The red count bubble is the Dock badge; the hop is a dock bounce
Dock Badge
/ NSDockTile.badgeLabel · NSApplication.dockTile /
also called Dock tile badge, app icon badge, notification badge
A Dock badge is the small red label overlaid on an application's Dock icon, usually showing an unread or pending count. The label belongs to the app's NSDockTile and can also contain short status text. Requesting user attention makes the Dock icon bounce and is a separate, more interruptive signal that should be used sparingly.
Anatomy — every part, named
- 1Badge label
NSDockTile.badgeLabel“The red number bubble on the app icon” is the Dock tile's badge label.
- 2Attention bounce
NSApplication.requestUserAttention(_:)“The app icon jumping in the Dock” is an attention bounce, not part of the badge.
Prompt — paste into your agent
Show a Dock Badge by assigning the count to NSApp.dockTile.badgeLabel, clearing the label when no count remains. If stronger attention is warranted, call NSApplication.requestUserAttention(_:) separately to bounce the Dock icon; the bounce is not the badge itself.
In code
The exact names this thing goes by in code — each row is one framework’s word for it. Use the row that matches your project (or paste it into your prompt).
| AppKit | NSDockTile.badgeLabel | |
| AppKit | NSApplication.dockTile | |
| AppKit | NSApplication.requestUserAttention(_:) | bounces the Dock icon; separate from the badge |
| AppKit | NSApplication.RequestUserAttentionType |