Set TextEdit to plain text by default

By default, TextEdit opens new documents in rich text. To make plain text the default instead, go to TextEdit → Settings → New Document and choose Plain text — or run one defaults write command. From then on, every document you create with Cmd+N starts as unformatted text.

Two ways to change the default

Through Settings. This is the route most people want, and it survives updates:

1. Open TextEdit.
2. Choose TextEdit → Settings in the menu bar (labelled Preferences on macOS versions before Ventura).
3. On the New Document tab, under Format, click Plain text.
4. Close the window. Press Cmd+N to confirm — the new window has no ruler and no formatting toolbar.

Through Terminal. The Settings toggle writes a single preference key. You can set it directly, and reverse it just as easily:

# Make plain text the default for new documents
defaults write com.apple.TextEdit RichText -int 0

# Undo — restore rich text as the default
defaults write com.apple.TextEdit RichText -int 1

Quit and reopen TextEdit so the change registers. Both routes behave identically on macOS 13 Ventura, 14 Sonoma, and 15 Sequoia, and the setting applies only to your user account.

What "default" actually changes

This setting governs new documents only. It does three specific things and nothing more:

• Windows you open with Cmd+N start in plain-text mode — no fonts, colours, or styling.
• Saving offers a plain .txt file rather than .rtf.
• The formatting ruler and toolbar are hidden, since there's nothing to format.

It does not alter documents you've already saved, and it doesn't stop TextEdit from opening a rich-text or Word file you double-click — those open in whatever format they were written in. That's by design: the default sets the starting point, not a rule the app enforces on every file.

Switch an existing document

For a file that's already rich text, don't change the default — convert the file. With it open, choose Format → Make Plain Text or press Shift+Cmd+T, confirm the styling can go, and save. To go the other way on a single document, Format → Make Rich Text (the same Shift+Cmd+T toggle) brings formatting back for that file only, leaving your default untouched.