Mac guides

How to tune macOS

Plain-English answers to the settings Apple buries in Terminal — and the one-click way to do each.

Finder & files

Show hidden files on Mac → Always show file extensions → Show the hidden ~/Library folder → Delete & stop .DS_Store files → Show the Finder path bar → Show the Finder status bar → Keep folders on top → Default to Column view → Full path in the title bar → Quit Finder with ⌘Q → Change new-window folder → Stop .DS_Store on drives → Instant spring-loaded folders → Batch-rename files → Recover deleted files → How to Use Finder Tags on Mac to Organize Files → How to Create Smart Folders on Mac (Saved Searches) → Finder Get Info on Mac: Every Section Explained → Alias vs Symlink on Mac: What's the Difference? → How to Make an Alias on Mac (Shortcut to a File) → How to Create a Symlink on Mac With ln -s → AirDrop Not Working on Mac? 9 Fixes That Help → Where Do AirDrop Files Go on Mac? → How to AirDrop From Mac to iPhone (and Back) → How to Zip Files on Mac (and Unzip Them) → How to Password Protect a Zip File on Mac → How to Open RAR Files on Mac → How to Open 7z Files on Mac → How to Change File Permissions on Mac (Get Info) → Quick Look on Mac: Preview Files Without Opening Them → How to Customize the Finder Toolbar on Mac → How to Use Finder Tabs on Mac (Merge All Windows) → Open Terminal at a Folder From Finder on Mac → How to Show Folder Sizes in Finder on Mac → Set Default Finder View Options for Every Folder → Stationery Pad on Mac: Turn Any File Into a Template → Change the Default App for a File Type on Mac → How to Use the Finder Preview Pane on Mac → Change Icon Size and Grid Spacing in Finder on Mac → The Recents Folder on Mac: Where Files Really Live → Stop the 'Change the Extension?' Warning on Mac → Turn Off the Empty Trash Confirmation on Mac → Delete Files Immediately on Mac (Skip the Trash) → Finder Keyboard Shortcuts: The Ones Worth Learning → Drag Files From a Window's Title Bar on Mac → How to Change a Folder Icon on Mac → How to Create a New Text File in a Finder Folder → Share Folders Over Your Network From a Mac (SMB) → Connect to a Server in Finder on Mac (Cmd+K) → External Drive Not Showing Up on Mac? Fixes → NTFS Drive Read-Only on Mac: Why and What to Do → How to Format an External Drive on Mac (APFS vs ExFAT) → How to Compare Two Folders on Mac → Restore Previous Versions of a File on Mac → Can't Eject a Disk Because It's in Use? Fix It on Mac → Quick Look Not Working on Mac? How to Fix It → Finder Quick Actions on Mac: Rotate, Convert & More → How to Copy a File Path on Mac (3 Fast Ways) → Go to Folder on Mac: The Fastest Way Around Finder → Finder Search Operators on Mac: kind, date, and More → Make Finder Search the Current Folder by Default → How to Merge Folders on Mac Without Replacing Files → How to Cut and Paste Files on Mac (Move, Not Copy) → How to Lock a File or Folder on Mac → How to Customize the Finder Sidebar on Mac → Show hidden files on Mac to open the Library folder → See dotfiles like .zshrc and .gitignore in Finder → Show hidden files to remove leftover app data → Can't see a file on your Mac? Reveal hidden files → Show hidden files like .env and .htaccess for web work → Show file extensions on Mac to spot fake files → See file extensions when renaming files on Mac → Show extensions to tell .js, .ts and .jsx apart on Mac → See .heic vs .jpg photo extensions in Finder → Always show every file's extension on Mac → Hide desktop icons for clean screen recordings → Hide desktop icons before taking a screenshot → Hide a messy Mac desktop instantly → Hide desktop clutter during a presentation → Hide desktop icons for a tidy Zoom screen share → Show the full folder path in Finder's title bar → See the full path in Finder to navigate deep folders → Show the folder path in Finder for documentation → Tell duplicate folders apart with the Finder path → Show and copy the full folder path in Finder → Empty the Trash on Mac without the warning → Stop Mac asking 'are you sure' when emptying Trash → Skip the empty-Trash confirmation on Mac → Empty Trash instantly with a shortcut and no prompt → Turn off the empty-Trash warning on Mac → Make external drives show on the Mac desktop → External drive not appearing on Mac desktop? Fix it → Show external drives on the desktop for quick eject → Show all connected drives on the Mac desktop → See your Time Machine or backup drive on the desktop → Stop your Mac writing .DS_Store files to USB drives → Keep .DS_Store files off shared USB drives → Stop .DS_Store clutter on USB sticks from your Mac → Stop your Mac creating .DS_Store on USB and network drives → Stop .DS_Store files appearing on external drives → Make Finder search the current folder by default → Search only the current folder in Finder on Mac → Stop Finder searching the whole Mac when you type → Change Finder search scope to the current folder → Set Finder to search the folder you're in → Show the path bar in Finder on Mac → Use the Finder path bar to jump to parent folders → Show the Finder path bar to copy a folder's path → See your location in Finder with the path bar → Turn on the Finder path bar on Mac → Make Finder always open in list view on Mac → Stop Finder opening folders in icon view → Set list view as the default in Finder → Default Finder to list view for sortable columns → Force list view on every Finder folder → Open new Finder windows to Home, not Recents → Change where new Finder windows open on Mac → Make Finder open to your Home folder → Stop Finder opening to Recents on Mac → Set the default folder for new Finder windows → Stop the warning when changing a file extension on Mac → Change file extensions on Mac without the warning → Turn off the extension-change warning in Finder → Rename a file's extension on Mac without confirmation → Skip the file-extension change warning on Mac → How to Share a Folder on Mac → The Best Finder Settings to Change on a Mac →

Screenshots

Screenshot without the shadow → Change where screenshots save → Save screenshots as JPG → Remove the date from names → Disable the thumbnail preview → Record your screen → Take a scrolling screenshot → How to Take a Screenshot on a Mac (All the Shortcuts) → How to Screenshot a Single Window on Mac → How to Show the Mouse Pointer in Mac Screenshots → How to Copy a Screenshot Straight to the Clipboard on Mac → How to Take a Timed Screenshot on Mac (5 or 10 Seconds) → How to Mark Up a Screenshot on Mac (No Extra Apps) → How to Screenshot a Drop-Down Menu on Mac → How to Screenshot the Touch Bar on a MacBook Pro → Every Screenshot Format Your Mac Supports (PNG to PDF) → Screenshot Not Working on Mac? 8 Fixes → Save Mac screenshots as JPG to shrink file size → Send Mac screenshots to a folder, not the desktop → Make smaller Mac screenshots for email and the web → Save lighter screenshots for bug reports on Mac → Stop Mac screenshots being huge PNG files → Skip the floating screenshot thumbnail on Mac → Stop the screenshot preview thumbnail on Mac → Stop the screenshot thumbnail getting in the way → Make screenshots save instantly, no thumbnail → Take rapid screenshots without the floating preview → Remove the drop shadow from Mac window screenshots → Take Mac window screenshots without the shadow border → Get clean, shadowless window screenshots on Mac → Stop Mac adding a shadow to window screenshots → Remove the screenshot shadow on Mac permanently → Show mouse clicks in Mac screen recordings → Highlight where you click in a Mac screen recording → Make clicks visible in Mac screen recordings → Show clicks when recording your screen on Mac → Add click indicators to Mac training videos → The Complete Guide to Mac Screenshots → Set Up Screenshots Properly on a New M5 Mac → The Best Mac Screenshot Settings to Change →

Dock

Make the Dock instant → Auto-hide with no delay → Resize & magnify the Dock → Move the Dock to the side → Show only active apps → Stop the Dock bounce → Remove recent apps → Add Dock spacers → How to Show the Dock on an External Monitor on Mac → Pin the Mac Dock to a Corner With a Hidden Terminal Setting → Change the Dock Minimize Effect on Mac (Genie or Scale) → How to Enable the Hidden Suck Effect for the Mac Dock → How to Minimize Windows Into the App Icon on Mac → How to Hide the Red Notification Badges on Dock Icons (Mac) → How to Add a Folder to the Dock on Mac → Change Dock Stack View on Mac: Fan, Grid, or List → How to Get the Downloads Folder Back in the Mac Dock → How to Hide the Dots Under Open Apps in the Mac Dock → How to Keep an App in the Dock Permanently on Mac → How to Add a File or Document to the Mac Dock → Dock Disappeared on Mac? 6 Ways to Get It Back → How to Fix a Frozen or Unresponsive Dock on Mac → How to Show the Dock in Full Screen Mode on Mac → How to Force Quit an App From the Dock on Mac → How to Use the Mac Dock With Your Keyboard Only → How to Quit All Open Apps at Once on Mac → How to Assign an App to a Specific Desktop on Mac → How to Make an App Open at Login From the Mac Dock → How to Find Where a Dock App Lives in Finder (Mac) → 15 Terminal Commands to Customize the Mac Dock → How to Remove Launchpad From the Dock on Mac → How to Remove iPhone App Icons From the Mac Dock → How to Fix a Question Mark Icon in the Mac Dock → How to Change App Icons in the Mac Dock → The 10 Best Dock Settings Every Mac User Should Change → How to See Recent Documents From a Dock Icon on Mac → Enable Hover Highlight in Dock Grid Stacks (Mac Trick) → How to Sort a Dock Stack on Mac (Date, Name, or Kind) → Dock Folder vs Stack: Fix the Changing Downloads Icon (Mac) → How to Remove Apps From the Dock on Mac → How to Hide the Dock and Menu Bar on Mac → How to Open a New Window From a Dock Icon on Mac → How to Open a File by Dragging It Onto a Dock Icon (Mac) → How to Enable Single App Mode in the Mac Dock → How to Dim Hidden Apps in the Mac Dock (Terminal Trick) → Scroll on Dock Icons to Show App Windows (Hidden Mac Trick) → How to Lock the Dock Size on Mac So It Can't Be Changed → How to Lock the Dock So Apps Can't Be Added or Removed (Mac) → How to Reset the Mac Dock to Its Default Settings → How to Restart the Dock on Mac (Fix a Frozen Dock) → How to Turn On Dock Magnification on Mac (and Tune It) → Keyboard Shortcut to Hide and Show the Dock on Mac → How to Add a Website to Your Mac Dock → Add a Recent Apps Stack to the Mac Dock (Hidden Feature) → How to Set an Exact Dock Size on Mac With Terminal → How to Move the Dock to Another Display on Mac → How to Stop the Dock From Moving Between Displays on Mac → How to Remove All Apps From the Mac Dock at Once → Auto-hide the Dock to reclaim space on a MacBook → Hide the Dock for a distraction-free Mac → Hide the Dock for clean screenshots and recordings → Auto-hide the Dock on an external display → Hide the Dock during presentations → Stop the Dock icon from bouncing on Mac → Make apps feel like they open instantly on Mac → Stop the distracting Dock bounce on Mac → Stop Dock icons bouncing when apps launch → Turn off the Dock bounce animation on Mac → Minimize Mac windows to the app icon → Stop minimized windows cluttering the Mac Dock → Keep the Dock clean by minimizing into the app icon → Minimize Mac windows into their app icon → Free up Dock space by minimizing into the app icon → Show only open apps in the Mac Dock → Turn the Mac Dock into an app switcher → Hide pinned apps and show only running ones in the Dock → See only running apps in the Mac Dock → Make the Mac Dock show active apps only → Speed up the Mission Control animation on Mac → Make Mission Control open instantly on Mac → Reduce the Mission Control animation delay on Mac → Faster switching in Mission Control on Mac → Fix slow Mission Control animation on Mac → Dock Setup Worth Doing on a New M5 Mac →

Keyboard & typing

Turn off autocorrect → Disable smart quotes & dashes → Stop auto-capitalization → Speed up key repeat → Disable press-and-hold accents → Use standard function keys → Tab through every control → Remap Caps Lock → Type emoji & symbols → Set up text replacements → How to Create Custom Keyboard Shortcuts on Mac → How to Remap Any Key on Your Mac (No Extra Software) → How to Use a Windows Keyboard on a Mac → What the Globe (Fn) Key Does on Mac and How to Change It → How to Change the Dictation Shortcut on Mac → Mac Dictation Commands: Punctuation, New Lines, and More → How to Turn On Sticky Keys on Mac (and What They Do) → How to Use Slow Keys on Mac to Ignore Accidental Presses → How to Adjust the Keyboard Backlight on a MacBook → Turn Keyboard Backlight Off After Inactivity on Mac → How to Add a Keyboard Language or Layout on Mac → Keyboard Shortcut to Switch Input Language on Mac → How to Show the Input Menu in the Mac Menu Bar → Make Mac Switch Keyboard Language Automatically Per App → How to Switch Your Mac Keyboard to Dvorak → How to Switch Your Mac Keyboard to Colemak → How to Type Accented Letters on Mac (é, ñ, ü, à) → Hidden Option Key Symbols on Mac: The Full Cheat Sheet → How to Type Any Unicode Character on Mac (Hex Input) → How to Show an On-Screen Keyboard on Mac → How to Type the Degree Symbol on Mac (°) → How to Type an Em Dash on Mac (— and –) → How to Type the Euro Symbol on Mac (€) → How to Type # on a Mac UK Keyboard → How to Type © ™ and ® Symbols on Mac → How to Type the Apple Logo Symbol () on Mac → How to Type a Bullet Point on Mac (•) → How to Type a Check Mark on Mac (✓ ✔ ☑) → Mac Keyboard Typing Wrong Characters? Here's the Fix → Fix Home and End Keys on Mac to Work Like Windows → How to Forward Delete on a Mac Keyboard → Page Up and Page Down on a Mac Keyboard → Delete a Whole Word or Line at Once on Mac → Select Text With the Keyboard on Mac: Every Shortcut → Switch Between Windows of the Same App on Mac → Keyboard Shortcuts to Sleep Your Mac Instantly → How to Paste Without Formatting on Mac → How to Change the Spotlight Keyboard Shortcut on Mac → How to Change Mission Control Keyboard Shortcuts on Mac → How to Stop Double-Space Adding a Period on Mac → How to Stop Accidentally Quitting Apps on Mac (Cmd+Q) → Open Any App With a Keyboard Shortcut on Mac → Mac Keyboard Symbols Explained: ⌘ ⌥ ⌃ ⇧ and More → Make Your Mac Read Text Aloud With a Keyboard Shortcut → Set a Keyboard Shortcut for Do Not Disturb on Mac → Mac Keyboard Shortcuts Not Working? 8 Fixes → Faster key repeat on Mac for gaming → Speed up key repeat for coding and Vim → Make the delete key repeat faster on Mac → Faster arrow-key repeat for long documents → Set a faster key repeat than System Settings allows → Turn off smart quotes on Mac for coding → Stop autocorrect changing technical terms on Mac → Disable autocorrect on Mac when typing another language → Turn off autocorrect on Mac completely → Keep straight quotes in Markdown and code on Mac → Use F1–F12 as standard function keys on Mac → Make F-keys work for IDE debug shortcuts on Mac → Use function keys in Excel on a Mac → Set standard F-keys for music apps on Mac → Send real F-keys to VMs and remote desktops on Mac → Fix held keys not repeating on Mac for gaming → Make held keys repeat in VS Code and Vim on Mac → Turn off the accent character popup on Mac → Stop the press-and-hold menu interrupting typing → Enable key repeat when holding a key on Mac → How to Lock Your Mac Keyboard to Clean It → Clean a MacBook Keyboard Without Typing Gibberish → How to Disable the Keyboard and Trackpad on a Mac → Keyboard Cleaner for Mac: Lock Input While You Wipe → How to Clean a MacBook Screen and Keyboard Safely → The Best Mac Keyboard Settings for Fast Typing → Mac Setup for Writers: A Distraction-Free Machine → Mac Keyboard Shortcuts Everyone Should Know →

Speed & performance

Make a slow Mac fast → Disable animations → Faster Mission Control → Reduce transparency → Stop apps reopening at login → Free up disk space → Clear caches safely → See what's using space → Manage startup items → Fully uninstall apps → Stop apps reopening windows after a Mac restart → Start your Mac clean, with no old windows → Stop your Mac reopening old windows and documents → Speed up Mac login by not reopening old apps → Stop Preview and Word reopening every old file → Reduce motion on Mac to stop animation dizziness → Make your Mac feel faster by reducing motion → Reduce motion to speed up an older Mac → Turn off distracting animations on Mac → Stop the Spaces swipe animation on Mac → Reduce transparency on Mac for clearer menus → Reduce transparency to speed up an older Mac → Make the Mac menu bar and Dock solid, not see-through → Turn off transparency effects on Mac → Reduce the blur and transparency in macOS → How to Speed Up Your Mac: The Complete Guide → kernel_task High CPU on Mac: Why It Happens & Fixes → How to Start Your Mac in Safe Mode (Apple Silicon & Intel) → How to Free Up RAM on a Mac (What Actually Works) → Safari Running Slow on Mac? 10 Fixes → Mac Slow to Start Up? How to Fix a Slow Boot → Mac Slow After a macOS Update? Here's Why → Apps Slow to Open on Mac? Causes & Fixes → Why Is My Mac So Slow? How to Find Out and Fix It → Mac Memory Pressure Explained (Green, Yellow, Red) → How to Use Activity Monitor on a Mac (Read It Properly) → How to Speed Up an Old MacBook (Honest Guide) → Speed Up a New M5 Mac (It Is Faster Than It Feels) → Mac Slow After Waking From Sleep? Here's Why →

Privacy & security

Require password on sleep → Disable personalized ads → Disable Siri suggestions → Stop Spotlight data leaks → Hide Spotlight web results → Silence the crash reporter → Save locally, not iCloud → Turn off location services → Opt out of analytics → Review app permissions → Disable Handoff → Lock your Mac instantly in a coffee shop → Require your Mac password the moment it sleeps → Stop others using your Mac when you step away → Protect your Mac's data if it's lost or stolen → Remove the password grace period after sleep on Mac → Stop your Mac saving new documents to iCloud by default → Save Mac files locally so they work offline → Save documents to your Mac when iCloud is full → Keep new documents off iCloud on Mac → Make Mac apps save to your Mac, not iCloud Drive → Turn off personalized ads on Mac → Stop Apple targeting ads on your Mac → Opt out of Apple personalized advertising on Mac → Disable Apple's ad personalization on Mac → Turn off Apple's targeted ads in macOS → The Mac Privacy & Security Checklist → MacKeeper Alternatives: Safer Ways to Tune a Mac → Meeting Mode on Mac: get screen-share ready in one click → What people actually see when you share your Mac screen → Screen share privacy checklist for Mac → Zoom screen sharing on Mac: the settings worth changing → Google Meet screen sharing on Mac: what to set up first → Microsoft Teams screen sharing on Mac: setup that works → Share one window instead of your whole Mac screen → How to clean up your Mac before screen recording → Mac setup for client calls: look professional in a minute → Eight screen sharing mistakes people make on a Mac → Privacy Settings to Check on a New M5 Mac → The Best Mac Privacy Settings to Change Today → Mac Permission Prompts Explained: What to Allow →

Menu bar & clock

Show battery percentage → Show seconds in the clock → Use a 24-hour clock → Tighten menu-bar spacing → Rearrange menu-bar icons → Hide menu-bar icons → How to Auto-Hide the Menu Bar on Mac → How to Show the Date in the Mac Menu Bar → Show or Hide the Day of the Week in the Mac Menu Bar → How to Get an Analog Clock in the Mac Menu Bar → How to Make the Mac Menu Bar Clock Blink (Flash Separators) → How to Make Your Mac Announce the Time Out Loud → How to Show the Volume Icon in the Mac Menu Bar → How to Show the Bluetooth Icon in the Mac Menu Bar → How to Show or Hide the Wi-Fi Icon in the Mac Menu Bar → How to Enable Fast User Switching in the Mac Menu Bar → How to Add the Input Menu to the Mac Menu Bar → How to Enable the Hidden Script Menu on Mac → How to Show Focus Status in the Mac Menu Bar → How to Customize Control Center on Mac → How to Pin Shortcuts to the Mac Menu Bar → How to Show or Hide Now Playing in the Mac Menu Bar → How to Add Screen Mirroring to the Mac Menu Bar → How to Add Accessibility Shortcuts to the Mac Menu Bar → How to Control Keyboard Brightness From the Mac Menu Bar → How to Use the Hearing Module in Mac Control Center → How to Toggle Stage Manager From the Mac Menu Bar → How to Remove the Spotlight Icon From the Mac Menu Bar → How to Remove the Siri Icon From the Mac Menu Bar → How to Show Time Machine Status in the Mac Menu Bar → Hidden Option Key Tricks in Mac Menus → How to Check Battery Time Remaining on Mac → How to Show the Menu Bar on an External Monitor (Mac) → How to Always Show the Menu Bar in Full Screen on Mac → Menu Bar Icons Hidden Behind the MacBook Notch? Fixes → Option-Click Menu Bar Icons: Hidden Info on Mac → How to Use the Mac Menu Bar With the Keyboard → How to Find Any Menu Item on Mac With Help Search → How to Change the Menu Bar Color on Mac → How to See a Calendar From the Mac Menu Bar Clock → How to Turn On AirDrop From Control Center on Mac → How to Lock Your Mac Screen Instantly (Shortcut + Menu) → How to Clear Recent Items on Mac (Apple Menu) → Menu Bar Disappeared on Mac? How to Get It Back → Keyboard Shortcut to Open Control Center on Mac → How to Switch Audio Output From the Mac Menu Bar → What the Orange Dot in the Mac Menu Bar Means → Mac Clock Showing the Wrong Time? How to Fix It → How to Show the On-Screen Keyboard Viewer on Mac → How to Connect to iPhone Hotspot From the Mac Menu Bar → How to Add a Brightness Slider to the Mac Menu Bar → How to Create a Custom Focus Mode on Mac → Keyboard Shortcut to Switch Input Language on Mac → What Is the Game Mode Icon in the Mac Menu Bar? → How to Change the Date and Time Format on Mac → How to Change the Time Zone on Mac → Show the battery percentage on a MacBook → See the exact battery percentage on Mac → Get the battery percentage back after a macOS update → Show your battery percentage before a flight → Show battery percentage in the menu bar (any macOS) → Show a 24-hour clock in the Mac menu bar → Switch your Mac clock to 24-hour time → Use 24-hour time on Mac to avoid AM/PM mix-ups → Set 24-hour time on Mac for scheduling across time zones → Force a 24-hour clock on Mac regardless of region → Show seconds in the Mac menu-bar clock → See seconds in the Mac clock for precise timing → Show the seconds counter in the Mac menu bar → Add seconds to the Mac menu-bar clock → Get seconds back in the Mac menu-bar clock → Menu Bar Setup for a New M5 Mac → Bartender Alternatives for a Crowded Mac Menu Bar → Hidden Bar Alternatives: Free Ways to Tame the Menu Bar → The Best Mac Menu Bar Settings to Change →

Desktop, Spaces & windows

Set up hot corners → Stop click-to-show-desktop → Hide desktop icons → Keep Spaces in order → Stop apps switching Spaces → Group windows by app → Quickly show the desktop → Use multiple desktops → Move windows from anywhere → Always show scrollbars → Double-click to zoom → Use Split View → Snap & tile windows → Sequoia window tiling → Turn off Stage Manager → Force quit a frozen app → Window Tiling Keyboard Shortcuts on Mac (Sequoia) → How to Remove the Gaps Between Tiled Windows on Mac → How to Tile Windows by Dragging to Screen Edges on Mac → 10 Cmd-Tab Tricks Every Mac User Should Know → How to Switch Between Windows of the Same App on Mac → How to Hide Apps Instantly on Mac (Cmd-H and Friends) → How to Minimize All Windows at Once on Mac → How to Use App Expose on Mac (See One App's Windows) → How to Move a Window to Another Desktop on Mac → Keyboard Shortcuts to Switch Desktops on Mac → Displays Have Separate Spaces on Mac: What It Does → How to Set a Different Wallpaper for Each Desktop on Mac → How to Exit Full Screen on Mac (All the Ways) → What the Green Button Really Does on Mac (All Options) → How to Maximize a Window Without Full Screen on Mac → Stage Manager Settings on Mac: Customize Everything → How to Add Widgets to the Mac Desktop → How to Change Wallpaper Automatically on Mac → What Are Dynamic Wallpapers on Mac (and How to Use Them) → How to Use the Aerial Screen Savers as Mac Wallpaper → How to Sort and Clean Up Desktop Icons on Mac → How to Use Desktop Stacks on Mac to Organize Files → How to Change Desktop Icon Size on Mac → How to Center a Window on Mac (Shortcut Included) → How to Turn Off the Quick Note Corner on Mac → How to Keep a Window Always on Top on Mac → How to Use Picture in Picture on Mac (Safari + Beyond) → How to Close All Windows of an App at Once on Mac → How to Zoom In on Your Mac Screen (Anywhere) → How to Tile Four Windows in Quarters on Mac → How to Turn Off Window Tiling When Dragging on Mac → Minimize vs Hide on Mac: Which Should You Use? → How to Stop Apps Opening on the Wrong Display (Mac) → How to Open Documents in Tabs Instead of Windows (Mac) → How to Merge All Windows Into Tabs on Mac → How to Click Buttons in Background Windows on Mac → How to Enable Three Finger Drag on Mac Trackpad → 5 Window Resizing Tricks Every Mac User Should Know → How to Drag Files Between Desktops (Spaces) on Mac → How to Set a Solid Color Wallpaper on Mac → How to Arrange Displays on Mac (Main Display + Alignment) → How to Delete a Desktop (Space) on Mac → How to Move a Window to Another Monitor on Mac → How to Stop Accidentally Switching Desktops on Mac → How to Use an iPad as a Second Display for Mac (Sidecar) → How to Mirror Your Mac Display (or Stop Mirroring) → How to Turn Off Wallpaper Tinting in Windows on Mac → How to Show the Hard Drive Icon on Mac Desktop → Group Mission Control windows by app on Mac → Make Mission Control group windows by application → Stack windows by app in Mission Control on Mac → Organize Mission Control by app instead of scattered → Group windows by app in Mission Control for a tidier view → Rectangle Alternatives for Mac Window Management →

Power & battery

Appearance & more

Switch to Dark Mode → Silence UI sound effects → Change the accent color → Turn on Night Shift → Toggle True Tone → Tame notifications → Set up Do Not Disturb → Limit Spotlight indexing → The best Mac power-user tweaks → Auto-hide the Mac menu bar to gain screen space → Hide the menu bar for a distraction-free Mac → Hide the menu bar around the MacBook notch → Hide the menu bar for clean screenshots → Auto-hide the menu bar on an external monitor → Make TextEdit open in plain text for code → Stop TextEdit saving as RTF on Mac → Use TextEdit as a plain-text scratchpad on Mac → Set TextEdit to plain text by default → Stop TextEdit adding rich formatting on Mac → Stop Photos opening when you plug in your iPhone → Stop Photos launching when you connect a camera to Mac → Stop Photos opening when you insert an SD card → Stop Photos popping up every time you charge your iPhone → Stop Photos auto-opening on Mac when a device connects → Turn off Mac interface sound effects → Silence the Trash and screenshot sounds on Mac → Mute Mac UI sounds in a quiet room → Turn off system sound effects while recording on Mac → Silence UI sounds on Mac without muting everything → 25 Mac Settings You Should Change Right Away → Appearance Settings Worth Setting on a New Mac → The Best Mac Settings to Change First → 15 Hidden Mac Settings Worth Turning On → Mac Setup for Focus: Removing the Interruptions → Mac Accessibility Features Everyone Should Try →

Trackpad & mouse

How to Change Trackpad Tracking Speed on Mac → How to Change Mouse Speed on Mac → How to Turn On Tap to Click on Mac → Every Mac Trackpad Gesture Explained (Full List) → How to Right-Click on a Mac Trackpad (3 Ways) → How to Right-Click With an Apple Magic Mouse → How to Turn Off Mouse Acceleration on Mac → What Is Force Touch on Mac? Everything It Can Do → How to Turn Off Force Click on Mac → How to Change Trackpad Click Firmness on Mac → How to Reverse Scroll Direction on Mac → Different Scroll Direction for Mouse and Trackpad on Mac → How to Change Scrolling Speed on Mac → Hot Corners With Modifier Keys: Stop Accidental Triggers → What Is Smart Zoom on Mac and How to Use It → Trackpad Gestures Not Working on Mac? 7 Fixes → Look Up Words With a Three-Finger Tap on Mac → How to Disable the Two-Finger Swipe Back Gesture on Mac → How to Enable the App Exposé Swipe Gesture on Mac → The Trackpad Gesture That Opens Launchpad on Mac → Open Notification Center With a Trackpad Swipe on Mac → Disable MacBook Trackpad When a Mouse Is Connected → How to Control the Mouse Pointer With Your Keyboard on Mac → How to Make the Mouse Cursor Bigger on Mac → How to Change the Mouse Cursor Color on Mac → Shake to Find Your Mouse Pointer on Mac (or Turn It Off) → Mouse Cursor Disappearing on Mac? 9 Fixes → How to Change Double-Click Speed on Mac → What Is Drag Lock on Mac (and How to Turn It On) → How to Turn Off Scrolling Inertia on Mac → Every Magic Mouse Gesture on Mac (Full Guide) → How to Fix Bluetooth Mouse Lag on Mac → How to Check Magic Mouse and Trackpad Battery on Mac → How to Set Up a Left-Handed Mouse on Mac → MacBook Trackpad Not Working? 10 Fixes to Try → How to Magnify Text Under Your Cursor on Mac (Hover Text) → Zoom the Whole Screen With Ctrl+Scroll on Mac → Swipe Between Full-Screen Apps and Desktops on Mac → Magic Trackpad Not Connecting to Mac? Here's the Fix → Magic Mouse Not Scrolling? 6 Fixes → How to Reset Trackpad Settings to Default on Mac → Drag and Drop Not Working on Mac? Here's the Fix → How to Disable Pinch to Zoom on a Mac Trackpad → Mac Trackpad Too Sensitive? How to Calm It Down → How to Handwrite Chinese Characters on a Mac Trackpad → How to Middle-Click on a Mac (Trackpad and Mouse) → How to Connect a Bluetooth Mouse to Your Mac → Turn off natural scrolling on Mac → Make Mac scrolling work like Windows → Reverse the scroll direction on a Mac mouse → Fix backwards scrolling with an external mouse on Mac → Change the scroll direction on Mac → How to Reverse Scroll Direction on Mac → Mac Scroll Direction Not Changing? Here's Why → Mac Scrolling Feels Backwards? Fix It in 10 Seconds → Invert Scrolling for an External Mouse on Mac → The Best Mac Trackpad Settings to Change → Mac Bluetooth Keeps Disconnecting? Fix It Properly →

Displays & monitors

Safari & web

Network & Wi-Fi

Storage & cleanup

What Is Purgeable Space on Mac and How to Clear It → What Is System Data Storage on Mac? How to Shrink It → Delete Time Machine Local Snapshots on Mac (tmutil) → How to Find Large Files on Mac → How to Find and Delete Duplicate Files on Mac → Delete Old iPhone Backups on Mac to Free Space → Xcode Taking Up Space on Mac? Safe Ways to Reclaim It → Mail Taking Up Space on Mac? Clear Attachment Storage → Clear Messages Storage on Mac (Attachments & More) → How to Reduce Your Photos Library Size on Mac → Move Your Photos Library to an External Drive on Mac → How to Clean Up Your Downloads Folder on Mac → Auto-Empty the Trash on Mac After 30 Days → macOS Storage Recommendations Explained → Are Mac Log Files Safe to Delete? → Remove Leftover Files After Uninstalling Mac Apps → The ~/Library/Containers Folder on Mac, Explained → Deleted Files but No Space Freed on Mac? Here's Why → 'Your Disk Is Almost Full' on Mac: What to Do → Clear the Spotify Cache on Mac → Remove GarageBand and Its Sound Library on Mac → Delete Old macOS Installers to Free Space → Clear Safari Website Data on Mac → See What's Taking Up Space on Your Mac → Merge Duplicate Photos on Mac With the Duplicates Album → Delete Podcast Downloads on Mac (Stop Auto-Downloads) → How to Reduce PDF File Size on Mac (Preview) → How to Compress Video Files on Mac → Can You Delete DMG Files After Installing on Mac? → How to Check Drive Health on Mac (SMART Status) → How to Run First Aid in Disk Utility on Mac → What Is the Macintosh HD - Data Volume on Mac? → Delete Old User Accounts on Mac to Free Space → Do You Need a Mac Cleaner App? An Honest Look → Where Are Temporary Files on Mac (Safe to Delete?) → The sleepimage File on Mac: Why It's So Big → macOS Swap Files Taking Up Space? What's Normal → Time Machine Backup Disk Full: What Happens & Fixes → Exclude Folders From Time Machine Backups on Mac → Trash Won't Empty on Mac? How to Force It → Move Files to an External Drive to Free Up Your Mac → macOS Aerial Wallpapers Taking Up Space? Remove Them → How Big Should a Time Machine Drive Be? → Chrome Taking Up Space on Mac? Clean It Up Safely → Delete TV App Downloads on Mac → Clear Adobe Media Cache on Mac to Reclaim Gigabytes → Auto-Delete Old Messages on Mac (Keep 30 Days) → Empty the Trash on an External Drive (.Trashes) on Mac → Mac Won't Boot Because the Disk Is Full: How to Recover → A Simple Mac Maintenance Checklist (Monthly Routine) → How to Declutter Your Mac: A Room-by-Room Guide → CleanMyMac Alternatives: What Actually Helps → CCleaner for Mac Alternatives → DaisyDisk vs Mainspring: Disk Space or Settings? → Mac Storage Full But Nothing There? Where It Went →

iCloud & sync

Notes Not Syncing Between iPhone and Mac? Fixes → iCloud Files Stuck 'Waiting to Upload' on Mac → Is iCloud+ Worth It? Features and Pricing → How to Downgrade Your iCloud Storage Plan → Use a Custom Email Domain With iCloud Mail → Hide My Email on Mac: Create Burner Addresses → iCloud Private Relay on Mac: What It Hides → Set Up Find My Mac (Before You Need It) → What Happens When You Sign Out of iCloud on Mac → Share iCloud+ Storage With Your Family → Does iCloud Back Up Your Mac? Not Quite → Desktop Files Disappeared After Enabling iCloud? → Turn Off iCloud Drive on Mac Without Losing Files → Instant Hotspot: Connect Your Mac to iPhone Data → Unlock Your Mac With Apple Watch → Can You Choose Which Folders Sync to iCloud Drive? → Optimize Mac Storage in Photos: Save Disk Space → Keep Two Macs in Sync With iCloud → Turn On Advanced Data Protection for iCloud on Mac → Use iPhone Widgets on Your Mac Desktop → iCloud Drive Not Syncing on Mac? 10 Fixes → Desktop & Documents iCloud Sync on Mac: On or Off? → Optimize Mac Storage in iCloud: What It Actually Does → Download All iCloud Drive Files to Your Mac → Make iCloud Files Online-Only on Mac (Remove Download) → iCloud Status Icons in Finder Explained → Where Is the iCloud Drive Folder on Mac? → iCloud Storage Full? How to Free It Up From Your Mac → Share an iCloud Drive Folder From Finder on Mac → iCloud Photos on Mac: How Syncing Really Works → Download Original iCloud Photos to Your Mac → How to Use Shared Albums in Photos on Mac → iCloud Shared Photo Library on Mac: Setup Guide → Delete Photos From Mac but Keep Them in iCloud? → iCloud Keychain on Mac: Sync Passwords Across Devices → Handoff Not Working on Mac? How to Fix Continuity → Universal Clipboard: Copy on iPhone, Paste on Mac → Universal Control: One Keyboard for Mac and iPad → Sidecar: Use Your iPad as a Second Mac Display → Continuity Camera: iPhone as a Mac Webcam → How to AirPlay to Your Mac → Make and Take iPhone Calls on Your Mac → Messages Not Syncing on Mac? How to Fix It → Messages in iCloud on Mac: What It Does → See Safari Tabs From Your iPhone on Mac (iCloud Tabs) → iPhone Mirroring on Mac: Requirements and Setup → iCloud Photos Not Uploading From Mac? Fixes → Remove a Device From Your Apple ID on Mac → Can You Merge Two Apple IDs? What to Do Instead → Scan Documents From iPhone Directly to Your Mac → How to Sync Settings Across Two Macs →

Apps & workflow

How to Sign a PDF on Mac (Preview, Trackpad, or iPhone) → How to Compress a PDF on Mac Without Extra Apps → How to Merge PDFs on Mac (Preview Sidebar Trick) → How to Delete Pages From a PDF on Mac → How to Combine Images Into One PDF on Mac → How to Resize an Image on Mac With Preview → How to Convert HEIC to JPG on Mac (3 Built-In Ways) → How to Batch Convert Images on Mac (No Apps Needed) → How to Remove an Image Background on Mac (Built In) → How to Fill Out a PDF Form on Mac → How to Password Protect a PDF on Mac → How to Redact a PDF on Mac (Actually Remove Text) → How to Annotate a PDF on Mac With Preview → How to Crop an Image on Mac (Preview + Photos) → How to Rotate a PDF on Mac (One Page or All) → How to Convert a PDF to JPG or PNG on Mac → How to Lock Notes on Mac With a Password → How to Scan Documents Into Your Mac With an iPhone → How to Use Tags and Smart Folders in Apple Notes (Mac) → How to Export Apple Notes as PDF (and Get Notes Out) → How to Set Location-Based Reminders on Mac → How to Set Recurring Reminders on Mac → Make a Grocery List That Auto-Sorts on Mac (Reminders) → How to Make TextEdit Default to Plain Text on Mac → How to Create a .txt File on Mac → Quick Look on Mac: 10 Space Bar Tricks You Should Know → How to Edit Files From Quick Look on Mac (Markup) → How to Create Finder Quick Actions With Automator (Mac) → Shortcuts on Mac: A Beginner's Guide That Actually Helps → How to Run a Shortcut With a Keyboard Shortcut on Mac → How to Auto-Process Files Added to a Folder on Mac → How to Use Spotlight as a Calculator and Converter (Mac) → Spotlight Search Operators on Mac: Find Anything Faster → How to Use Dictation on Mac (Setup + Commands) → How to Make Your Mac Read Text Aloud → How to Share Your Mac Screen (Built-In Screen Sharing) → How to Use Your iPhone as a Mac Webcam (Continuity) → How to Use Stickies on Mac (Floating Desktop Notes) → How to Record Audio on Mac (Voice Memos + QuickTime) → How to Trim a Video on Mac Without iMovie → How to Record Your iPhone Screen From a Mac → How to Compress a Video on Mac (No Extra Apps) → How to Copy Text From an Image on Mac (Live Text) → How to Translate Text Anywhere on Mac (Built In) → How to Look Up a Word Instantly on Mac (Dictionary) → What Is Freeform on Mac? Apple's Whiteboard App Explained → How to See Saved Wi-Fi Passwords on Mac → How to Schedule an Email in Apple Mail on Mac → How to Unsend an Email in Apple Mail on Mac → TinkerTool vs Mainspring: Which Should You Use? → Onyx vs Mainspring: Maintenance or Settings? → AppCleaner vs Mainspring: Different Jobs → Setapp vs Buying Mac Apps Outright → The Best Mac Tweaking Apps Compared → New M5 Mac Setup Checklist: What to Do First → First Things to Do on a New M5 MacBook → 10 Settings to Change on a New M5 Mac → Migrate to a New M5 Mac Without Bringing the Mess → What to Move to a New Mac (and What to Leave) → What to Do Before Selling Your Old Mac → New Mac Setup Mistakes Worth Avoiding → Hidden macOS Settings Worth Changing on a New Mac → MacPilot Alternatives: Which One Fits Your Mac? → Deeper for Mac: What It Does and What Else to Use → Cocktail for Mac Alternatives: Free and Paid Options → Secrets Preference Pane Alternatives on Modern macOS → One Switch Alternatives: Quick Mac Toggles Compared → The Best Mac Customisation Apps, Compared Honestly → Free vs Paid Mac Tweak Apps: What You Get → Mac Setup for Developers: Settings Worth Changing → Mac Setup for Students: Set It Up Once, Properly → Mac Setup for Remote Work: Calls, Focus and Files → How to Set Up a New Mac From Scratch, Properly → Mac Setup for Teachers: Ready to Project and Share → Switching From Windows to Mac: Settings to Change →

Terminal & commands

defaults write on Mac: Change Hidden Settings Safely → Undo a defaults write Command on Mac → killall on Mac: Restart Finder, Dock, and More → How to Edit plist Files on Mac (plutil & More) → pmset on Mac: Control Power Settings From Terminal → Rebuild the Spotlight Index on Mac (mdutil) → How to Flush the DNS Cache on Mac → Update macOS From Terminal With softwareupdate → Fix 'App Is Damaged' With xattr on Mac (Quarantine) → chmod on Mac: Fix File Permissions From Terminal → chown on Mac: Fix File Ownership Problems → What sudo Does on Mac (and How to Use It Safely) → 25 Essential Mac Terminal Commands → The open Command on Mac: Launch Anything From Terminal → pbcopy and pbpaste: The Mac Clipboard in Terminal → The say Command: Make Your Mac Talk From Terminal → Take Screenshots From Terminal With screencapture → Run a Speed Test From Terminal With networkquality → ping and traceroute on Mac: Diagnose Network Issues → Find the Process Using a Port on Mac (lsof) → top on Mac: Check CPU and Memory From Terminal → Check Disk Usage From Terminal on Mac (du and df) → The find Command on Mac: Locate Files From Terminal → grep on Mac: Search Inside Files From Terminal → Back Up Folders With rsync on Mac → zsh vs bash on Mac: Why Apple Switched → Customize Your .zshrc on Mac: Aliases, PATH, Prompt → How to Install Homebrew on Mac → Edit Files in Terminal With nano on Mac → mdfind: Run Spotlight Searches From Terminal on Mac → diskutil on Mac: List, Mount, and Inspect Drives → tmutil: Control Time Machine From Terminal → Get Mac System Info From Terminal (system_profiler) → Check Your macOS Version From Terminal (sw_vers) → networksetup: Change Wi-Fi and DNS From Terminal → Find a Saved Wi-Fi Password From Terminal on Mac → Schedule Tasks on Mac With launchd (and cron) → The purge Command on Mac: Does Freeing RAM Help? → spctl and Gatekeeper: Manage App Security on Mac → Run AppleScript From Terminal With osascript → Run Apple Shortcuts From Terminal on Mac → Convert Documents From Terminal With textutil → Batch Resize and Convert Images With sips on Mac → Download Files From Terminal With curl on Mac → Change Your Mac's Computer Name From Terminal → Find Your IP Address From Terminal on Mac → How to Read man Pages on Mac → Use Touch ID for sudo on Mac → Reset the Dock to Default Settings on Mac → What Is SIP on Mac? Check It With csrutil → Is There a GUI for defaults write on Mac? → Terminal Commands Every Mac User Should Know → The defaults write Commands Actually Worth Running → System Settings vs Terminal: Which Should You Use? → Is defaults write Safe? What It Can and Can't Break → defaults write Not Working on Mac? Six Reasons Why →

Troubleshooting

Every one of these — in one click.

Mainspring turns the settings in these guides into labelled, reversible toggles. No Terminal, nothing permanent. Tune your Mac in minutes.

Try Mainspring free — $29 lifetime