Open ContextsA Sidebar alternative for windows you already have open
Consider a browser with a client dashboard and a separate reference window, alongside an editor and terminal. An application icon alone does not say which browser window belongs to the task. In Open Contexts, you can place the relevant windows in a named group, order them and click the title you need.
The bar can sit at the left, right or bottom and stay visible or appear at the edge. Sidebar also documents individual window titles. The reason to try Open Contexts is the saved, manually arranged window list, rather than the mere presence of a sidebar.
What a full Dock replacement still gives you
Sidebar, the product at sidebarapp.net, combines window selection with app launching, previews, search and snapping. Those capabilities serve different decisions: a preview helps when two documents have similar titles; search helps when you remember a name; snapping helps arrange your desktop.
Open Contexts currently does not provide those three features or replace the system Dock’s launcher, file stacks and Trash. Keep Sidebar if those are essential, or retain the native Dock alongside Open Contexts for launching apps.
Save organization, rather than a desktop layout
A group such as “Client A” can include selected windows from several apps, while their unrelated windows remain elsewhere. Group names, order and positions of matchable windows are saved locally. This does not reopen closed apps or restore desktop window sizes and positions.
Sidebar advertises Stacks for apps and folders and Window Snap for saving window positions. Decide which state you want to preserve: items to launch, a desktop arrangement or the order of your working window list.
Try one task before changing your Dock
- Keep your Sidebar settings and native Dock configuration available.
- Install Open Contexts on macOS 13 or later and grant Accessibility access.
- Quit the other switcher while testing overlapping shortcuts.
- Create one group with a browser, editor and terminal; try mouse selection and ⌘Tab.
- Restart Open Contexts with those windows open and check saved ordering.
There is no automatic import of Sidebar’s configuration. The app bar and window switcher both support multiple displays. Test full-screen windows before relying on a full-screen workflow.
Free software versus a paid Dock
Open Contexts is free under Apache 2.0. Sidebar’s pricing page lists a seven-day trial, a €19.99 lifetime license and monthly or yearly subscriptions. Both products list macOS 13 as their minimum on the sources checked for this page.
Price alone does not settle the decision. A paid Dock can be the better fit when it replaces several actions you repeat; a window list can be enough when you mostly return to work that is already open.
Official sources
Sources checked on October 8, 2026. Consult the current official pages for prices, licenses and system requirements.