Hidden macOS Settings Worth Changing on a New Mac

These are the settings with no switch in System Settings at all. Each one is a real, documented preference that macOS reads but never exposes, and each has a command to set it and a command to put it back. Read the current value before you change anything and none of this is risky.

Finder

# Show the full path in the Finder window title
defaults write com.apple.finder _FXShowPosixPathInTitle -bool true
# Undo
defaults delete com.apple.finder _FXShowPosixPathInTitle
killall Finder

Useful when you work across similarly named folders. Related: the full path in the title bar.

# Keep folders on top when sorting by name
defaults write com.apple.finder _FXSortFoldersFirst -bool true
# Undo
defaults delete com.apple.finder _FXSortFoldersFirst
killall Finder

See folders on top.

Desktop and windows

# Stop Spaces reordering themselves by recent use
defaults write com.apple.dock mru-spaces -bool false
# Undo
defaults write com.apple.dock mru-spaces -bool true
killall Dock

Worth doing if you navigate desktops by position. See multiple desktops.

# Hide every icon on the Desktop without moving a file
defaults write com.apple.finder CreateDesktop -bool false
# Bring them back
defaults write com.apple.finder CreateDesktop -bool true
killall Finder

The single most useful command on this page if you ever share your screen. Nothing is deleted; Finder simply stops drawing the Desktop.

Screenshots

# Remove the drop shadow from window captures
defaults write com.apple.screencapture disable-shadow -bool true
# Undo
defaults write com.apple.screencapture disable-shadow -bool false
killall SystemUIServer

Full screenshot setup in screenshot settings.

Network volumes

# Stop .DS_Store files on network and USB volumes
defaults write com.apple.desktopservices DSDontWriteNetworkStores -bool true
# Undo
defaults write com.apple.desktopservices DSDontWriteNetworkStores -bool false

Log out and back in for this one. It does not remove files already written — see deleting .DS_Store files.

The rule that makes all of this safe

Read before you write. Every key above can be inspected first:

defaults read com.apple.finder CreateDesktop

does not exist means untouched, and defaults delete is your undo. A returned value is the number to write back. Keep a note of anything you change and future-you will not be reinstalling macOS to fix a setting nobody remembers applying.