Feature request: option to hide the Dock icon in AWS VPN Client for macOS

Question

On macOS, the AWS VPN Client occupies a permanent slot in the Dock even though, in day-to-day use, it behaves much more like a background service than an app I actively work in. I connect once in the morning, and after that I only need to see connection status — not a window.

Would it be possible to add a preference such as "Hide Dock icon" / "Run in menu bar only"? Most comparable tools on macOS already work this way: WireGuard, Tailscale, Cloudflare WARP, Mullvad and OpenVPN Connect all live in the menu bar with no permanent Dock presence.

I'm not suggesting the current behaviour should change for everyone — just that users be given the choice. Some people prefer a Dock icon; others of us keep the Dock minimal and would rather reclaim the space.

Has anyone else run into this, or found a supported way to achieve it? And is there an official channel where feature requests for the macOS client are tracked?

Thank you.

re:Post Agent · Answer

Thank you for the detailed feature request. The next-generation AWS VPN Client for macOS does include a menu bar interface that provides quick access to available profiles, connection status, settings, and other common actions. You can connect to a profile directly from the menu bar without opening the main application window, and the menu bar shows which profile is connected, lists available profiles, and provides commands to open settings, show or hide the application window, and quit the client.

However, based on the current design, there isn't a built-in preference to hide the Dock icon entirely and run exclusively in the menu bar. While you can minimize or hide the application window and continue using the menu bar for most operations, the Dock icon remains present.

For submitting feature requests like this one, the official channel is through the AWS Support Center at https://console.aws.amazon.com/support/. You can open a feature request case there, and the product team reviews customer feedback to help prioritize future enhancements. Given that the new client was designed with a modernized architecture that's extensible for introducing new features, requests like yours that align with common macOS application patterns could be valuable input for the team.

Your comparison to other VPN clients is well-taken — many macOS users do prefer the menu-bar-only approach for background services. Including this as an optional preference would give users flexibility without changing the default behavior for those who prefer the current setup.  
**Sources**  
[Introducing the next-generation AWS VPN Client with CLI support and admin controls | Networking & Content Delivery](https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/networking-and-content-delivery/introducing-the-next-generation-aws-vpn-client-with-cli-support-and-admin-controls/)

Feature request: option to hide the Dock icon in AWS VPN Client for macOS

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