How to get Launchpad back on macOS 26 and 27
macOS 26 Tahoe removed Launchpad and macOS 27 hasn’t brought it back. Here is where it went, what the built-in alternatives can’t do, and how to bring the full-screen Launchpad back with LaunchHome in two minutes
At a glance
The key facts about LaunchHome as of the last update shown above.
- What it is
- A Launchpad replacement: full-screen app grid with pages, folders and drag-and-drop arranging
- Works on
- macOS 26 Tahoe and macOS 27, Apple silicon and Intel (one universal app)
- Current version
- 1.2.2, signed and notarized by Apple
- Download size
- About 4 MB
- Opening speed
- About 181 ms the first time, under 5 ms every time after that
- How to open it
- F4 (no permissions needed), a hot corner, a four- or five-finger pinch, or any shortcut
- Old layout import
- Yes, pages, folders and order, on Macs that used Launchpad before macOS 26
- Price
- Free to use; Pro is a one-time purchase of $9.9, no subscription
- Free Pro trial
- 7 days, no sign-up
- Macs per license
- 3, including all 1.x updates
- Refunds
- 14-day money-back guarantee
- Mac App Store
- No, global gestures and hot corners need permissions sandboxed apps can’t use
- Languages
- 8: English, Simplified and Traditional Chinese, Japanese, Korean, French, German, Spanish
What happened to Launchpad
Starting with macOS 26 Tahoe, Apple removed Launchpad. The F4 key and the trackpad pinch gesture that used to open it now open the Apps view in Spotlight.
The Apps view can search apps and filter them by category, but the system arranges everything for you: there are no pages, no custom folders and no way to drag icons where you want them. Pages and folders that many people spent years arranging turned into an alphabetical list overnight. macOS 27 still has no Launchpad.
Apple’s own Mac User Guide confirms the change: its page on viewing and opening apps now covers only Spotlight and no longer mentions Launchpad.
Spotlight is the central location where you can search, browse, and open your apps.
Sources: Apple, Mac User Guide: View and open apps on Mac · Apple Newsroom: macOS Tahoe 26 (2025-06-09)
The built-in alternatives
The Apps view in Spotlight: press F4 or pinch to open it. It is great for searching, but you can’t customize the layout.
An Applications stack in the Dock: drag Applications from the Finder sidebar to the Dock, right-click it and choose View content as Grid. It opens apps from the Dock, but it isn’t full screen, has no folders or pages, and gets crowded fast.
If you want the original full-screen Launchpad with pages, folders and drag-and-drop arranging, you need a third-party app such as LaunchHome.
Bring Launchpad back with LaunchHome
It takes about two minutes:
- Download LaunchHome from launchhome.app. It is free to use, and Pro features are free for the first 7 days. No sign-up required. Prefer Homebrew? Run brew install --cask userand/tap/launchhome instead.
- Open LaunchHome.dmg, drag LaunchHome into the Applications folder, then open it. The app is signed and notarized by Apple, so it opens without security warnings.
- Press F4 to open the full-screen Launchpad and Esc to close it. If F4 also opens the system Apps view, turn off its shortcut in System Settings › Keyboard › Keyboard Shortcuts, or record a different shortcut in LaunchHome’s settings.
- To open it with a gesture or hot corner, choose a four- or five-finger pinch or a screen corner under Open LaunchHome in settings and grant Accessibility access when asked. Turn off the matching system gesture first so both don’t fire at once.
- Optional: click the ⋯ button next to the search field and choose Import System Launchpad Layout to restore your old pages and folders.
- Optional: turn on Open at Login in settings so it’s ready whenever you start your Mac.
Restore your old Launchpad layout
LaunchHome can read the database the old Launchpad left on your Mac and restore its pages, folders and icon order exactly. Your current layout is backed up first, so you can always roll back.
That data only exists on Macs that used Launchpad before macOS 26. On a new Mac, LaunchHome files your apps into folders by category the first time it opens and keeps common system apps on page one; drag things around from there.
Is LaunchHome the same as the original Launchpad?
The grid, pages, folders, dropping one icon on another to make a folder and dragging to the edge to turn the page all work like the original, and page swipes and folder animations were tuned frame by frame against it.
On top of that it adds things the original never had: search by partial names and initials, six page transitions, widgets such as a calculator and clipboard history, multi-select to hide or uninstall in bulk, one-click uninstall that cleans up leftovers, layout backups and multi-display support.
LaunchHome is a fully native AppKit app for Apple silicon and Intel Macs. The first open takes about 181 ms and every open after that takes under 5 ms.
Pricing
LaunchHome is free to use. Pro is free for the first 7 days, then a one-time purchase ($9.9), not a subscription. One license activates up to 3 Macs, includes all 1.x updates and comes with a 14-day money-back guarantee.