macos-defaults/build/production/templates/home.md.handlebars

---
metaTitle: "macOS defaults"
meta:
  - property: "og:title"
    content: "A list of macOS defaults commands with demos ✨"
  - name: "description"
    content: "You've already copied `defaults write` commands. Sometimes you don't know what they do and are not sure they still work. This list of macOS defaults commands is here to help."
  - property: "og:description"
    content: "You've already copied `defaults write` commands. Sometimes you don't know what they do and are not sure they still work. This list of macOS defaults commands is here to help."
  - property: "twitter:card"
    content: "summary_large_image"
  - property: "twitter:image"
    content: "https://macos-defaults.netlify.app/media-2x1.webp"
  - property: "og:image"
    content: "https://macos-defaults.netlify.app/media-2x1.jpg"
---
# macOS `defaults` list
Uncomplete list of macOS `defaults` commands with demos ✨

## 🙋 What's a `defaults` command?

<div class="custom-block tip">
  <p>
    <em>macOS applications and other programs</em> use the <code>defaults</code> system to record user preferences and other information to be maintained when the application isn't running (font for new documents, or the position of an Info panel).
    Much of this information is accessible through an application's Preferences panel but sometimes they're hidden.
  </p>
  <p>
    User defaults belong to <strong>domains</strong>, which typically correspond to individual applications.
    Applications, system services, and other programs have their own domains, they also share a domain named <strong>NSGlobalDomain</strong>.
    If a default isn't specified in the application's domain, it may be specified in NSGlobalDomain.
  </p>
  <p>
    Each domain has a dictionary of keys and values representing its defaults; e.g. <strong>"Default Font" = "Helvetica"</strong>.
    <strong>Keys</strong> are strings, <strong>values</strong> can be complex data structures comprising arrays,
    dictionaries, strings, and binary data. They're stored as XML Property List.
  </p>
  <p>The <code>defaults</code> command line interface is a way to interact with these values.</p>
</div>

**Source: [Real-World-Systems](http://www.real-world-systems.com/docs/defaults.1.html)**

### Command line interface basics
#### Print the help
```bash
defaults help
```

#### List all domains
```bash
defaults domains
```

#### List all entries containing *word*
```bash
defaults search ${word}
```

#### Show the type for the given *domain*, *key*
```bash
defaults read-type ${domain} ${key}
```

#### Rename *old_key* to *new_key*
```bash
defaults rename ${domain} ${old_key} ${new_key}
```

## 💻 List of commands
{{# categories }}
### {{ name }}
{{# keys }}
- [{{ title }}](./{{ ../folder }}/{{ lowerCase key }}.html)
{{/ keys}}

{{/ categories }}
## 🤔 How do I add a command?
Please update [this file](https://github.com/yannbertrand/macos-defaults/blob/master/defaults.yml) that I use to [build multiple websites](https://github.com/yannbertrand/macos-defaults/#readme) like this one.

## ❤️ I like this website, how can I build the same?
Thank you! I built it using [VuePress](https://vuepress.vuejs.org/). Take a look at [my report](https://github.com/yannbertrand/macos-defaults/tree/master/build/vuepress#readme) if you want to use it.

<a href="https://www.netlify.com">
  <img src="https://www.netlify.com/img/global/badges/netlify-light.svg" alt="Deploys by Netlify" />
</a>