Use power-up switches

A power-up is one change to how macOS behaves — show the path bar in Finder, stop the Dock bouncing, save screenshots as JPG. Each has a switch. Here's exactly what happens when you use it.

Switch one on

1. Find it in Browse all, inside a recipe, or with Search.
2. Flip its switch. Mainspring writes the macOS setting behind it.
3. If the setting belongs to a part of macOS that only reads its settings when it starts — the Dock, Finder, the menu-bar clock, screenshots — Mainspring relaunches that part for you, so the change shows straight away. The Dock or Finder may disappear for a moment and come back; nothing is lost.

Switch one off

Flip the switch back. For most power-ups, Mainspring removes its value so macOS returns to its standard behaviour. A few write Apple's standard value back explicitly — Double-click title bar to zoom, for example, goes back to minimizing. The power-up reference shows exactly what switching each one off writes.

Some need a log-out

A few settings are only read when you log in — including key-repeat speed, Reduce motion, Reduce transparency and Increase contrast. Their switches work at once, but you'll see the effect after you log out and back in, or restart. The reference marks every one.

The Run button

Tidy windows for a call does something once rather than changing a setting, so it has a Run button instead of a switch. Each press tidies your windows again. See Tidy windows for a call.

The Allow… button

Safari and TextEdit keep their settings in a private folder that macOS protects. Until you give Mainspring permission, it can't tell whether those power-ups are on or off — so instead of a switch that might be wrong, it shows Allow…. This applies to Show full URLs in Safari, Enable Safari's developer features, Don't auto-open downloaded files, and New TextEdit documents as plain text.

1. Click Allow…. System Settings opens at Privacy & Security › Full Disk Access.
2. Turn on Mainspring in the list.
3. Come back to Mainspring. If the row still shows Allow…, quit Mainspring and open it again.

Chips on a row

• ADVANCED — marks a power-up that Browse all only lists once Advanced is switched on. The chip stays with it wherever it appears — search results, recipes, Favorites and On now.
• ADMIN — a system-wide power setting, in Browse all › Power. With the helper Mainspring's installer sets up, there's no password prompt; without it, macOS asks for your administrator password.

Stars

The ☆ on each row pins that power-up to Favorites and the menu bar.

Changes stay until you change them

Power-ups are real macOS settings. They stay as they are when you quit Mainspring, restart, or even delete the app — so switch off anything you don't want to keep before you remove Mainspring.