Rearrange menu-bar icons on Mac
macOS has a built-in way to reorder most menu-bar icons without any extra software: hold Command (⌘) and drag them. It takes two seconds and survives restarts — as long as you know which icons support it.
How Command-drag works
Hold ⌘, then click and drag any of Apple's built-in status icons — Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, battery, clock, Spotlight, Control Center — to slide them into a different order. The cursor changes to a hand while you drag. Release to drop the icon in its new position.
To remove a supported icon entirely, Command-drag it downward off the menu bar. You'll see a small × appear; release and the icon disappears. To bring it back, go to System Settings → Control Center and toggle it on again.
What you can and can't move
Command-drag works for Apple's own system icons. Third-party app icons (1Password, Dropbox, Things, etc.) generally cannot be moved this way — they manage their own position and don't respond to Command-drag. A few exceptions exist, but most third-party extras ignore the gesture.
The clock, Spotlight, and Control Center chevron are also fixed in place on macOS 13 and later — you can't drag them away from the right-hand side of the menu bar.
Reordering inside Control Center
Many icons you might want to move actually live inside the Control Center panel (the small chevron ›). To decide which ones appear directly in the menu bar versus staying hidden in Control Center, go to:
- Open System Settings (Apple menu → System Settings).
- Click Control Center in the sidebar.
- For each module, choose Show in Menu Bar, Show in Control Center, or Don't Show.
Third-party icons
For third-party menu-bar apps, check the app's own preferences — many let you choose whether to show in the menu bar at all. Some apps also respond to Command-drag on their own icon even though most don't. If an app's icon is stuck, try holding ⌘ and dragging — you may be surprised.
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Does the order persist after a restart?
Yes. macOS saves the icon order you set via Command-drag and restores it after a reboot. The exception is third-party apps that reset their own position on launch — nothing short of the app itself can control that.