# Shelfy: A file shelf beside your Dock

> Shelfy puts a glass shelf in the empty space beside your Dock for the files you are working with, and keeps your newest screenshots and downloads one drag away.

- **What it is:** Keep files on a glass shelf beside the Dock, with your newest screenshots and downloads one drag away.
- **Price:** $9.99 for Shelfy. One-time purchase, no subscription, up to 3 Macs, free updates.
- **Requires:** macOS 14 Sonoma or later, Apple silicon and Intel
- **Version:** 0.3.0 (2026-11-08)
- **Download size:** 3.8 MB
- **Category:** Productivity
- **Made by:** Glowbug (https://glowbugapps.com), by Ayesha Gagan
- **Page:** https://glowbugapps.com/shelfy
- **App website:** https://shelfydock.com
- **Film:** https://glowbugapps.com/films/shelfy.mp4
- **Buy:** https://glowbugapps.com/buy/shelfy
- **Support:** adgan.business@gmail.com

It is made for people who drag things all day: a PDF from Mail into a form, three screenshots into a chat, a photo from Downloads into a slide. Instead of piling files on the Desktop, you drop them on the shelf, and they wait there until you need them.

Shelfy lines up with the Dock to the pixel, resizes with it, hides with it and steps aside for full-screen apps. There is nothing to set up: open it, and the shelf is already where your eyes go.

## A shelf that knows where your Dock is

The left side of the Dock holds whatever you drop on it: files, folders, links, text and images. Dragging something off the shelf copies it, so the original stays exactly where it was.

- Follows files that are renamed or moved, and says so when one is missing
- Pin what you want to keep; the rest clears itself after 7 days (or 1, 30, never)
- Every removal can be undone

## Your newest screenshot is always one drag away

The other side of the Dock shows your ten newest screenshots and ten newest downloads, ready to drag into a chat, an email or a document. Unfinished downloads stay hidden until they are done.

- Screenshots you copy with ⌃⇧⌘4 are kept too: the newest twenty, for a week
- ⌃⌥V pastes the newest screenshot where you are typing and leaves your clipboard alone
- Since 0.3 it can show any folder, or a clipboard history you turn on yourself

## Everything in one panel with ⇧⌘Space

One shortcut opens the shelf, your screenshots and downloads in a single searchable panel. Type a few letters, press Space to look closer with Quick Look, Return to open. Search even finds words inside screenshots.

- Change the shortcut, or turn it off
- Paste with ⌘V straight into the open panel to add something
- Text in screenshots is read on your Mac and kept in memory only

## Right-click, and the job is done

Right-click anything on the shelf to compress it, convert it, resize it, remove its background or the hidden location in a photo, copy the text out of an image or PDF, merge PDFs, make a GIF, or zip it. Each action makes a new file; the original is never changed.

- Convert to JPEG, PNG, HEIC or WebP
- Runs on your Mac: nothing is uploaded
- Open With, Copy Path, Rename, AirDrop and Markup are right there too

## Shake to Shelf, and a tidy Desktop in one click

Shake the pointer while you drag a file and a shelf appears right under it. Tidy My Desktop moves everything on your Desktop into a dated folder in Documents, with Undo, and never deletes a thing.

- Notes on the shelf for the thing you must not forget
- Import from iPhone with Continuity Camera
- Hold ⌥ while dragging several files out to drop them as one zip

## Features

- **Lines up with the Dock:** Resizes, hides and moves with it, and steps aside for full-screen apps.
- **Recents strip:** Ten newest screenshots and downloads, ready to drag.
- **⇧⌘Space search:** Shelf, screenshots and downloads in one panel, with Quick Look.
- **One-click actions:** Compress, convert, resize, remove backgrounds and hidden info, copy text.
- **Shake to Shelf:** Shake while dragging and a shelf appears under the pointer.
- **Weighs nothing:** About 0.1% CPU and 26 MB of memory while it waits.

> According to Glowbug’s own measurement, Shelfy uses about 0.1% CPU (0.12% on average, 2.3% at its busiest moment) and 26 MB of memory while idle beside the Dock. (Shelfy 0.2.2, the release build, on a MacBook Air (M1, 2020) with macOS 15.7.4, sampled with top every 5 seconds for 10 minutes, memory read with footprint, on 4 November 2026.)

## Pricing

- **Shelfy: $9.99**, up to 3 Macs. Buy: https://glowbugapps.com/buy/shelfy

Pay once. No subscription and no account.
There is no free trial and all sales are final, so the demo at the top of this page is the way to try it first.

## Questions

### Which Macs does Shelfy work on?

Any Mac with macOS 14 Sonoma or later, Apple silicon or Intel. The download is 3.8 MB, signed with a Developer ID and notarized by Apple.

### What permissions does Shelfy ask for?

Both are optional. Accessibility only lets it read where the Dock is, so the shelf lines up with it. Desktop and Downloads access only lets it list what is new there.

### How many Macs can I use my Shelfy license on?

Up to 3 of your own Macs. If you replace one, email adgan.business@gmail.com and its place is freed for the new Mac.

### Does dragging a file off the shelf move it?

No. Dragging out copies it and the original stays where it was. If you want to move a file onto the shelf instead, hold ⌘ while you drop it.

### How long do things stay on the shelf?

Seven days by default, or 1 day, 30 days or never if you choose. Pinned items stay until you remove them, and every removal can be undone.

### Can Shelfy paste my newest screenshot for me?

Yes. ⌃⌥V pastes the newest screenshot into whatever you are typing in, and leaves your clipboard exactly as it was.

### Does Shelfy upload my files anywhere?

No. It only remembers where your files are. It goes online for two things: checking your license with Gumroad and checking for updates.

### Why isn’t Shelfy on the Mac App Store?

Lining the shelf up with the Dock needs the Accessibility permission, which Mac App Store apps are not allowed to use. Shelfy is sold directly instead.

## Guides about Shelfy

- [How to Copy a Screenshot to the Clipboard on Mac](https://glowbugapps.com/blog/shelfy/copy-screenshot-to-clipboard-mac.md)
- [How to Clean Up a Messy Mac Desktop (and Keep It Clean)](https://glowbugapps.com/blog/shelfy/clean-up-mac-desktop.md)

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Source: https://glowbugapps.com/shelfy · Glowbug (glowbugapps.com) · Updated 2026-11-08