macOS 26 Window Appearance Switcher

简体中文

A small utility for switching the window appearance on macOS Tahoe. It provides a graphical interface for switching between Tahoe's rounded appearance and Sequoia's classic appearance. The classic style offers more consistent corner radii and a more integrated sidebar.

Note The appearance switching feature only works on macOS 26 Tahoe. Some apps enforce their own window corner radius or sidebar style and may not follow this setting, including Music and Podcasts.

Features

• Detect the current global window appearance settings
• Switch to Tahoe's rounded appearance
• Switch to Sequoia's classic appearance
• Automatically restart Finder after applying the settings
• Preview both appearance styles
• Keyboard controls: use Tab to switch styles and Enter to confirm

Requirements

• macOS 26 Tahoe only
• Note: Testing indicates that macOS 27 beta 8 no longer allows restoring the floating sidebar

Project Structure

.
├── Package.swift
├── Resources/
│   ├── AppIcon.icns
│   ├── AppearanceRounded.png
│   └── AppearanceClassic.png
├── Sources/AppearanceSwitcher/
│   ├── App/
│   ├── Models/
│   ├── Services/
│   ├── Stores/
│   ├── Support/
│   └── Views/
└── script/
    └── build_and_run.sh

Run

Build, package, and launch the app:

./script/build_and_run.sh

The script will:

• Build Tahoe 窗口外观切换器 with swift build
• Create the app bundle at dist/Tahoe 窗口外观切换器.app
• Copy the icon and appearance preview assets
• Apply a local ad-hoc signature
• Launch the app

Package

Generate the .app without launching it:

./script/build_and_run.sh package

Output path:

dist/Tahoe 窗口外观切换器.app

Debug

Launch with LLDB:

./script/build_and_run.sh debug

View app logs:

./script/build_and_run.sh logs

Verify that the app can launch:

./script/build_and_run.sh verify

How It Works

The app uses /usr/bin/defaults to read and write global appearance settings:

• NSConvolutionOverride1
• NSSplitViewItemGlassMinimumCornerRadius
• NSSplitViewItemSidebarDefaultsToFloatingAppearance

When switching to the classic appearance, the app writes these preset values:

NSConvolutionOverride1 = 9
NSSplitViewItemGlassMinimumCornerRadius = 6
NSSplitViewItemSidebarDefaultsToFloatingAppearance = false

When switching to the rounded appearance, the app removes these global overrides and restores the system defaults.

After applying the settings, the app runs:

killall Finder

macOS automatically relaunches Finder. Other running apps may need to be restarted manually before they pick up the new appearance settings.

Notes

• The app modifies the current user's global defaults -g configuration.
• Before switching appearances, the app prompts you to save your work because Finder will be restarted.
• If the current system settings do not match the built-in rounded or classic presets, the interface displays a custom appearance.
• The project currently uses a local ad-hoc signature. It does not include the developer certificate, notarization, or installer workflow required for distribution.

Restore the Defaults Manually

To restore the default system appearance from Terminal, run:

defaults delete -g NSConvolutionOverride1
defaults delete -g NSSplitViewItemGlassMinimumCornerRadius
defaults delete -g NSSplitViewItemSidebarDefaultsToFloatingAppearance
killall Finder

If a key does not exist, defaults delete may print an error. This is expected.

License

This project is open source under the MIT License. See LICENSE for details.

TODO

• Add keyboard controls
• Add a Control Center button
• Add UI for customizing window corner radii
• Design a better-looking icon to replace the current AI-generated one

Acknowledgments

This project was inspired by nfzerox/launchbad-revived, which provides a way to restore Launchpad on macOS 26 or even remove the Liquid Glass effect entirely.