macOS Tweaks
macOS has many settings that System Settings doesn't show. Saiki puts 127 of them on one page, sorted by category, and remembers what each was so you can always put it back.
Open it
Type macos tweaks (or tweaks, defaults or hidden settings) and press ↵ on macOS Tweaks. It opens Settings → macOS Tweaks. You can also type a tweak's name, like show hidden files, in the bar or in Settings' search to go straight to its row.
The tweaks
Each category has its own card:
| Card | For example |
|---|---|
| Finder | Show Hidden Files, Show All File Extensions, Show Path Bar, Keep Folders on Top, New Finder Window Opens To. |
| Dock | Auto-Hide Dock, Auto-Hide Delay, Dock Icon Size, Minimize Effect, Show Recent Applications. |
| Screenshots | Screenshot Save Location, Screenshot File Format, Disable Window Screenshot Shadow, Show Thumbnail Preview. |
| Desktop & Spaces | Show Desktop Icons, Disable Auto-Rearrange Spaces, the four Hot Corners. |
| Windows & Stage Manager | Click Wallpaper to Show Desktop, Stage Manager, Tile Windows by Dragging. |
| Animations | Disable Window Animations, Mission Control Animation Speed, Window Resize Speed, Reduce Motion. |
| Keyboard & Input | Key Repeat Rate, Initial Key Repeat Delay, Disable Auto-Correct, Disable Smart Quotes & Dashes. |
| Trackpad & Mouse | Tap to Click, Three-Finger Drag, Tracking Speed, Natural Scroll Direction. |
| Safari | Show Full URL, Enable Develop Menu, Always Restore Session at Launch. |
| Copy Email Addresses Without Names, Disable Inline Attachment Previews. | |
| Security & Privacy | Require Password Immediately After Sleep, Limit Ad Tracking. |
| Menu Bar & UI | Clock Format, Show Battery Percentage, Show the Menu Bar in Full Screen. |
| Apps | TextEdit: Default to Plain Text, Activity Monitor: Show All Processes. |
| Sound | User Interface Sound Effects, Volume Change Feedback Sound. |
| Miscellaneous | Disable Crash Reporter Dialog, Spring Loading Delay, Save to Disk by Default. |
A few tweaks need a newer macOS; on an older one they aren't listed. Each row says what the tweak does in a line under its name. Tweaks marked advanced: know what it changes are ones to read before you turn them on.
Change a tweak
A tweak is either a switch or a choice. Select the row and press ↵: a switch turns on or off, and a choice steps to its next option. Clicking the switch or the choice does the same.
Switches read the way their names do: Show Desktop Icons is On while the icons show, and a tweak named Disable … is On while that thing is off. The row always shows what your Mac has now, even if you changed it somewhere else, such as in Terminal.
A tweak that differs from macOS's default shows the back arrow. Press ⌘⌫ (Put Back) to put it back; a message says it's back to what it was.
Putting things back
Before Saiki changes a setting for the first time, it writes down the value that was there (or that there was none). When you turn the tweak back off, or press Put Back, Saiki writes back exactly that value, or removes the setting again if there wasn't one. A tweak that changes several settings at once puts all of them back.
A tweak that was already changed before Saiki touched it goes back to macOS's default when you put it back.
Reset Page to Defaults (⌘⇧⌫) at the bottom of the page puts back every tweak you've changed at once, after a card asks.
Restarting Finder, the Dock or an app
Some settings are only read when an app starts. After you change one of those, a card asks, for example, Restart Finder to apply “Show Hidden Files”?
- For Finder, the Dock and other parts of macOS, ⌘↵ restarts them. They come back in a moment with their windows, and nothing is lost.
- For an app such as Safari or Mail, Saiki asks it to quit (it can ask you to save first) and opens it again. An app that isn't running is left alone.
- Later (esc) restarts nothing. The change applies the next time that app opens.
Turning it off
The switch at the top of Settings → macOS Tweaks takes the page and the command out of Saiki. It doesn't change your Mac: tweaks you turned on stay on. Put them back first if you want macOS's own settings again.