macOS-defaults

When enabled, open documents and windows will be restored when you re-open an application. This setting uses the NSQuitAlwaysKeepsWindows boolean parameter in the NSGlobalDomain.

⚠️ Note: Restarting the Mac or closing the session is necessary for changes to take effect.

• Tested on macOS: Sequoia
• Parameter type: bool

macOS applications and system services use the defaults system to store user preferences (like fonts or panel positions) in XML Property Lists.

Key concepts:

• Domains: Preferences are organized into domains, which usually correspond to specific applications.
• NSGlobalDomain: A shared domain used by multiple applications and system services. If a preference is not found in an application's specific domain, the system may look in NSGlobalDomain.
• Keys and Values: Each domain contains a dictionary of keys (strings) and values (which can be strings, arrays, dictionaries, or binary data).

To completely remove the custom DragLock setting and reset it to the macOS system default, use the defaults delete command.

defaults delete com.apple.AppleMultitouchTrackpad "DragLock"

macOS provides several built-in keyboard shortcuts for capturing the screen:

• Fullscreen capture: ⌘ cmd + ⇧ shift + 3 captures the entire screen.
• Selection capture: ⌘ cmd + ⇧ shift + 4 allows you to select a specific area. After selecting the area, you can press space to capture an entire application window.
• Screenshot utility: ⌘ cmd + ⇧ shift + 5 opens the Screenshot app/interface for more granular options.

To completely reset the showWindowTitlebarIcons setting to its system default, delete the key from the com.apple.universalaccess domain and restart Finder.

defaults delete com.apple.universalaccess "showWindowTitlebarIcons" && killall Finder

You can adjust the size of icons in the Finder sidebar by modifying the NSTableViewDefaultSizeMode key in the NSGlobalDomain. This affects the visual scale of the sidebar elements.

Parameter type: int (integer)

Tested on macOS versions:

• Sonoma
• Ventura
• Monterey
• Big Sur
• Catalina

To hide connected servers on the macOS desktop (the default behavior), set the ShowMountedServersOnDesktop key in the com.apple.finder domain to false. You must restart the Finder process for the changes to take effect.

defaults write com.apple.finder "ShowMountedServersOnDesktop" -bool "false" && killall Finder

To revert the Dock icon size to its system default, delete the tilesize key from the com.apple.dock domain and restart the Dock process.

defaults delete com.apple.dock "tilesize" && killall Dock

Use the following command to check the current value of the ShowRemovableMediaOnDesktop setting in com.apple.finder.

defaults read com.apple.finder "ShowRemovableMediaOnDesktop"

You can customize the time and date format displayed in the macOS Menu Bar digital clock by modifying the DateFormat key in the com.apple.menuextra.clock domain.

Accepted format tokens include:

• ss: seconds
• HH: 24-hour clock
• EEE: 3-letter day of the week
• d MMM: day of the month and 3-letter month

Note: Accepted values depend on your system's Language & Region settings. This has been tested on macOS Monterey, Big Sur, and Catalina.

defaults write com.apple.menuextra.clock "DateFormat" -string "\"EEE d MMM HH:mm:ss\""