macOS System Defaults
The macos Ansible role applies all of these system defaults. After applying, Dock, Finder, and SystemUIServer are automatically restarted.
Screenshots
| Key | Value | Effect |
|---|---|---|
com.apple.screencapture location |
~/screen-captures |
Save screenshots to custom folder |
com.apple.screencapture type |
png |
PNG format (lossless) |
com.apple.screencapture disable-shadow |
true |
No window shadow in screenshots |
Finder
| Key | Value | Effect |
|---|---|---|
AppleShowAllFiles |
true |
Show hidden files |
FXDefaultSearchScope |
SCcf |
Search current folder by default |
FXEnableExtensionChangeWarning |
false |
No warning when changing file extensions |
Dock
| Key | Value | Effect |
|---|---|---|
autohide |
true |
Auto-hide the Dock |
tilesize |
36 |
Smaller icon size |
mineffect |
scale |
Scale effect for minimizing windows |
show-recents |
false |
Hide recent apps section |
autohide-delay |
0 |
No delay before Dock appears |
Keyboard
| Key | Value | Effect |
|---|---|---|
KeyRepeat |
2 |
Fastest key repeat rate |
InitialKeyRepeat |
15 |
Shortest delay before repeat starts |
ApplePressAndHoldEnabled |
false |
Disable press-and-hold, enable key repeat |
Trackpad
| Key | Value | Effect |
|---|---|---|
com.apple.trackpad.scaling |
2.5 |
Faster tracking speed |
Mission Control
| Key | Value | Effect |
|---|---|---|
mru-spaces |
false |
Do not rearrange Spaces by most recent use |
expose-animation-duration |
0.1 |
Faster Mission Control animation |
Desktop Services
| Key | Value | Effect |
|---|---|---|
DSDontWriteNetworkStores |
true |
No .DS_Store on network volumes |
DSDontWriteUSBStores |
true |
No .DS_Store on USB volumes |
UI Behavior
| Key | Value | Effect |
|---|---|---|
NSNavPanelExpandedStateForSaveMode |
true |
Expanded save panel by default |
NSNavPanelExpandedStateForSaveMode2 |
true |
Expanded save panel (alternate) |
PMPrintingExpandedStateForPrint |
true |
Expanded print panel by default |
PMPrintingExpandedStateForPrint2 |
true |
Expanded print panel (alternate) |
NSDocumentSaveNewDocumentsToCloud |
false |
Save to disk by default, not iCloud |
LSQuarantine |
false |
No “downloaded from internet” dialog |
Security
| Key | Value | Effect |
|---|---|---|
askForPassword |
1 |
Require password after sleep |
askForPasswordDelay |
0 |
Require password immediately |
TextEdit
| Key | Value | Effect |
|---|---|---|
RichText |
0 |
Plain text mode by default |
PlainTextEncoding |
4 |
UTF-8 encoding |
PlainTextEncodingForWrite |
4 |
UTF-8 encoding for saving |
Activity Monitor
| Key | Value | Effect |
|---|---|---|
IconType |
5 |
Show CPU usage in Dock icon |
ShowCategory |
0 |
Show all processes |
Safari
| Key | Value | Effect |
|---|---|---|
IncludeDevelopMenu |
true |
Enable the Develop menu |
Chrome
| Key | Value | Effect |
|---|---|---|
AppleEnableSwipeNavigateWithScrolls |
false |
Disable swipe navigation |
Default Applications
These are set via the playbook and system tools:
| Role | Application | How set |
|---|---|---|
| Browser | Chrome | defaultbrowser CLI |
| Terminal | Ghostty | Configured via Ghostty preferences |
| Editor | Zed | $EDITOR and $VISUAL env vars in .zshenv |