Difficulty

Easy

Steps

4

Time Required

                          2 minutes

Sections

1

  • LaunchPad CleanUp
  • 4 steps

Flags

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Introduction

Occasionally, if you are like me, you will want to remove old folders and application, There are a few ways other than just deleting the app to get it out of LaunchPad. Sadly, sometimes there will be straggler files that are problematic when removing. Please follow some of these steps to assist you with this task.

Step 1

              Open Up Terminal
  • Locate the Terminal and open

Locate the Terminal and open

1024

Step 2

              Create a folder on your desktop to back up the data files.
  • Type the following command, this will create a backup folder on your desktop for your launchpad app.
  • mkdir ~/Desktop/DB_Backup

Type the following command, this will create a backup folder on your desktop for your launchpad app.

mkdir ~/Desktop/DB_Backup

Step 3

              Now to copy the database.
  • Type the following command to copy the database. This will place it in the back folder that was created in the second step.
  • cp ~/Library/Application\ Support/Dock/*.db ~/Desktop/DB_Backup/

Type the following command to copy the database. This will place it in the back folder that was created in the second step.

cp ~/Library/Application\ Support/Dock/*.db ~/Desktop/DB_Backup/

Step 4

              Now to clean up the LaunchPad
  • Type the next command, this will put the LaunchPad back to its original setup and will take all programs out of folders.
  • sqlite3 ~/Library/Application\ Support/Dock/*.db ‘DELETE from apps;’ \ ’ DELETE from groups WHERE title<>""; DELETE from items WHERE rowid>2;’ \ && killall Dock
  • However, it should be noted that the folders will not disappear. To get rid of them, simply load at least one app into Launchpad, then drag the app into & out of the folder. It will ’evaporate’ when it’s empty.
  • If you want to do a full reset of the LaunchPad, I will create another guide for those steps.

Type the next command, this will put the LaunchPad back to its original setup and will take all programs out of folders.

sqlite3 ~/Library/Application\ Support/Dock/*.db ‘DELETE from apps;’ \ ’ DELETE from groups WHERE title<>""; DELETE from items WHERE rowid>2;’ \ && killall Dock

However, it should be noted that the folders will not disappear. To get rid of them, simply load at least one app into Launchpad, then drag the app into & out of the folder. It will ’evaporate’ when it’s empty.

If you want to do a full reset of the LaunchPad, I will create another guide for those steps.

To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.

Cancel: I did not complete this guide.

Author

                                      with 3 other contributors 


                    Elle Snickens

Member since: 03/22/2014

133 Reputation

                                      1 Guide authored                  



                       Badges:
                       3

Wade Smith - May 9, 2019

Reply

this command gives a syntax error in High Sierra.

Michael Z - Apr 27, 2020

Reply

It says “no such table” when I copy the command in terminal, I’m using Mac OS high sierra 10.13.6

Johan william - Nov 10, 2021

Reply

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