Enabling dark mode in macOS Mojave turns the entire interface into a full dark mode appearance. And although it might be popular with some users, especially those who like working with a dark background, some other Mac users prefer a little light in the dark. Some Mac users do not want a full dark theme on their Mac, but prefer to limit the dark mode to a dark menu bar and Dock in macOS Mojave.
Problem: macOS Dock is the command center for your Mac.With Apple Dock you can run applications, switch between apps, open documents and links. Unfortunately, Apple Dock lacks many useful features such as Window Management and Switching between Windows, appearance Customization, Hiding app icons. HyperDock brings advanced window management features to Mac OS:. Move & resize windows just by holding down keys and moving your mouse. Automatically resize windows when dragging to screen edges (Window Snapping). Scroll on a window's titlebar to quickly zoom or change its space. Though it'd be nice to share useful menu bar apps. Here's my setup: My current menu bar apps. From left to right: Sip: organise color palettes and quickly grabbing HEX code for editors. CleanShot X: Was never really a fan of screenshot replacements, but this one got my attention.Easy uploads to their cloud and scrolling capture (this one was the main selling point for me). Application Launcher, improved Dock for macOS, alternative to Apple Dock, uBar, HyperDock. ActiveDock is a full replacement for Apple Dock with customization features. Tools for quicker switching between apps and windows, and managing windows from the previews on the dock. Save time when working with many applications at once. HyperDock was added by derhasi in Feb 2011 and the latest update was made in Oct 2016. The list of alternatives was updated Jun 2020. It's possible to update the information on HyperDock or report it as discontinued, duplicated or spam.
User Jay Wong, for instance, posted this question in Apple Stack Exchange:
“I prefer light windows with dark menu bar as in High Sierra. However, it seems I can only choose all-dark or all-light in Mojave now. Are there any way to hybrid or customize it?”
Another Reddit user named u/B3yondL also posed the same question:
“I’ve been using the dark menu bar for I believe 4 years now ever since Yosemite dropped. Now with Mojave, as far as I can tell, you’re forced to use the dark menu bar with the full dark system. I don’t want the full system dark mode, I just want the dark menu bar. Is it possible?”
We are so used to seeing Finder, Spotlight, Mail and Calendar in Light mode that seeing them in dark mode just doesn’t look right.
Fortunately for those who don’t want the full dark mode of macOS Mojave, there’s a way to limit the dark theme to the menu bar and Dock while keeping the rest of the display in light mode. Remember how you could turn the menu bar and the dock dark in previous versions of macOS? This guide will show you how to restore that feature in macOS Mojave. We’ll teach you the step-by-step guide on how to enable dark menu bar and dock with light theme in macOS Mojave.
This tutorial involves typing in command lines and default commands in the Terminal to execute the changes. But before you do anything else, it is important to back up your data first in case something happens. Make sure you delete your junk files using an app such as Tweakbit MacRepair so that you don’t copy over the unnecessary files. You can use Time Machine to easily create a backup of the whole system, or you can manually copy your files to an external hard drive. Whatever backup option you choose, make sure that it is updated and secure.
Dark Menu Bar and Dock in macOS Mojave
If you want to use a light theme with dark menu bar and Dock in macOS Mojave, follow these instructions:
Hyperdock Mojave
- Click the Apple menu and select System Preferences.
- Click General, and under the Appearance section, choose Light from the dropdown options. This will enable Light mode on your Mac.
- Launch the Terminal by going to Applications > Utilities or by searching via Spotlight.
- Type in the following command:
defaults write -g NSRequiresAquaSystemAppearance -bool Yes
- Hit Return to execute the command.
- Go back to the Apple menu and log out of your account.
- Log right back in to the same user account.
- Click the Apple menu and go back to System Preferences > General.
- Under the Appearance section, select Dark. This will turn only the menu bar and Dock into dark mode.
This solution works for most Mac users, but some noticed that the Notification sidebar becomes really difficult to read because of the dark theme. To make the Notification Center readable again, follow these steps:
- Open Terminal by going to Applications > Utilities or by searching via Spotlight.
- Type in the following command:
defaults write com.apple.notificationcenterui NSRequiresAquaSystemAppearance -bool No
- Hit Return to execute the command.
This will make your Notification Center more visible and readable. If you want to enjoy the dark mode but you need light mode on some apps such as Mail, you can follow these steps to make the changes:
- Enable dark mode by going to System Preferences > General > Appearance. Next, click the Dark
- Launch Mail by clicking the icon on the Dock, then click Preferences located in the top left corner.
- Click the Viewing tab and uncheck Use dark mode for messages.
How to Revert to Default and Full Dark Mode in macOS Mojave
If you modified your dark mode to be limited only to the menu bar and the Dock and later wished to revert to default and full dark mode in macOS Mojave, you can go back to the original theme options by doing these steps:
- Launch the Terminal app by going to Applications > Utilities. Or you can type in Terminal in Spotlight to open the app.
- Enter the following command in the Terminal:
defaults write -g NSRequiresAquaSystemAppearance -bool No
- Press Return to run the command.
- Click the Apple logo and click Log Out from the dropdown menu. Then, log back into the same account.
- Go back to the Apple menu and return to the System Preferences > General
- Under the Appearance section, select Dark to turn the full dark mode on. If you prefer to use a full light mode for your Mac, click the Light
This restores the default theme options in macOS Mojave. Clicking either Dark or Light will affect your entire macOS interface.
Dark Mode Safari
Most apps usually have a corresponding dark version, but some websites you visit on Safari will retain their look because of their website UI (user interface). For example, Facebook will also load its usual white and blue theme despite dark mode being on. And this often breaks the somber atmosphere created by the dark theme.
Hyperdock Mojave Not Working
If you want to enjoy a full dark mode experience, you can use a Safari extension that works by changing the theme of the websites you visit. The extension is called Smart Invert, and it was created by a developer named Denk Alexandru. You can download the extension from the Apple iTunes store, and once you activate it, all the websites that you visit using the Safari app will display a darker theme. You can choose between three themes– Dark, Soft Dark or Mono. You can deactivate the dark theme for a specific websites or for all sites.
Summary:
macOS Mojave’s dark mode is a cool theme that’s been very helpful for some Mac users. However, it’s obvious that the full dark mode is not for everyone. We hope that this guide will help you modify dark mode so you can keep some elements in light mode.
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See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy Policy.
See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy Policy.
This page describes macOS 11.0 (Big Sur) specific information.
If you have previous macOS version please refer to previous macOS SIP instructions.
You might want to read this blog post for historical context.
If you have previous macOS version please refer to previous macOS SIP instructions.
You might want to read this blog post for historical context.
TotalFinder has support for macOS 11.0 (Big Sur), but cannot run on a normally configured machine due to System Integrity Protection (SIP). This article can help you how to configure your machine to allow TotalFiner installation by modifying security setting.
If you decide to modify the settings, you will be able to install TotalFinder. Just to be clear…
Your machine may be less secure when you disable extra security features. It is entirely your decision to modify the settings.
What is different in macOS 11.0 (Big Sur)?
The Finder binary is newly marked as a “platform binary”. That means that system prevents injecting or loading any code which is not signed by Apple developers. This feature is called “Library Validation” and was first introduced in macOS 10.10 (Yosemite). Finder didn’t participate in this prior macOS 11.0.
Currently in beta macOS 11.0 users can disable Library Validation using this command in Terminal.app:
This will allow injection of TotalFinder code in Finder. But please note that Library Validation is disabled system-wide. So any app which relied on Library Validation might be less secure.
How to install TotalFinder by turning off System Integrity Protection
TotalFinder will guide you through the process via notification dialogs. Please check the TotalFinder installation page for general installation steps. This document explains SIP-specific steps.
You must boot into the Recovery OS. You do this by restarting your machine, and holding
Command+R
Wireless signal 2 1. until the Apple logo appears. Then select Terminal from the Utilities menu. It looks like this:In the window that opens, type
csrutil disable
and press return. This turns off System Integrity Protection so that TotalFinder can be installed.Reboot your machine and you may install and run the latest version of TotalFinder.
Unfortunately you have to keep SIP disabled to allow TotalFinder. In earlier macOS versions it was possible to turn SIP off only to complete TotalFinder installation steps and enable it back again. That is no longer possible in recent macOS releases due to hardened security settings.
Technical details
TotalFinder works by altering the built-in system application Finder.app.
In order to change some features of Finder, we use a technique called code injection. This means we add some additional code to the Finder program whilst it is running to do what we need. This is relatively safe - in fact we do not change any part of macOS on the disk. You only have to quit Finder via
Command+Option+Esc
, and the Finder will restart and everything will be as if TotalFinder was never running.However, in macOS 10.11 (El Capitan) and later the macOS developers added a feature that disallows this kind of modification even if you have administrator access. Mindjet 2019. It will also disallow other kinds of modifications (such as replacing parts of the system on disk).
Uninstallation and SIP
To remove TotalFinder from your system, run the uninstaller found on the latest dmg download of TotalFinder.