macOS · Display & Sound
Choose Light, Dark, or Auto system appearance
Appearance settings control whether macOS uses a Light or Dark theme, or automatically switches between them based on time of day, along with accent color, highlight color, and sidebar icon size preferences.
How to open Appearance
- Open System Settings → General → Appearance
- Choose Light, Dark, or Auto
- Select an Accent Color and Highlight Color
- Choose a Sidebar Icon Size preference if desired
What you should know
- Light, Dark, and Auto appearance modes
- Accent color customization for buttons, menus, and controls
- Highlight color for selected text and items, independent of accent color
- Sidebar icon size options across Finder and other apps
Why it matters
Appearance is one of the most visible and frequently adjusted settings on the Mac, directly affecting visual comfort in different lighting conditions, such as reduced eye strain from Dark Mode at night. Beyond comfort, consistent accent and highlight colors help maintain visual clarity across the system, and Auto mode removes the need to manually switch themes as daylight changes throughout the day.
Best practices
- Use Auto appearance if you want the system to match ambient daylight without manual switching
- Pick an accent color with good contrast against both Light and Dark backgrounds if you switch between them
- Combine Dark Mode with Night Shift for a more complete low-light viewing setup
- Test readability of your chosen highlight color in dense text documents before committing to it
Common problems and fixes
- Some apps do not follow the system's Dark Mode setting
- Check that app's own appearance preference, since some third-party apps require a separate in-app toggle.
- Auto mode switches at an inconvenient time
- Auto mode follows sunrise and sunset for your location; manually choose Light or Dark instead if you prefer fixed timing.
- Accent color does not apply everywhere
- Some system elements use a neutral graphite option regardless of accent color choice, which is expected behavior.
Tips and tricks
- Choose 'Multicolor' accent to let system icons and controls use a wider range of colors instead of a single tint.
- Pair a smaller sidebar icon size with Dark Mode for a denser, more compact Finder view.
Frequently asked questions
Does Dark Mode save battery?
On Macs with OLED-adjacent or similar display technology it can have a modest effect, but the benefit on typical Mac displays is primarily visual comfort rather than significant battery savings.
Can I schedule Dark Mode for specific hours instead of sunset/sunrise?
No, Auto mode is tied to daylight, not a custom schedule; choose manually if you need fixed timing.
Is accent color the same as wallpaper-based theming?
No, accent color is chosen independently and does not automatically match your wallpaper.
Related settings
- WallpaperWallpaper settings let you choose a still image, Apple's dynamic or live wallpapers that change with time of day, or your own photo collection to display as the Desktop background, with independent options per display.
- Night ShiftNight Shift automatically shifts the colors of your display to the warmer end of the spectrum in the evening, based on a schedule or sunset-to-sunrise timing, to reduce blue light exposure before bed.
- Display AccommodationsDisplay Accommodations groups visual comfort settings such as Reduce Motion, Increase Contrast, Differentiate Without Color, and color filters, letting you tune how the interface renders for visual comfort or color vision differences.
More Display & Sound guides for macOS
- Displays SettingsDisplays settings let you change resolution, brightness, arrangement of multiple monitors, and features like Night Shift and True Tone for more comfortable viewing.
- Sound & NotificationsSound settings control input/output devices and alert volume, while Notifications & Focus let you decide which apps can interrupt you and when — including scheduled Focus modes like Work or Sleep.
- FocusFocus lets you silence notifications and distractions while you concentrate on a specific task, like work, personal time, or sleep. You can allow only certain people and apps through, and each Focus can turn on automatically on a schedule or when you open a certain app.
- True ToneTrue Tone uses the Mac's ambient light sensors to automatically adjust the display's white balance to match the surrounding lighting conditions, making white appear consistently natural under different light sources.
- Sound Output & InputSound Output & Input settings let you select which speakers or headphones play audio and which microphone captures it, and adjust device-specific levels like output volume balance and input gain.
- Sound Effects & Alert VolumeSound Effects settings control which alert sound plays for system notifications and errors, its volume relative to media playback, and whether interface actions like Trash emptying play a sound.