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Sometimes my Launchpad just look like this without any app icons. What causes this problem and how can I solve it?

I am using 2011 11″ MacBook Air with OS X 10.9.1

Screenshot

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5 Answers 5

Reset to default
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This didn't work for me,
Finder did not respond, clicking on Apps gave this error 

Could not obtain valid temporary directory for sandboxed app ...

I also had to open a terminal and run:

cd /var/folder
sudo rm -rf *

Searched for and opened Activity Monitor, stopped the com.apple.IconServicesAgent service and rebooted.

My icons came back in launchpad and dock.

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Delete the Dock database files and relaunch Dock:

rm ~/Library/Application\ Support/Dock/*.db && killall -HUP Dock
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    I don't recommend to delete these files, to my know this resets the while dock.
    – idmean
    Commented Apr 7, 2014 at 17:16
  • @wumm Yes it will reset the dock, but it is also likely to fix the problem. You can always make a backup of the files first and restore them if the problem was not fixed.
    – grg ♦
    Commented Aug 16, 2014 at 17:44
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i read on another website if you type the following in terminal the launch pad gets back to normal:

rm ~/Library/Application\ Support/Dock/*.db; killall Dock

i had the same problem and this worked so hope it helps anyone else with the same problem.

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  • This does help BUT ! only for a few days. Then the problem returns.
    – ILIV
    Commented Nov 1, 2017 at 8:31
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A less intrusive way to tell LaunchPad to reset it's settings and regenerate app listing and icons is to perform this command line step:

defaults -currentHost write com.apple.dock ResetLaunchPad -bool true; killall Dock

Your screen desktop may blank and the dock will go away momentarily. If this doesn't work, the next step is to log out and back in. A reboot also could help further in some limited cases.

See more discussion at https://apple.stackexchange.com/a/194073/5472 and https://apple.stackexchange.com/a/150973/5472

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  • For me, I tried many ways, only this one works for me. Thanks!
    – Hongbo Miao
    Commented Jul 24, 2019 at 18:46
  • This also resets the LaunchPad to its default factory state, i.e., cluttered up with apps you don't want, don't need, don't use, and can't get rid of.
    – hbquikcomjamesl
    Commented May 19, 2023 at 19:06
  • Yes @hbquikcomjamesl that is what regenerating the app listing does... It removes the customizations and / changes from the default, causes the icons to be read and stored again in the database. The other answers do that as well, less safely and more margin of error.
    – bmike ♦
    Commented May 19, 2023 at 21:12
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  1. Open Finder
  2. Go to "~/Library/Application Support/Dock".
  3. Find file *.db, delete it,
  4. Open Terminal, type killall Dock, and all icons return.
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