How to organize Launchpad on Mac: folders, A–Z order and hiding apps

How each task works, by macOS version:

Sort A–Z

macOS 15 and earlier: reset Launchpad, then everything after Apple’s apps is sorted by name. LaunchHome: ⋯ menu › Sort › By Name (Pro)

Make a folder

Drop one icon on another, in the old Launchpad and in LaunchHome (free version: up to 3 folders)

Hide an app

The old Launchpad can’t hide apps. LaunchHome: Control-click › Hide (Pro); the app stays installed

File by category

LaunchHome files your apps into folders by category the first time it opens; doing it again later is Pro

macOS 26 and 27 Apps view

Can’t be organized. The system decides the order and there are no folders

The old Launchpad has no sort button. Resetting it rebuilds the layout with Apple’s apps on the first page and every other app after them, sorted by name. It also removes your folders, so back up first; see Reset and back up your Launchpad layout.

In LaunchHome, click the ⋯ button next to the search field and choose Sort › By Name (Pro). Every icon on every page is lined up again, and the pages are refilled in order. The same menu offers By Recent Use and By Frequency.

Sorting is a one-time action, not a lock. You can keep dragging icons around afterwards, and Restore Layout from Last Launch (Pro) on the Organize tab in settings undoes it.

Drag one icon onto another and hold it there until a folder appears. Drag more icons onto the folder to add them.

Click the folder to open it, then click its title to rename it. To take an app out, drag it from the open folder back onto the grid.

In LaunchHome a folder with only one app left is undone automatically, and Control-clicking a folder offers Dissolve Folder. The free version allows up to 3 folders; Pro removes the limit.

The old Launchpad shows every app it finds, and the only way to drop one was to delete the app.

LaunchHome can hide an app without uninstalling it: Control-click it and choose Hide (Pro). To hide many at once, ⌘- or ⇧-click to select them first (Pro). To bring them back, go to Settings › Organize › Layout Maintenance › Show Removed Apps.

If you want an app gone for good, use Move to Trash Only or Uninstall Completely instead; see How to uninstall apps on Mac.

The first time LaunchHome opens, it files your apps into folders by category, so you start from a tidy grid instead of hundreds of loose icons.

To run it again later, open the Organize tab in settings and choose Organize System Apps or Organize All Apps (Pro). Apps that are already in a folder stay where they are.

Coming from the old Launchpad? Import System Launchpad Layout on the same tab brings back the pages and folders you already had.

If you have only a few apps, a smaller grid with bigger icons is easier to scan; with hundreds, more rows and columns mean fewer pages. In LaunchHome, click ⋯ and set Rows (3–8) and Columns (4–10) under Grid (Pro).

Before a big clean-up, export a copy with Export Layout under Backup on the Organize tab (Pro), so you can go back if you change your mind.