Personalize your Mac Studio

Use a light or dark appearance

Go to System Settings, click Appearance , then choose Auto, Light, or Dark. When you choose Auto, the appearance switches from light to dark, based on the Night Shift schedule you set.

Change the color theme

Choose the color to use for buttons, pop-up menus, and other onscreen controls. Go to System Settings, click Appearance , then choose an option next to Color.

Change the look of icons, widgets, and folders

Go to System Settings, click Appearance , then choose an option next to “Icon & widget style” or “Folder color.”

Customize your folders

Control-click a folder in Finder or on the Desktop, choose Customize Folder, then choose a folder color and add an icon or emoji.

Change the wallpaper

Go to System Settings, click Wallpaper , then choose the wallpaper you want, or click Add Photo to choose your own.

Customize your menu bar

Choose which status menus appear on the right side of the menu bar. For example, add a control to quickly turn on Bluetooth or send files with AirDrop. Go to System Settings, click Menu Bar , then choose the controls you want.

Add widgets to your desktop

To add a widget, Control-click the desktop, then choose Edit Widgets. Some apps come in multiple widget styles—choose the size that works best for you. To add a widget, drag it to where you want it on your desktop, or click it to have it snap into an available spot.

Edit the widgets on your desktop

Control-click the widget, then choose an option. You can customize what some widgets show—Control-click the widget, then click “Edit [app name]” if it appears. You can also adjust the widget size by selecting from the shortcut menu.

Set up a Focus

You can turn on a Focus to silence notifications from selected apps and people so you can stay on task. Go to System Settings, click Focus , then click Add Focus to create a custom Focus. You can also set a schedule for when the Focus automatically turns on and create a Focus filter to adjust how certain apps behave.

Automate tasks with Shortcuts

With Shortcuts, you can create automations to speed up things you do repeatedly—like resizing a batch of images, sending a message, or organizing files. Open the Shortcuts app to browse ready-made shortcuts in the gallery. With Apple Intelligence,* you can create custom shortcuts by describing them in natural language.. You can run a shortcut from the menu bar, assign it a keyboard shortcut, or set it to trigger automatically.

Create your own text shortcuts

With Text Replacements, you can type in shorthand that autocompletes into full words or phrases. For example, set up your Mac so that when you type “@@,” it instantly inserts your email address or have “ty” expand to “Thank you.” Go to System Settings, click Keyboard  in the sidebar, click Text Replacements, then click Add to create your shortcut.

Manage passwords and passkeys

The Passwords app stores all your passwords, passkeys, and verification codes in one place, and works across your apps and browsers—not just Safari. Open the Passwords app  to view, add, or update credentials. Your passwords stay in sync across all your Apple devices when you’re signed in to the same Apple Account.

Increase the text size

Go to System Settings, click Accessibility , then click Display. Next to “Text size,” click Default, then adjust the slider to your preferred text size.

Increase the pointer size

Go to System Settings, click Accessibility , click Display, then adjust the slider next to “Pointer size.”

Increase the size of text and icons in sidebars

Go to System Settings, click Appearance , then choose an option from the pop-up menu next to “Sidebar icon size.”

Scale the display

You can scale your display to fit more content on screen or make everything appear larger. Go to System Settings, click Displays , then choose a resolution option. Select “More Space” to fit more on screen, or “Larger Text” to increase the size of everything.