The preferences below can be applied using defaults
Use at your own risk.
Many of these values can harm your system if used improperly.
Before making changes with defaults write, use defaults read and make a note of any current settings.
defaults delete can be used to remove a preference completely.
Some of these changes require a logout/restart to take effect. All settings are case sensitive.
A boolean value can be given as -bool[ean] TRUE, FALSE, YES or NO (not case sensitive).
Applications do access the defaults system while they're running, so don’t modify the defaults of a running application. If you change a default in a domain that belongs to a running application, the application won’t see the change and might even overwrite the default. This includes the 'System Preferences' app.
Enable multitouch trackpad auto orientation sensing (for all users)
$ defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.apple.MultitouchSupport ForceAutoOrientation -booleanMap navigation swipe to 3 fingers (turn this off to get 4-finger navigation swipe)
$ defaults write com.apple.systempreferences com.apple.preference.trackpad.3fdrag-4fNavigate -boolean-negHide Shutdown Button on Login Window:
$ defaults write com.apple.loginwindow ShutDownDisabled -bool trueRemove Restart Button From Login Window:
$ defaults write com.apple.loginwindow RestartDisabled -bool trueDisable creation of Metadata Files on Network Volumes (avoids creation of .DS_Store and AppleDouble ._ files.)
$ defaults write com.apple.desktopservices DSDontWriteNetworkStores -bool trueDisable creation of Metadata Files on USB Volumes (avoids creation of .DS_Store and AppleDouble ._ files.)
$ defaults write com.apple.desktopservices DSDontWriteUSBStores -bool trueDisable Login for Hidden User ">Console"
$ defaults write com.apple.loginwindow DisableConsoleAccess -bool trueAdd a message to the login screen:
$ sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.apple.loginwindow LoginwindowText "Your Message"Change login screen background:
$ sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.apple.loginwindow DesktopPicture "/Library/Desktop Pictures/Aqua Blue.jpg"Disable transparency in the menu bar and elsewhere
Yosemite - equivalent to System Preferences ➞ Accessibility ➞ Display ➞ "Reduce Transparency"
defaults write com.apple.universalaccess reduceTransparency -bool trueDisable Expose
$ defaults write com.apple.dock mcx-expose-disabled -boolean trueIn Expose, only show windows from the current space:
$ defaults write com.apple.dock wvous-show-windows-in-other-spaces -bool FALSE
$ killall DockIn Expose, show other spaces' windows (default):
$ defaults delete com.apple.dock wvous-show-windows-in-other-spaces
$ killall DockEnable 64-bit Kernel:
$ defaults write /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/com.apple.Boot.plist Kernel Flags -stringTurn off the “Application Downloaded from Internet” quarantine warning:
$ defaults write com.apple.LaunchServices LSQuarantine -bool NO
Restore the the 'Save As' menu item (Equivalent to adding a Keyboard shortcut in the System Preferences.app )
$ defaults write -g NSUserKeyEquivalents -dict-add 'Save As...' '@$S'Save to disk (not to iCloud) by default:
$ defaults write -g NSDocumentSaveNewDocumentsToCloud -bool falseExpand 'Save As…' dialog boxes by default:
defaults write -g NSNavPanelExpandedStateForSaveMode -boolean true
defaults write -g NSNavPanelExpandedStateForSaveMode2 -bool trueExpand print panel dialog boxes by default:
defaults write -g PMPrintingExpandedStateForPrint -boolean true
defaults write -g PMPrintingExpandedStateForPrint2 -bool trueGlobal User Interface Scale Multiplier:
$ defaults write -g AppleDisplayScaleFactor -floatHolding down a character key will repeat the character:
$ defaults write -g ApplePressAndHoldEnabled -bool falseHolding down a character key will popup a small menu showing accent characters à, á, â etc (default in recent macOS versions):
$ defaults write -g ApplePressAndHoldEnabled -bool trueEnable continuous spell checking everywhere:
$ defaults write -g WebContinuousSpellCheckingEnabled -boolean trueEnable automatic dash replacement everywhere:
$ defaults write -g WebAutomaticDashSubstitutionEnabled -boolean trueEnable automatic text replacement everywhere:
$ defaults write -g WebAutomaticTextReplacementEnabled -boolean trueQuit Printer App after Print Jobs complete:
$ defaults write com.apple.print.PrintingPrefs "Quit When Finished" -bool trueIcon Size for Open Panels:
$ defaults write -g NSNavPanelIconViewIconSizeForOpenMode -numberKeyboard press and hold behavior:
$ defaults write -g ApplePressAndHoldEnabled -boolean true
Display the current font smoothing:
$ defaults -currentHost read -globalDomain AppleFontSmoothing
Change the font smoothing (0=off, 1=light, 2=Medium/flat panel, 3=strong/blurred)
This is mostly needed for non-Apple displays.
$ defaults -currentHost write -globalDomain AppleFontSmoothing -int 0
Restart applications to see the effect
Delete the setting completely (restore default)
$ defaults -currentHost delete -globalDomain AppleFontSmoothingSet the font anti-aliasing minimum sizes, globally or per-application:
$ defaults -currentHost write .GlobalPreferences AppleSmoothFontsSizeThreshold -int 16
$ defaults -currentHost write .GlobalPreferences AppleFontSmoothing -int 0
$ defaults -currentHost write com.apple.safari AppleAntiAliasingThreshold -int 16
Access the Debug menu in Contacts/Address Book (Set to NO to revert to the default):
$ defaults write com.apple.addressbook ABShowDebugMenu -bool YES
Do not share the "search for" string with other applications:
$ defaults write com.barebones.bbedit FindDialog_UsesFindScrap -bool NOUse old style modal Find Dialog:
$ defaults write com.barebones.bbedit FindDialog:UseOldSk00lFindDialog -boolean trueControl-left-arrow or Control-right-arrow to scroll horizontally (pre-8.5 behavior )
$ defaults write com.barebones.bbedit Editor_ControlArrowCamelCase -bool NO
$ defaults write com.barebones.bbedit Editor_ControlArrowHScroll -bool YESControl-left-arrow or Control-right-arrow to jump to the next (or previous) transition from lower-case to upper-case characters (or a word boundary, whichever comes first). This is the default:
$ defaults write com.barebones.bbedit Editor_ControlArrowCamelCase -bool YES
$ defaults write com.barebones.bbedit Editor_ControlArrowHScroll -bool NOmore BBEdit prefs.
Drag widgets out of dashboard (devmode)
$ defaults write com.apple.dashboard devmode -boolean YES/NO
Reuse dictionary definition window:
$ defaults write com.apple.Dictionary ProhibitNewWindowForRequest -boolean YES/NO
Show hidden Partitions:
$ defaults write com.apple.DiskUtility DUShowEveryPartition -boolean YES/NO
Show indicator lights for open applications in the dock:
$ defaults write com.apple.dock show-process-indicators -bool true
$ killall Dock
Disable Bouncing dock icons:
$ defaults write com.apple.dock no-bouncing -bool True
$ killall Dock
To re-enable, set this back to FalseMinimize windows into their application’s icon
$ defaults write com.apple.dock minimize-to-application -bool trueMake the Dock Icon of any 'Hidden' Applications Dim/Translucent:
$ defaults write com.apple.Dock showhidden -bool YES
$ killall DockDisable multi-display swoosh animations
$ defaults write com.apple.dock workspaces-swoosh-animation-off -bool YES && killall Dock
Re-enable with
$ defaults delete com.apple.dock workspaces-swoosh-animation-off && killall DockRemove the animation when hiding or showing the dock
$ defaults write com.apple.dock autohide-time-modifier -float 0Enable iTunes pop-up notifications:
$ defaults write com.apple.dock itunes-notifications -boolean dockMinimize Dock effect Genie (default)
$ defaults write com.apple.dock mineffect -string "genie" && killall DockMinimize Dock effect Scale:
$ defaults write com.apple.dock mineffect -string "scale" && killall DockMinimize Dock effect Suck:
$ defaults write com.apple.dock mineffect -string "suck" && killall DockTurn the Dock icons translucent for applications that are open but hidden:
$ defaults write com.apple. Dock showhidden -bool YES;
$ killall Dock
(replace 'YES' with 'NO' to disable this feature)Add a 'Recent Applications' stack to the Dock.
$ defaults write com.apple.dock persistent-others -array-add '{ "tile-data" = { "list-type" = 1; }; "tile-type" = "recents-tile"; }'
$ killall Dock
To remove - just drag out of the dock again
Stacks, Activate Mouse Over Gradient:
$ defaults write com.apple.dock mouse-over-hilte-stack -boolean YES
$ killall Dock
To deactivate set back to NODelete the icon cache to force a rebuild:
$ rm /var/folders/*/*/*/com.apple.dock.iconcache; killall Dock
Show hidden files:
$ defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles TRUE
$ killall Finder
Hide hidden files (default)
$ defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles FALSE
$ killall FinderShow all filename extensions
$ defaults write NSGlobalDomain AppleShowAllExtensions -bool true
Disable the macOS Crash reporter (quit dialog after an application crash)
$ defaults write com.apple.CrashReporter DialogType none
To enable the crash reporter (default) change none to prompt
Disable dashboard widgets (saves RAM)
$ defaults write com.apple.dashboard mcx-disabled -boolean YES
To Enable dashboard widgets (default) set this to NO
Disable the New Window Animation:
$ defaults write NSGlobalDomain NSAutomaticWindowAnimationsEnabled -bool NO
To enable the animation (default) set this to YES# Show the Status Bar, this can also be toggled on the View menu:
$ defaults write com.apple.finder ShowStatusBar -bool true
# Hide the Status Bar (Default)
$ defaults write com.apple.finder ShowStatusBar -bool falseStart the status bar Path at $HOME (instead of Hard drive)
$ defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.apple.finder PathBarRootAtHome -bool TRUE/FALSEEnable Remote Disc (1)
$ defaults write com.apple.NetworkBrowser EnableODiskBrowsing -boolean trueEnable Remote Disc (2)
$ defaults write com.apple.NetworkBrowser ODSSupported -boolean trueEnable movie preview thumbnails:
$ defaults write com.apple.QuickLookDaemon QLDisableQTThumbnails -boolean NOPlayable icon previews (Movie/PDF files) Minimum size in pixels, default is 64:
Setting this to a large value will effectively disable the preview.
$ defaults write com.apple.finder QLInlinePreviewMinimumSupportedSize -integerAuto stop previews when scrolling:
$ defaults write com.apple.finder AutoStopWhenScrollingOffBounds -boolean TRUEAuto stop previews when selection changes:
$ defaults write com.apple.finder AutoStopWhenSelectionChanges -boolean TRUEShow X-ray for folders with custom icons:
$ defaults write com.apple.DisableXRayForFoldersWithCustomIcons -boolean NOShow X-ray folders in QuickLook:
$ defaults write com.apple.finder QLEnableXRayFolders -boolean TRUE; killall FinderEnable slow motion with shift key on QuickLook:
$ defaults write com.apple.finder QLEnableSlowMotion -boolean TRUE$ Hide QuickLook on deactivation or application switch:
$ defaults write com.apple.finder QLHidePanelOnDeactivate -boolean TRUEWhen performing a search, search the current folder by default (the default 'This Mac' is "SCev")
$ defaults write com.apple.finder FXDefaultSearchScope -string "SCcf"Show version column in search results:
$ defaults write com.apple.finder SearchViewSettings.ListViewSettings.columns.version.visible -boolean TRUEShow label column in search results:
$ defaults write com.apple.finder SearchViewSettings.ListViewSettings.columns.label.visible -boolean TRUEShow comments column in search results:
$ defaults write com.apple.finder SearchViewSettings.ListViewSettings.columns.comments.visible -boolean TRUEShow size column in search results:
$ defaults write com.apple.finder SearchViewSettings.ListViewSettings.columns.size.visible -boolean TRUESet the sidebar icon size to small, medium or Large:
$ defaults write NSGlobalDomain NSTableViewDefaultSizeMode -int 1
$ defaults write NSGlobalDomain NSTableViewDefaultSizeMode -int 2
$ defaults write NSGlobalDomain NSTableViewDefaultSizeMode -int 1Disable the warning when changing a file extension
$ defaults write com.apple.finder FXEnableExtensionChangeWarning -bool falseUse white text for desktop icons:
$ defaults write com.apple.finder Desktop.HasDarkBackground -boolean TRUEShow stripes in list view:
$ defaults write com.apple.finder FXListViewStripes -boolean TRUE; killall FinderAllow quitting Finder like any other app, quitting Finder will also hide all desktop icons.
This is only really useful when using a 3rd party file manager:
$ defaults write com.apple.finder QuitMenuItem -bool YES; killall Finder
Set the preferred display to use:
$ defaults write com.apple.frontrow FrontRowUsePreferredDisplayID -integer
Log HTTP Activity:
$ defaults write com.apple.iCal LogHTTPActivity -boolean TRUE
Make the arrows next to artist & album jump to local iTunes library folders instead of Store:
$ defaults write com.apple.iTunes show-store-link-arrows -bool YES
$ defaults write com.apple.iTunes invertStoreLinks -bool YES
To restore the default change the YES to NO
Restore the standard close/minimise buttons:
$ defaults write com.apple.iTunes full-window -1
Hide the iTunes Genre list:
$ defaults write com.apple.iTunes show-genre-when-browsing -bool FALSE
Close Apple Mail before making any changes.
Set a minimum font size of 14px (affects reading and sending email):
$ defaults write com.apple.mail MinimumHTMLFontSize 14
Force all Mail messages to display as plain text:
$ defaults write com.apple.mail PreferPlainText -bool TRUE
For rich text (the default) set it to FALSEDisable tracking of Previous Recipients:
$ defaults write com.apple.mail SuppressAddressHistory -boolean TRUESend Windows friendly attachments:
$ defaults write com.apple.mail SendWindowsFriendlyAttachments -boolean TRUE
Enable momentum scrolling for Magic Mouse:
$ defaults write com.apple.driver.AppleBluetoothMultitouch.mouse MouseMomentumScroll -boolean TRUE
Allow scroll wheel zooming:
$ defaults write com.omnigroup.OmniGraffle DisableScrollWheelZooming -boolean NOAllow scroll wheel zooming in OmniGrafflePro:
$ defaults write com.omnigroup.OmniGrafflePro DisableScrollWheelZooming -boolean NO
Scale images by default when printing:
$ defaults write write com.apple.Preview PVImagePrintingScaleMode -boolean TRUEPreview Auto-rotate by default when printing:
$ defaults write write com.apple.Preview PVImagePrintingAutoRotate -boolean TRUEQuit Always Keeps Windows:
$ defaults write com.apple.Preview NSQuitAlwaysKeepsWindows -boolean TRUE
Automatically show Closed Captions (CC) when opening a Movie:
$ defaults -currentHost write com.apple.QuickTimePlayerX.plist MGEnableCCAndSubtitlesOnOpen -bool TRUE
Enable encoding detector:
$ defaults write com.apple.Safari WebKitUsesEncodingDetector -boolean TRUETooltip Font Size:
$ defaults write com.apple.Safari NSToolTipsFontSize -floatEnable debug menu:
$ defaults write com.apple.Safari IncludeInternalDebugMenu -boolean TRUE
Debug (To Show Bonjour)
$ defaults write com.apple.ScreenSharing debug -booleanDo Not Send Special Keys to Remote Machine
$ defaults write com.apple.ScreenSharing DoNotSendSystemKeys -boolean TRUESkip local address check:
$ defaults write com.apple.ScreenSharing skipLocalAddressCheck -boolean TRUEScreen sharing image quality for Apple’s built-in VNC server:
1 = black and white 2 = grayscale 3 = 8-bit color 4 = 16-bit color 5 = full color
$ defaults write com.apple.ScreenSharing controlObserveQuality -integer 5
Remove the drop shadows from saved screenshots (Mojave and higher):
defaults write com.apple.screencapture disable-shadow -bool TRUE && killall SystemUIServerRestore the default drop shadows:
defaults write com.apple.screencapture disable-shadow -bool FALSE && killall SystemUIServerSet the screenshot location to the Desktop (default):
defaults write com.apple.screencapture "location" -string "~/Desktop" && killall SystemUIServerSet the screenshot location to ~/Pictures
defaults write com.apple.screencapture "location" -string "~/Pictures" && killall SystemUIServerRead the current screenshot location:
defaults read com.apple.screencapture "location"Restore the default screenshot location:
defaults delete com.apple.screencapture "location" && killall SystemUIServer
While applying any changes to SoftwareUpdate defaults, set software update to OFF to avoid any conflict with the defaults system cache. (Also close the System Preferences app)
sudo softwareupdate --schedule OFF
<apply changes>
sudo softwareupdate --schedule ONAutomatically check for updates (required for any downloads):
$ sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.apple.SoftwareUpdate.plist AutomaticCheckEnabled -bool YESDownload updates automatically in the background
$ sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.apple.SoftwareUpdate AutomaticDownload -bool YESInstall app updates automatically:
$ sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.apple.commerce AutoUpdate -bool YESDon’t Install macos updates automatically
$ sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.apple.commerce AutoUpdateRestartRequired -bool falseInstall system data file updates automatically:
$ sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.apple.SoftwareUpdate.plist ConfigDataInstall -bool YESInstall critical security updates automatically:
$ sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.apple.SoftwareUpdate.plist CriticalUpdateInstall -bool YES
When switching applications, switch to respective space
$ defaults write -g AppleSpacesSwitchOnActivate -bool true
Disable Multicast:
$ defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.apple.RemoteManagement ARD_MulticastAllowed -boolean
Set the maximum number of computers that can be observed:
$ defaults write com.apple.RemoteDesktop multiObserveMaxPerScreen -integer 9
(up to 50 opposed to the default of 9)
Terminal windows take focus with mouse over window:
$ defaults write com.apple.terminal FocusFollowsMouse -string YESTerminal windows take focus with click (default)
$ defaults write com.apple.terminal FocusFollowsMouse -string NO
Auto backup:
$ defaults write com.apple.TimeMachine AutoBackup =1Backup frequency default= 3600 seconds (every hour) 1800 = 1/2 hour, 7200=2 hours
$ sudo defaults write /System/Library/Launch Daemons/com.apple.backupd-auto StartInterval -int 1800
defaults - set preferences, for both macOS and individual applications.
More macOS and App defaults from macos-defaults.com.
sudo - Execute a command as another user.
macOS How To