Google Docs, Sheets & Slides
Not applications — Chrome shortcuts that open the Google editors in their own window.
What it does
Google Docs.app, Google Sheets.app and Google Slides.app in /Applications are not native applications. Chrome’s Install page as app (formerly Create shortcut) writes a small bundle that launches Chrome with a fixed URL, no address bar, and its own Dock icon and window.
The effect is that the editors behave like separate apps: Cmd-Tab reaches them, they keep their own window state, and they are not lost among thirty browser tabs.
Notes
- They depend on the Chrome profile that created them. Removing that profile, or Chrome, breaks them.
- They are not offline-capable beyond what Google’s own offline mode provides, and not native — everything runs in Chrome.
- Recreate one from Chrome: open the site, then ⋮ → Cast, save and share → Install page as app.
- Nothing to install through Homebrew; the only prerequisite is Google Chrome.
Alternative to
| Alternative | Type | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Pages, Numbers and Keynote | Built in | Native, and they open Office formats |
| Microsoft 365 | Subscription | Real desktop apps, the answer when documents must round-trip with Office users |
| LibreOffice or OnlyOffice | Open source | Offline, no account |
| Chrome’s Install page as app | — | The same trick for any web app, not just Google’s |
Install
Open docs.google.com, then ⋮ → Cast, save and share → Install page as app. Repeat for Sheets and Slides.