How to Enable Dark Mode on Mac - MacRumorsOpen MenuShow RoundupsShow Forums menuVisit ForumsOpen Sidebar
Skip to Content

How to Enable Dark Mode on Mac

by

MacOS includes a Dark Mode option that works across the entire system, from the dock and menu bar to all of your apps.

Here's how to turn on ‌Dark Mode‌:

  1. Choose System Preferences on the menu bar. applesystempreferences
  2. Select General. systempreferences
  3. In the "Appearance" section at the top of the window, click the "Dark" option. darkmodetoggle

Those are the only steps required to enable ‌Dark Mode‌. If you want to turn it off again, follow the same steps but this time choose the "Light" option.

While in Dark mode, the dock, menu bar, and all of your Apple apps, including Safari, Mail, Calendar, Notes, the Mac App Store, Messages, and more will feature darker colors and themes. ‌Dark Mode‌ will need to be built into third-party Mac apps that don't already offer a dark option when macOS Mojave is released.

Related Forum: macOS Mojave

Top Rated Comments

Internet Enzyme Avatar
106 months ago
What I don’t understand is why there isnt a keyboard shortcut or a menu bar toggle or an automatic night-shift esque switching into dark mode. I feel like those are all very obvious features that shouldn’t require a year for macOS 10.15 to be in the OS
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
106 months ago
I don‘t understand why everyone seems to like dark mode. It does look cool, but my eyes are irritated after less than a minute when reading white text on dark background.
Dark mode is not meant for casual users, it meant to be use by individuals that spend a lot of time in front of an screen, developers, frontend dudes, designers, etc...adobe For example has a dark mode, most code IDE’s have a dark mode and it’s welcomed by everyone that uses them.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
m0sher Avatar
106 months ago
I’d rather have Dark mode option for iOS please.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TantalizedMind Avatar
106 months ago
WHY IS THERE NO DARK MODE FOR iOS?!!!!!!
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MacHiavelli Avatar
106 months ago
Lots of dark applications on top of each other are very difficult to distinguish between: there is no sense of depth or layering (as yet).

And in light mode, it would be nice to still have an option for a dark menu bar and dock.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kriebe Avatar
106 months ago
I'm really excited about this for many reasons, but the first thing that popped in my head was that I finally get back the black background for all of my photos that was lost from the switch from iPhoto to Photos. It's so much easier to look at a ton of photos on a black background compared to a white one. There's a reason why almost all TVs and Monitors have a dark bezel.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

Apple Event Logo

Apple Working on All-New Operating System

Wednesday July 29, 2026 11:39 am PDT by
Apple is developing an all-new operating system that is essentially a mix of tvOS, watchOS, and iOS, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In a report this week, he said the operating system will feature a grid of icons, widgets, and apps, along with customizable clock faces. The new software platform is intended for Apple's long-rumored smart home hub. With built-in facial recognition,...
imac video apple feature

Apple Made Its Second-Biggest Acquisition Ever This Year

Wednesday July 29, 2026 12:03 pm PDT by
Apple this year acquired Israeli startup Q.ai for close to $2 billion, according to the Financial Times. That would make this Apple's second-biggest acquisition ever, after it paid $3 billion for the popular headphone maker Beats in 2014. This is also the largest known Apple acquisition since the company purchased Intel's smartphone modem business and patents for $1 billion in 2019. Q.ai...
Dynamic Island iPhone 18 Pro Feature

iPhone 18 Pro: Twelve Changes Coming to Apple's Next Flagship

Thursday July 30, 2026 3:43 am PDT by
We're less than two months out from the launch of Apple's premium next-generation smartphone lineup, and while we're not expecting a dramatic change in terms of functionality, there are still several enhancements rumored to be coming to the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth noting is that Apple is reportedly planning a major change to its iPhone release cycle this year,...

🔗 Related Apple News & Rumors

Stay updated with the latest Apple ecosystem news and verified rumors