When comparing Docky vs Ulauncher, the Slant community recommends Ulauncher for most people. In the question“What are the best app launchers for UNIX-like systems?” Ulauncher is ranked 3rd while Docky is ranked 5th. The most important reason people chose Ulauncher is:
Ulauncher comes with very reasonable defaults, looks good and just works.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Panel mode
For those that do not like the OSX dock look there is also a panel mode included that pushed the apps to the left side of the panel and elongates the dock to fill the entire bottom of the screen, just as a regular OS panel would.
Pro Drag and drop apps to the dock
Users can easily drag and drop apps to the dock for easy launching. Any app that is added will stay on the dock until removed manually. This makes for a great way to have all of ones most used apps in one place.
Pro Many themes
There are several themes installed with the dock by default that aare easily switched in the settings. What is even better is that there are many themes available online for download as well. With the best part being thatt he themes are simple .svg files that are easily editable in Inkscape to customize to how one wants.
Pro Highly Customisable.
Pro Plugin Docklets
Docky provides simple applications that run inside of the dock such as a clock, weather forecaster and CPU monitor. These provide an easy way to see information without having to open up separate apps.
Pro Simple
Ulauncher comes with very reasonable defaults, looks good and just works.
Pro Fast
Pro Allows custom shortcuts
Pro Themeable
ULauncher supports themes and comes with a good supply on install but more can also be made.
Pro Supports fuzzy search
You can enter app name with a typo and Ulauncher will still be able to find it.
Pro Supports extensions in Python
With Ulauncher you can easily add and update third party extensions. From kill process to windows switching, many of them work very well. The extension API is documented and if you know Python you can create and share your own extensions.
Pro Actively maintained
Unlike Albert or others, it is actually being maintained.
Pro Good extension ecosystem
Pro Good look
Ulauncher looks modern & can be customized with many themes.
Pro Direct plugin install from GitHub
Can fork, customize, and install instantly.
Pro Extensions are really easy to write by yourself
Pro Quick search
Pro Able to launch Kdialog, Zenity and Bash scripts
Extensions are easily created. Python script is all open to see. Not compiled like some.
Cons
Con Removing Docky icon is not as easy as it should be
gconf editor is required in order to remove the Docky icon from the dock, which seems unnecessary as the setting exists, it should be in the app settings instead of hidden away in gconf.
Con Extensions store is confusing, lots of redundant extensions.
There are dozens of extensions, which is good, but as an average user it is hard to find what you are looking for. It is unclear to me how updating plugins work.
Con Needs more posibilities for extensions
Currently, extensions can run only when you type their alias and <space>. There is no way to see results from multiple extensions at once. The output is also limited just to rows.