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Guide

Auto-hide sidebar rail

Dock Desktop's sidebar rail auto-hides when you don't need it, slides back on hover, and pins open on click. Same idea as Claude.ai's collapsible sidebar: reclaim the canvas without losing the rail, then bring it back with a flick of the mouse.

Three states

  • Hidden — the default when you haven't interacted with the rail in a few seconds. Workspace canvas uses the full window width.
  • Hover-revealed — move the cursor to the left edge and the rail slides in as an overlay. It overlays the canvas (doesn't push), so the layout doesn't reflow. Move the cursor away and it slides back out.
  • Pinned — click the pin icon (or the rail area) to lock it open. Now it pushes the canvas instead of overlaying, so you can work with both visible. Click pin again to unpin and return to auto-hide.

Workspace header auto-hides too

The same auto-hide rule extends to the workspace header (the bar above the canvas with the workspace title, presence stack, and surface tabs). When you settle in to read or edit, the header fades to a thin frosted top-fade and the canvas grows. Move the cursor up and the full header slides back in. Pinning the sidebar pins the header too — both stay visible when you commit.

Why this exists

The rail + header are useful when you want to jump between workspaces, skim recent activity, or open a new one. They're noise when you're heads-down in a single workspace. Auto-hide picks the right state automatically — visible while you're navigating, gone once you settle in.

Frequently asked questions

How do I turn off the auto-hide sidebar in Dock Desktop?
Click the pin icon in the rail when it's revealed. The rail stays open until you click pin again. There's no separate global toggle — the pin is the toggle.
Does auto-hide affect the web app?
Yes, the same auto-hide rail ships on trydock.ai too. The behavior is identical on desktop and web; the desktop integration just adds the frosted top bar above it.
Why does the rail overlay instead of push when hover-revealed?
To avoid a layout reflow every time the mouse touches the edge. Overlay-on-hover, push-on-pin keeps the canvas stable while still letting you commit to the rail when you mean it.