Disable macOS Dark Mode for Specific Apps

October 26, 2022

Do you prefer dark mode for most apps but wish to exclude some?  If so, here's how to enable dark mode globally but keep specific apps exempt from the policy!

Note: Some apps support changing between light/dark modes natively. Use this guide only when the native functionality doesn't exist yet.
  1. Open a shell
  2. Let's find the ID of the app we'd like to exclude from dark mode:
    osascript -e 'id of app "NAME_OF_APP_GOES_HERE"'
    1. Example: "Paw" or "FindMy"
  3. Next, disable dark mode for it: 
    defaults write BUNDLE_NAME_GOES_HERE NSRequiresAquaSystemAppearance -bool Yes
    1. Example: "com.luckymarmot.Paw-setapp" or "com.apple.findmy"
  4. If the app is open, close it and re-open it.
  5. The app should now be exempt from dark mode!

Common IDs

Name ID
Find My com.apple.findmy
Messages com.apple.MobileSMS
Safari com.apple.Safari
Visual Studio Code com.microsoft.VSCode
Slack (from macOS App Store) com.tinyspeck.slackmacgap
Setapp com.setapp.DesktopClient
Spotify com.spotify.client

©2024 Tyler Wright