps.
If shortcut activation fails, verify Accessibility permission.
If Pro appears locked after reinstall, use Restore Purchases.
Restart AppShelf after major setting changes if behavior seems stale.
SUPPORT: Contact Support
macOS version
AppShelf version/build
steps to reproduce
screenshot or short recording (if possible)
Typical response time: within 3 business days.
Effective date: April 24, 2026
Developer: Efthymios Tampouris
AppShelf is a local-first macOS utility. It does not require account registration and does not rely on a developer backend for core functionality.
AppShelf does not collect, sell, or share personal data.
AppShelf stores settings locally on your Mac so the app can work, including:
apps added to your shelf
layout settings (columns, icon size, spacing)
shortcut settings
local purchase state used by the UI
This data is not sent to the developer.
Pro unlock purchases are processed by Apple through StoreKit and the App Store. The developer does not receive payment card details.
macOS Accessibility permission may be required for global shortcut behavior, depending on your system configuration.
No third-party analytics SDKs, ad SDKs, or tracking SDKs are included.
SUPPORT: Privacy Questions
Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/