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Tapiture

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Oct 1, 2016
1,118
1,683
Is it possible to have some things dark and not other things? I liked having the dock and top bar be dark but I don't necessarily like having Safari and Mail and other apps in dark mode too. Any way to achieve this?
 

Mr Todhunter

macrumors 6502
Apr 4, 2010
478
341
Third planet from the Sun
Yes it is possible. Lots of posts with instructions. Check the forums.
[doublepost=1538117468][/doublepost]
Is it possible to have some things dark and not other things? I liked having the dock and top bar be dark but I don't necessarily like having Safari and Mail and other apps in dark mode too. Any way to achieve this?


Here are instructions I compiled from various posts in various threads.
I’ve tried them and they all works as advertised.

Also, I’m trying to be as clear as possible for those who have no knowledge of how the terminal works.

The important thing to remember is: They only work when you choose the Dark Appearance in the system preference.

Here follow the terminal commands in Bold. You copy and paste to the terminal window and press return.

———

Note: The following command will change only the menubar and the dock to black.

Choose Appearance Dark (system preference/General), open the terminal, copy paste the following and press return

write -g NSRequiresAquaSystemAppearance -bool YES

Now restart your Mac

——————


The following commands apply to individual applications. Make sure you quit the application you want to apply it to before you do it.

Also this time you don’t need to restart your Mac.

defaults write com.apple.mail NSRequiresAquaSystemAppearance -bool NO


defaults write com.apple.Notes NSRequiresAquaSystemAppearance -bool NO


defaults write com.apple.Safari NSRequiresAquaSystemAppearance -bool NO



defaults write com.apple.iCal NSRequiresAquaSystemAppearance -bool NO



defaults write com.apple.Terminal NSRequiresAquaSystemAppearance -bool NO



defaults write com.apple.stocks NSRequiresAquaSystemAppearance -bool NO



defaults write com.apple.Photos NSRequiresAquaSystemAppearance -bool NO

——————————

Thanks to all the people whose posts made these configurations possible
 

Mr Todhunter

macrumors 6502
Apr 4, 2010
478
341
Third planet from the Sun
Dark mode with all the above modifications applied. Moreover some extra mods through Liteicon and TotalFinder.

Screenshot 2018-09-28 at 10.03.00.png
 

SoYoung

macrumors 68000
Jul 3, 2015
1,545
955
Any command to get rid of the grey boxes in the message app on dark mode? I found it hard to read white text on grey boxes.
 

Tapiture

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Oct 1, 2016
1,118
1,683
Yes it is possible. Lots of posts with instructions. Check the forums.
[doublepost=1538117468][/doublepost]


Here are instructions I compiled from various posts in various threads.
I’ve tried them and they all works as advertised.

Also, I’m trying to be as clear as possible for those who have no knowledge of how the terminal works.

The important thing to remember is: They only work when you choose the Dark Appearance in the system preference.

Here follow the terminal commands in Bold. You copy and paste to the terminal window and press return.

———

Note: The following command will change only the menubar and the dock to black.

Choose Appearance Dark (system preference/General), open the terminal, copy paste the following and press return

write -g NSRequiresAquaSystemAppearance -bool YES

Now restart your Mac

——————


The following commands apply to individual applications. Make sure you quit the application you want to apply it to before you do it.

Also this time you don’t need to restart your Mac.

defaults write com.apple.mail NSRequiresAquaSystemAppearance -bool NO


defaults write com.apple.Notes NSRequiresAquaSystemAppearance -bool NO


defaults write com.apple.Safari NSRequiresAquaSystemAppearance -bool NO



defaults write com.apple.iCal NSRequiresAquaSystemAppearance -bool NO



defaults write com.apple.Terminal NSRequiresAquaSystemAppearance -bool NO



defaults write com.apple.stocks NSRequiresAquaSystemAppearance -bool NO



defaults write com.apple.Photos NSRequiresAquaSystemAppearance -bool NO

——————————

Thanks to all the people whose posts made these configurations possible
I've tried the app-specific commands but when I enter them and then open the app, it doesn't seem to have had any effect
 

sosumi99

macrumors 6502
Oct 27, 2003
363
322
I've tried the app-specific commands but when I enter them and then open the app, it doesn't seem to have had any effect

Did you make sure to choose "Dark" in Appearances first? (And reboot?/quit-restart the app?)
 

Tapiture

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Oct 1, 2016
1,118
1,683
Did you make sure to choose "Dark" in Appearances first? (And reboot?/quit-restart the app?)
Yes, I did. In fact when I did the first command mentioned, "write -g NSRequiresAquaSystemAppearance -bool YES"
I get this error message on the terminal:
write: illegal option -- g

usage: write user [tty]
 

flur

macrumors 68020
Nov 12, 2012
2,391
1,174
If you're just looking for the dark top menu and dock, the terminal command is:

defaults write -g NSRequiresAquaSystemAppearance -bool Yes

The inx I have say to put the machine in "light mode", then run this command, then log out and back in or restart, then switch to dark mode. No need to use any other commands. Works great on my machine.

https://www.tekrevue.com/tip/only-dark-menu-bar-dock-mojave/
 
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Tapiture

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Oct 1, 2016
1,118
1,683
If you're just looking for the dark top menu and dock, the terminal command is:

defaults write -g NSRequiresAquaSystemAppearance -bool Yes

The inx I have say to put the machine in "light mode", then run this command, then log out and back in or restart, then switch to dark mode. No need to use any other commands. Works great on my machine.

https://www.tekrevue.com/tip/only-dark-menu-bar-dock-mojave/
Ah yes, that did it! Thank you!!
 
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Reactions: flur

TokMok3

macrumors 6502a
Aug 22, 2015
672
422
Does any body know how to make the (menu bar) and (dock) darker while in light mode? Same as it was on High Sierra.
 

Tapiture

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Oct 1, 2016
1,118
1,683
Does any body know how to make the (menu bar) and (dock) darker while in light mode? Same as it was on High Sierra.
Doing this:
If you're just looking for the dark top menu and dock, the terminal command is:

defaults write -g NSRequiresAquaSystemAppearance -bool Yes

The inx I have say to put the machine in "light mode", then run this command, then log out and back in or restart, then switch to dark mode. No need to use any other commands. Works great on my machine.

https://www.tekrevue.com/tip/only-dark-menu-bar-dock-mojave/

Is the equivalent. I was going for the same thing and that's the solution.
 

Don MC

macrumors member
Nov 25, 2010
98
49
Finland
Dark mode with all the above modifications applied. Moreover some extra mods through Liteicon and TotalFinder.
How did you make your dock so dark? Mine follows the wallpaper color (even if I select "Reduce transparency").
And a little tip: Don't show your computer serial# to everyone.

EDIT: Found it out: Increase Contrast setting in Accessibility.
 
Last edited:

SoYoung

macrumors 68000
Jul 3, 2015
1,545
955
I love the dark mode and stay on that 100% of the time. But my biggest complaint is with the message app and the little grey boxes for the contact answer. I would like to make it black or get rid of it. Is it possible?
 

taylor354

macrumors newbie
Nov 4, 2017
26
19
Edinburgh, Scotland
Sorry, I don’t understand. What borders?

In your screen shot you have 1 or 2 pixel wide black line round the the window and buttons on the finder window. I was just wondering if that was being done by some other application or if it is as a result of the commands being run to have the mixed light/dark mode.
 

Don MC

macrumors member
Nov 25, 2010
98
49
Finland
In your screen shot you have 1 or 2 pixel wide black line round the the window and buttons on the finder window. I was just wondering if that was being done by some other application or if it is as a result of the commands being run to have the mixed light/dark mode.
That's the "Increase Contrast" option in Accessibility settings.
 
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