My Dock Buddies and FavTray: two Mac apps from one maker
My Dock Buddies is not the only Mac app from the same maker. FavTray is the other one: a Mac developer dashboard that lives in the menu bar. The two apps sit at opposite ends of the same screen, one in the menu bar and one on the Dock, and one character, Max, turns up in both. Here is what each app does, and how to pick.
What is FavTray?
FavTray is a Mac developer dashboard in the menu bar. It keeps a set of small tools behind one icon: AI usage and limits, GitHub, ports, system info, window snapping, notes, eye-rest breaks and a Dynamic Island in the notch, among others. It is built for people who spend the day in a terminal and an editor, and it has a free tier and a paid Pro plan.
What is My Dock Buddies?
My Dock Buddies puts small, stylized 3D characters on top of your Dock. They walk, work, take breaks and react when you click them. Max, Avery, Racer, and Businessman are here today, and the app runs on macOS 14 Sonoma or later, on an Apple silicon or Intel Mac, with a Windows app too. Every buddy is $4.99 / ₹479, a one-time unlock, in US dollars or Indian rupees.
Why make both?
Both are for long days at a Mac. FavTray is the useful half: the tools a developer reaches for all day, without opening another app. My Dock Buddies is the other half: a little company on the Dock that asks nothing of you and never adds to your to-do list.
How did Max get into FavTray?
Max, the curious little builder, also lives inside FavTray as one of its Dock modules, included with FavTray’s paid plans. There he is wired into FavTray’s own features: he sits down when its Wind-down says you are done for the day, types while a Focus session runs, and asks you to plug in the charger when you are on battery. Right-click him and choose Hide Max to turn him off.
Same Max, different product
FavTray puts it simply: same character design, different product. In FavTray, Max is one feature of a developer tool. In My Dock Buddies, the characters are the whole point: every buddy has its own activities (Max has 37), props and moods, up to two can share the Dock, and new activities keep arriving. If you want Max as part of your developer toolkit, FavTray has him; if you want a crew of buddies, this is their home.
Do I need both?
No. Each app stands on its own, with its own download. They are happy side by side, though: FavTray in the menu bar, your buddies on the Dock.