Mastering the Art of the Dark Menu Bar and Dock in macOS Mojave

Hey there! Today, I want to walk you through the fascinating world of customizing your Mac experience in macOS Mojave. Specifically, I’ll be diving deep into the subtle art of using only a dark menu bar and dock. Trust me, this simple trick can bring a whole new level of elegance to your desktop.

So, let’s get started! You might be wondering why anyone would want to switch to a dark menu bar and dock in the first place. Well, my friend, the answer lies in aesthetics and personal preference. Some of us find the darker tones easier on the eyes, especially during those late-night work sessions. Plus, it just looks cool and sleek!

Now, I know you’re eager to get this show on the road, so let me guide you through the process step by step. First things first, open up your “System Preferences.” You can find this handy app in the Apple menu, that little apple icon in the top-left corner of your screen. Go ahead, give it a click.

Next, you’ll see a variety of icons in the System Preferences window. Keep your eyes peeled for the one called “General” and give it a quick tap. Aha! We’re making progress!

Okay, now it’s time for the exciting part. See that beautiful theme option labeled “Appearance”? Click on it, and you’ll be presented with three choices: “Light,” “Dark,” and “Auto.” Here’s where the magic happens. By selecting “Dark,” you’ll switch your menu bar and dock to a delightful darker hue. Pretty cool, right?

But wait, there’s more! If you opt for the “Auto” setting, macOS Mojave will automatically adjust the appearance of your menu bar and dock based on the time of day. It’s like having a chameleon for a Mac – fancy!

Now, I’ll let you in on a little secret. If you want to experiment further with the dark side of macOS, there’s a hidden gem lying within the “General” preferences. Look closely at the bottom of the window, and you’ll find a checkbox that says, “Use font smoothing when available.” Here’s my advice – uncheck that box and see the font on your screen become crisper and bolder. Woah!

Bravo, my friend! You’ve successfully embarked on the journey of embracing the dark side of macOS Mojave. Hopefully, this guide has shed some light (pun intended) on the process and inspired you to customize your Mac like a pro. Remember, the darker the dock, the cooler your desktop will rock!

Now, go forth and conquer the world of dark menu bars and docks. Your Mac will thank you, and you’ll be turning heads with your effortlessly stylish desktop. Have fun, and until next time, happy Mac-ing!

If you’re a Mac user, you can turn on Dark mode by going to your Mac’s System Preferences. This will change the color scheme of the Dock and the menu bar at the top of your screen to a stylish black and dark gray.

In the past, macOS High Sierra and earlier versions allowed us to have a dark menu bar and Dock, though it wasn’t a full “dark mode.” This feature provided some contrast and was considered helpful and gentle on the eyes.

However, when macOS Mojave was released in September 2018, Apple not only introduced a complete dark mode but also removed the option to have just a dark Dock and menu bar.

In macOS Mojave, I noticed that the new dark mode changes everything and unfortunately, there’s no way to only apply it to the menu bar and Dock. For some users, including myself, the dark theme in macOS Mojave was a bit too dark. We preferred the old style of having just the dark menu bar and Dock, as it provided the right amount of contrast. Sure, you could enable the Light Appearance, but that made everything light, which didn’t offer much contrast and wasn’t visually appealing to many Mac users.

Regrettably, macOS Mojave does not offer an option to only enable the old-style dark menu bar and Dock. However, there’s an unofficial workaround that allows you to activate the dark mode just for the Dock and menu bar, recreating the appearance of earlier versions of macOS with the dark theme.

Now, let me guide you through the process of setting up a dark menu bar and Dock in Mojave. Keep in mind that these instructions are an unofficial workaround, but they seem to work well. If you encounter any issues or want to revert back to the original settings, we also provide instructions on how to undo this process later in the article.

1. First, make sure to save any work you have open and close any apps.
2. Now, let’s access the System Preferences. You can find it in the Dock or by selecting it from the Apple Menu.
3. Once you’re in System Preferences, click on the General option.
4. From there, choose the Light option for Appearance.

Now that you’ve set the Appearance to Light, it’s time to open Terminal. You can find it by searching for “terminal.app” in Spotlight. Once you have Terminal open, enter the following command and hit Enter:

$ defaults write -g NSRequiresAquaSystemAppearance -bool Yes

After running this command, follow these instructions to finish the process:

1. Log out of your user account and then log back in.
2. Next, select System Preferences either from the Dock or the Apple Menu.
3. In System Preferences, click on General.
4. Now, choose the Dark option for Appearance.

Once you’ve completed these steps, you’ll see the menu bar and Dock switch to the Mojave Dark Mode, while everything else remains in the classic Light mode.

Hey there! I’ve got a neat trick for you if you want to restore the dark menu bar and Dock in Mojave. It’s a simple Terminal command that does the trick. Here’s how you do it:

Get Back to Full Dark Mode

If you’ve followed the instructions I mentioned earlier, including entering the command in Terminal, you can easily reverse or “undo” that process to turn on the normal Mojave Dark Mode.

First, open the Mac Terminal. Then, enter the following command and hit Enter:

$ defaults write -g NSRequiresAquaSystemAppearance -bool No

After entering the command and pressing enter, log out and then log back into your Mac, or simply restart your Mac. This is important for the changes to take effect.

Now, you should be able to use the normal Mojave Dark or Light Appearance again.

If you’re a Mac user and found this article helpful, you might want to check out other TechJunkie Mac tutorials, like How to Edit the Hosts File on macOS (Mac OS X) or The Fastest Way to Lock or Sleep Your Screen in macOS (Mac OS X).

Have you tried this workaround to change the way the dark theme works on your Mac running Mojave? I’d love to hear about your experiences. Let me know in the comments below!

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My Thoughts on “How to Use Only a Dark Menu Bar and Dock in macOS Mojave”

I’ve been having some issues with certain third-party programs, like Dolphin Emulator or ESET antivirus. After I switched back to full dark mode, some text appears white on a white background. Can anyone please help me? I’ve tried multiple commands, but without success…

Haider Rizvi says:

Make sure to log out and log back in after executing the command. Also, for the undo command, use:

$ defaults write -g NSRequiresAquaSystemAppearance -bool Yes

I’m looking for a way to undo the code so I can use dark mode again. I tried the given code, but it didn’t work. Thanks!