Tweak catalogue · 235 entries
Settings the normal menus don't show, hidden tools, and popular tweaks that are better skipped. Every entry lists its risk, its source, and how to put things back.
Registry tweaks, Group Policy settings, hidden commands and lesser-known tricks for Windows 10 and 11. Each one shows its risk, its source and how to undo it (or a warning when it can’t be undone).
Make Explorer show what it hides and open where you want.
The file copy window starts in its small view. This makes it always open with the speed graph, item counts and time remaining showing.
Windows hides extensions like .exe and .pdf by default, which makes it easy to be fooled by a file called "invoice.pdf.exe". Showing them is one of the simplest safety tweaks there is.
Windows deletes to the Recycle Bin without asking. This Microsoft policy brings back a confirmation dialog for every delete, which can save you from a slip of the Delete key.
File Explorer opens on Home (recent files and Quick access) by default. If you mostly go straight to your drives, open it on This PC instead.
Windows 11 added a Gallery entry to the navigation pane that shows photos from your picture folders. If you never use it, this per-user tweak hides it.
Hides the Home entry (recent files and Quick access) from the navigation pane for your account. Pair it with "open to This PC" so Explorer doesn't start on a page you've hidden.
This PC shows drives as "Local Disk (C:)". If you think in drive letters, this flips it to "(C:) Local Disk" so the letter is the first thing you see.
Shows the full path (like C:\Users\you\Documents\Taxes) instead of just the folder name, which helps when several tabs or windows have folders with the same name.
Explorer sorts "file2" before "file10" because it reads numbers as values. Some people (and some build scripts) want plain character order instead: file10, file2. This Microsoft policy switches Explorer to literal sorting.
Explorer inspects a folder's contents to pick a template like Pictures or Music, which can make huge folders (Downloads) slow to open and change their columns. This tells it to treat every new folder as "General items".
File Explorer's search box shows pop-up suggestions from things you searched before and stores them in the registry. This policy turns off those suggestions and stops new searches being saved.
When you create a shortcut, Windows adds " - Shortcut" to its name. This changes the naming template so new shortcuts keep just the original name. Existing shortcuts are not renamed.
Windows 11 adds extra padding between items in File Explorer to suit touch screens. Compact view shrinks that so you can see more files at once.
Shows hidden files and folders (like AppData) and, separately, protected system files such as desktop.ini. Handy for troubleshooting, but leave system files hidden day to day so they don't get deleted by accident.
Some guides suggest a policy so files copied from untrusted places aren't tagged with the Mark of the Web, to get rid of security prompts. That tag is how Windows and apps such as Office know a file came from the internet and should be treated with care; Microsoft warns that not tagging such files can expose the PC to security risks.
Clock seconds, End task, alignment and other taskbar tweaks.
Puts an End task command on the right-click menu of taskbar buttons, so you can kill a frozen app without opening Task Manager. It's a built-in developer option that most people never find.
On Windows 11 24H2 and 25H2 the Recommended section disappears by itself once you turn off the four things that feed it, including app promotions. No registry edit needed.
The taskbar search box takes up a lot of room. You can hide it or shrink it to an icon; search keeps working from the Start menu or with Win+S.
A Microsoft policy that removes the Recommended files and apps section from Start and locks it that way. Handy for shared or family PCs where you don't want recent files on show.
Removes the Task View (virtual desktops) button from the taskbar and greys out its Settings toggle.
Windows waits 400 ms before opening a cascading submenu when you hover over it. Lowering the delay makes classic menus (like the full right-click menu's "Send to") feel snappier.
Windows 11 centres the Start button and app icons. If you prefer the classic left-hand Start button, this puts everything back on the left.
Windows 11 now lets you show every open window as its own taskbar button with its title, like Windows 7–10 could. Great if you juggle several windows of the same app.
Stops Start showing apps you just installed and greys out the matching Settings toggle so it stays off.
Start's Recommended area can suggest websites based on your browsing. This policy removes those personalised site suggestions.
Adds seconds to the clock in the corner of the taskbar. Useful for timing things or syncing up with someone.
Windows can list individual Microsoft Edge tabs as separate entries in Alt+Tab, which makes it hard to find other apps. You can limit or turn that off.
Hovering over a window's maximise button pops up a grid of snap layouts, which some people find gets in the way. This turns off just that pop-up; snapping windows by dragging them still works.
Grab a window's title bar and shake it, and every other window minimises. Windows 11 turns this off by default; Windows 10 had it on. Switch it on if you liked it, or off if it keeps happening by accident.
Turn off web results, suggestions, tips and promoted apps.
Clipboard history keeps a list of things you copied, which can include passwords. This policy stops Windows storing that history for everyone on the PC.
Stops Windows showing app and content suggestions from third-party publishers in Spotlight features such as the lock screen, suggested apps in Start and Windows tips. Suggestions for Microsoft's own apps and services can still appear.
Windows sends diagnostic data to Microsoft at one of several levels. This policy caps it at Required (the old "Basic"), the lowest level Home and Pro honour, and stops the optional level being switched on.
Many guides still recommend the TurnOffWindowsCopilot registry value. It controlled the old Copilot sidebar, which Microsoft replaced with a separate Copilot app in late 2024. Microsoft now calls the policy legacy, says it is subject to deprecation, and points admins to AppLocker instead.
Recall only exists on Copilot+ PCs. It is opt-in: nothing is saved until you set it up and agree, and snapshots stay on the PC. If you never want it, you can remove the Recall component itself with one command.
After some updates Windows launches a welcome experience, for example opening Edge on a page about new features. This per-user policy turns that off. Microsoft only supports it on Enterprise and Education.
Prevents the Feedback Hub from popping up notifications that ask you to rate or comment on Windows. Useful on family or work PCs where those prompts just confuse people.
Windows can use your diagnostic data to personalise lock screen content, tips and "consumer features". This per-user policy tells it not to. Microsoft notes you may still see tips and offers; they just won't be personalised.
This is the policy behind Start suggestions, membership notifications, apps installed after setup and redirect tiles. Turning it off removes those consumer extras. Microsoft only honours it on Enterprise and Education, so it is not a fix for Home or Pro.
Activity history records the apps, files and sites you use so features can pick up where you left off. These three policies turn off the activity feed and stop Windows and apps publishing or uploading those activities, for every account on the PC.
The advertising ID lets apps recognise you across apps for ad personalisation. This policy switches it off for the whole PC and stops users turning it back on. It does not remove ads; it only stops apps using this shared ID.
Hiding the Widgets button in Settings only hides the button. This policy disables the whole Widgets experience on the PC, including its taskbar content, so the news feed can't be opened at all.
Disables Windows tips (internally called "soft landing") for the whole PC. Like the consumer-experiences policy, Microsoft only supports it on Enterprise and Education.
Copilot on Windows is now an ordinary app, not part of the OS, so the simple way to get rid of it is to uninstall it like any other app. Microsoft also documents a PowerShell way.
Power plans, Fast Startup, storage and responsiveness.
Removes the classic 260-character MAX_PATH limit for apps that declare they support long paths (PowerShell 7, Git, many developer tools). Handy when deep folder trees like node_modules break copies. It doesn't magically fix apps that aren't long-path aware.
After tweaking a plan's advanced settings, export it to a .pow file. You can import it on another PC or after a reinstall instead of redoing every setting by hand.
Compact OS stores the Windows system files compressed, freeing a few gigabytes on small drives. You can check its state and switch it on or off at any time with one command. Microsoft recommends it only on flash (SSD/eMMC) storage.
If your PC never sleeps or the screen never turns off, an app or driver is holding a "power request". This read-only command lists them — a browser tab playing media, a download manager, an audio driver — so you know what to close or update.
Game Mode (on by default) tells Windows to favour the game you're playing, and Hardware-accelerated GPU scheduling lets the graphics card manage its own memory queue. Both are worth trying on and off if a game stutters — results depend on the hardware and driver.
Two built-in reports: the battery report shows design vs. current full-charge capacity (real battery wear) and usage history; the energy report watches the PC for 60 seconds and flags power-wasting drivers, settings and apps.
Storage Sense deletes temporary files and old Recycle Bin items on a schedule, and can optionally clear old Downloads or make unused OneDrive files online-only. It only touches the system drive.
This report covers the last three days and shows the periods when you weren't using the PC, and whether it actually slept — plus what blocked it if it didn't. Useful on desktops and older laptops where Sleep Study isn't available.
On Modern Standby laptops, the Sleep Study report shows each standby session over the last few days, how much battery it used and which components kept the system busy. Great for diagnosing a laptop that's hot or empty after a night in the bag.
Change when the display turns off and when the PC sleeps, separately for plugged in (ac) and battery (dc), without clicking through Settings. Handy in scripts or when Settings won't save the value.
Windows hides a power setting that controls how aggressively the CPU turbo-boosts. Unhiding it adds it to Power Options → Advanced settings → Processor power management, where you can set it per plan for battery and plugged in — e.g. Disabled to keep a hot laptop cool and quiet.
A "reduced" hibernation file is only big enough for Fast Startup, not full hibernation, so it uses much less disk space. Good for small SSDs on PCs where you never use Hibernate but want quick boots.
After sign-in, Windows deliberately holds back apps in the Startup folder and Run keys until the system is idle, which can make them appear a minute or more late. Two per-user values remove the wait. Not an official setting, so a future update may ignore or remove it.
hiberfil.sys can take many gigabytes on the system drive. Turning hibernation off deletes it automatically. You lose Hibernate and Fast Startup, but Sleep and normal shutdown keep working.
Fast Startup makes "Shut down" actually hibernate the Windows kernel, which is why uptime in Task Manager can be days old and why dual-boot setups and some drivers misbehave. Turning it off makes every shutdown a full one. Boots may be a little slower; Restart is never affected.
Windows ships a hidden "Ultimate Performance" power plan meant for workstations. One command makes a copy of it that you can select in Power Options. It uses more power than Balanced, and real-world gains on a normal desktop are usually small.
A security option that overwrites pagefile.sys on a clean shutdown, so fragments of memory (which can include passwords or documents) can't be read by someone who boots another OS or removes the drive. The price is a noticeably slower shutdown on PCs with a large page file.
Windows sets aside several gigabytes so updates can always install. On a tiny drive you can check whether it's on and switch it off to get that space back, at the cost of updates possibly failing when the disk is full.
A machine-wide policy that stops Microsoft Store (packaged) apps from running in the background, saving battery and a little RAM. It doesn't affect classic desktop programs. Be careful: mail, messaging and calling apps may stop delivering notifications.
Control when updates install and restart.
Instead of pinning a version, you can ask Windows to wait a set number of days (0–365) after a feature update is released before offering it — letting others find the bugs first. Monthly security updates keep coming.
After a feature update you normally have 10 days to go back to the previous version. You can stretch that to as many as 60 days, giving more time to discover that a driver or app is broken.
Microsoft's old "Show or Hide Updates" troubleshooter is still downloadable and still the simplest way to stop one specific driver or optional update from reinstalling, without turning off drivers or updates entirely.
A few easily missed switches change update behaviour a lot: getting new features early, updating Office and other Microsoft apps, downloading over metered connections, and showing a notice when a restart is needed.
The built-in pause holds off updates until a date you pick, up to 35 days from today — useful before a trip, an exam or a big deadline. You can extend it later, but each new end date is still capped at 35 days from the day you change it.
Windows Update no longer writes a readable log; it writes trace (.etl) files. One PowerShell command converts them into a WindowsUpdate.log on your desktop so you can search for the error code.
Windows won't automatically restart for updates during your active hours. You can set them by hand or let Windows learn them from your activity; admins can also enforce a range by policy.
By default Windows can share update pieces with other PCs on your local network. If you'd rather each PC download only from Microsoft — or you want to rule it out while troubleshooting slow networks — switch peering off. HTTP download mode (0) keeps updates working normally.
Marking a Wi-Fi or Ethernet network as metered makes Windows Update download only priority updates on it, and stops other updates installing automatically. Handy on a phone hotspot or capped connection; not a way to skip security fixes forever.
Hold back the monthly cumulative (quality) updates for a few days after Patch Tuesday, so a bad update can be pulled before it reaches you. Keep it short — these updates contain security fixes.
With this classic policy, Windows won't restart on its own after installing updates if a user is signed in; you restart when convenient. Microsoft warns it can mean quality updates never finish if nobody ever signs out, so use it with discipline.
A policy that silences Windows Update toasts — either everything except restart warnings, or everything including restart warnings. Updates still install; you just aren't nagged. Best for kiosks or PCs you check manually.
Old versions of updated components pile up in the WinSxS folder. A DISM command removes superseded versions now instead of waiting for Windows' own scheduled cleanup. Never delete WinSxS files by hand — that can break Windows.
This documented policy tells Windows Update which feature release you want, for example to stay on Windows 11 25H2 instead of being moved to a later release. Monthly security updates for that version keep coming. Pro, Enterprise and Education only.
If Windows Update keeps replacing a working graphics, audio or chipset driver with an older or generic one, this policy stops driver packages being offered with the monthly updates. You then need to keep drivers up to date yourself from the PC or chip maker.
Verbose startup, Num Lock, boot menus and sign-in behaviour.
If your PC wakes up at night, powercfg can tell you what woke it last, which timers are set to wake it, and which devices (mouse, network card) are allowed to — then switch off wake for a device.
With a Microsoft account, the sign-in screen can show your email address to anyone who looks at the PC. This policy stops account details being shown there and stops users turning that option back on.
Makes the sign-in screen ask for Ctrl+Alt+Del first. That key combination can only be caught by Windows itself, so a fake sign-in screen can't trick you into typing your password into it.
A full restart that, after you sign back in, relaunches apps that registered for restart — handy after installing something that needs a reboot when you don't want to rebuild your workspace by hand.
Modern PCs boot too fast to catch the F2/Del prompt. This command tells the firmware to open its setup screen on the next restart.
Get to the blue Advanced startup menu — Startup Settings, Safe Mode, System Restore, uninstall updates, UEFI settings and Command Prompt — without hammering keys at boot.
Replaces the vague "Please wait" / "Welcome" spinner with detailed messages such as which service or Group Policy step is running. Great for finding out why a PC is slow to sign in or shut down.
Windows blurs ("acrylic") the lock-screen picture behind the sign-in box. This policy shows it clear instead.
After signing in, Windows can show the date and time of your last successful sign-in and of any failed attempts since — a simple way to notice someone trying your password.
Removes the clock-and-picture lock screen so waking or starting the PC shows the password/PIN prompt immediately — one less click or swipe. Supported on Pro, Enterprise and Education.
Pressing Shift five times (easy to do in games) opens a Sticky Keys prompt. You can switch off just the shortcut while keeping Sticky Keys itself available.
If your PIN or password uses digits from the number pad, having Num Lock already on at the sign-in screen saves a keystroke and a failed attempt. This sets the keyboard indicator state for the sign-in screen's default profile.
Since Windows 8 the old text-mode F8 menu is off by default. Setting the boot menu policy to Legacy makes F8 work during startup again, giving a quick route to Safe Mode — at the cost of slightly slower boots.
When a bad driver or app makes Windows unusable, Safe Mode starts with only basic drivers. You can make Windows keep booting into Safe Mode until you switch it back — the same thing msconfig's Safe boot box does.
For a kiosk, media PC or test machine that should boot straight to the desktop, Sysinternals Autologon sets up Windows' built-in automatic sign-in and stores the password encrypted, rather than in plain text in the registry as old guides do.
Lesser-known network settings, resets and diagnostics.
SMBv1 is the old, insecure version of Windows file sharing. Windows 11 doesn't install it by default, but older or upgraded PCs may still have it. One command tells you whether it's there; another removes it.
When two known networks are in range (for example the 5 GHz and 2.4 GHz versions of your router), Windows may pick the wrong one. You can move a saved network to the top of the preference list.
Windows remembers DNS answers, including failures. If a site was down, or just moved to a new server, the stale entry can stick. Flushing the cache makes Windows ask again.
Windows 11 can send DNS queries over HTTPS so the network you're on can't see or tamper with the sites you look up. It works out of the box with well-known public resolvers like Cloudflare, Google and Quad9.
When an app complains a port is already in use, or you see an unexpected connection, these commands map ports to process IDs and program names.
One command builds an HTML report of recent Wi-Fi sessions: when you connected, when and why you dropped, adapter and driver details. Far more useful than guessing.
If pinging this PC from another device times out even though the PC is on, the firewall is probably dropping the requests. One inbound rule allows IPv4 echo requests (ping).
The same as the Metered connection toggle in Settings, but scriptable and usable for a network you're not connected to right now. Metered networks make Windows and many apps hold back big downloads.
Keep a network saved (password and all) but only connect to it when you choose — handy for a phone hotspot or a slow guest network that Windows keeps grabbing.
A Public network profile keeps your PC hidden from other devices. Private lets you see other PCs, printers and shares, and lets them see you. Use Private on your home network and Public on café and hotel Wi-Fi.
Instead of guessing whether a firewall is blocking something, PowerShell's Test-NetConnection tries a real TCP connection to any host and port and tells you TcpTestSucceeded True or False.
LLMNR is a fallback where, when DNS fails, your PC asks every device on the local network who owns a name. Microsoft's security baseline recommends turning it off, which removes one way for a device on the same network to answer pretending to be the name you asked for.
With random hardware addresses, your laptop presents a different MAC address to Wi-Fi networks, making it harder to track you between cafés, shops and airports.
Export every saved Wi-Fi network to XML files you can import on a new PC. Adding key=clear, run as administrator, includes the password in plain text — also the quickest way to recover a forgotten Wi-Fi password.
Windows has a built-in TCP port forwarder. It's the usual way to expose a server running inside WSL 2 or a VM to the rest of your network, without installing anything.
With Ethernet, Wi-Fi and VPN adapters all connected, Windows picks a route by interface metric. Setting a lower metric on the adapter you want makes traffic prefer it.
Microsoft's own fix for a corrupted network stack: save your current interface configuration, reset TCP/IP and the Winsock catalog, restart, then restore the saved settings if needed.
Windows' built-in last-resort network fix, in Settings. Microsoft support advisors suggest it when you're "connected, no internet" and flushing DNS plus resetting TCP/IP and Winsock hasn't helped.
Tricks for installing and setting up Windows.
When you upgrade by running setup.exe from mounted media, the Shift+F10 command prompt is turned off by default. Starting setup with /DiagnosticPrompt enable turns it on, so you can poke around if the upgrade gets stuck.
pnputil can copy every third-party driver package in the Windows driver store to a folder. After a clean install you can put them all back in one go, which is a lifesaver when Wi-Fi or storage drivers aren't included in Windows.
WinRE is the blue recovery menu used for Startup Repair, Reset this PC and System Restore at boot. Updates and disk changes sometimes leave it disabled without telling you. reagentc /info shows whether it is enabled and where it lives.
Windows setup can run its compatibility checks and then stop. With /compat scanonly it scans the PC, reports through an exit code whether anything blocks the upgrade, and changes nothing. It's useful before committing to a big feature update.
Before you follow any guide, check which Windows you have. Press Win+R and run winver. It shows the version (for example 24H2 or 25H2) and the OS build number, which tells you whether a tweak still applies to you.
Most PCs that came with Windows have the key embedded in the UEFI firmware (OA3), and Windows activates from it automatically when you reinstall the same edition. One PowerShell line reads that key, for example to check which edition it belongs to.
winget can write a list of the apps installed on your PC to a JSON file and reinstall them all on a fresh Windows with one command. It's a fast way to set up a new PC or a clean install.
One ISO usually holds several editions (Home, Pro, Education and more), each stored as a numbered index in install.wim or install.esd. DISM lists them along with their version and size, so you know which index is which before you deploy or extract one.
slmgr.vbs is the built-in licensing script. /dli shows the edition, license channel and part of the product key. /dlv shows more detail, and /xpr shows whether activation expires.
Microsoft's download page has three tools. Installation Assistant upgrades the PC you're on. Media Creation Tool makes a bootable USB stick or DVD. The ISO is a disk image you can mount, or put on a USB stick or in a virtual machine. All are free, and all come straight from Microsoft.
Typing OOBE\BypassNRO or start ms-cxh:localonly at the Shift+F10 prompt used to let you skip the Microsoft account during setup. Microsoft announced in October 2025 that it is removing these known mechanisms, so newer builds require internet and a Microsoft account to finish OOBE.
Microsoft documents a way to create local accounts during setup: an answer file. Put a file named Autounattend.xml with a UserAccounts/LocalAccounts section in the oobeSystem pass at the root of a USB drive, and setup creates that account itself, so no online sign-in is needed.
On the first setup screen after installation (the out-of-box experience, OOBE), Shift+F10 opens a Command Prompt that already runs as administrator. It's handy for checking disks, loading a driver with pnputil, or reading setup logs before you finish setup.
Guides still pass around the MoSetup 'AllowUpgradesWithUnsupportedTPMOrCPU' registry value. Microsoft's current page about devices that don't meet the requirements has no registry method at all. It advises against installing Windows 11 on such PCs and warns they aren't guaranteed updates, including security updates.
Rufus, a free open-source USB tool by Pete Batard, can write a Windows 11 ISO to USB and offers to remove the TPM 2.0, Secure Boot and RAM checks, and the online Microsoft account requirement. It's popular, but it isn't Microsoft's tool, and it doesn't change Microsoft's stance on unsupported PCs.
Popular tweaks that do nothing useful today, or cause harm.
SysMain is the service that 'maintains and improves system performance over time'. Microsoft's service guidance for Windows IoT Enterprise, its most locked-down desktop edition, marks it 'Don't disable'. Turning it off is not a general speed fix.
A popular gaming tweak sets SystemResponsiveness to 0 under the Multimedia SystemProfile key. Microsoft's documentation says values below 10 are clamped to 20, so 0 behaves the same as the default of 20. It does nothing for frame rates.
The Boot → Advanced options → Number of processors box in System Configuration sets a limit (the numproc boot option, 'uses only the specified number of processors'). Windows already uses every core by default, so this box can only take cores away.
Tips telling you to set 'Limit reservable bandwidth' to 0% claim it frees up 20% of your connection. Bandwidth isn't held back. The 20% is only a ceiling on what apps that ask for QoS priority can reserve, and when nothing reserves it, every app can use it.
Windows knows when a drive is an SSD. On SSDs Optimize Drives mainly sends retrim, and it only defragments occasionally when fragmentation gets bad enough to cause problems (for example with System Restore snapshots). Turning it off can do more harm than good.
Leftover registry keys from uninstalled apps barely affect speed, because most app keys are only read when something asks for them, not kept in memory. Cleaners can wrongly decide a key is orphaned and delete it, which has broken features such as Windows Search.
Gaming guides tell you to force HPET or turn off the dynamic tick with bcdedit. Microsoft's own BCDEdit reference says each of these options 'should only be used for debugging'. They aren't performance settings, and on some systems they make timing worse.
Removing the page file doesn't make RAM faster. It lowers the commit limit (RAM plus page file), so programs can fail or freeze when memory runs out, and Windows may be unable to write a crash dump when something goes wrong.
Turning off real-time protection in Windows Security is only temporary (it switches back on by itself), and while it's off, files you open or download aren't scanned. If Defender really slows down a particular job, measure it instead of switching protection off.
WinSxS (the component store) looks huge, and tweak guides suggest deleting from it. Microsoft warns that deleting files from it, or the whole folder, can stop the PC booting and make it impossible to update. Windows already trims it automatically, and there are safe built-in ways to shrink it further.
Hidden preferences, Terminal commands and lesser-known tricks for macOS 14 Sonoma and later. Each one shows its risk, its source and the command that puts it back.
Show what Finder hides and make it behave the way you want.
By default Finder hides many file extensions, so 'report.pdf' and 'report.pdf.app' can look the same. Showing every extension tells you exactly what kind of file you're about to open, which is useful for security too.
Finder has no Cut command in the Edit menu for files, which confuses people coming from Windows. There is a hidden equivalent: copy as normal, then paste with Option held down, and the file moves instead of being duplicated.
Files sit in the Trash forever until you empty it, quietly using disk space. This setting permanently deletes anything that has been in the Trash for 30 days, so you get a safety window without the clutter.
Normally Finder mixes folders and files together alphabetically. With this on, folders are listed first, then files, the way Windows Explorer does it. It can be set for windows and, separately, for the desktop.
When you type in a Finder window's search box, macOS searches your entire Mac by default, so results from the folder you're actually looking at get buried. You can make the current folder the default scope instead.
macOS hides dotfiles (like .zshrc or .gitignore) and system folders from Finder. A keyboard shortcut flips them into view in Finder windows, and it stays that way until you change it back.
The path bar shows where the current folder lives (and you can drag files onto any folder in it). The status bar shows how many items are selected and how much free space is left. Both are hidden on a fresh Mac.
Your user Library folder (~/Library) holds app settings, caches and support files. It's hidden by default, but troubleshooting guides often send you there. You can show it permanently with a checkbox, or open it once from the Go menu.
Finder leaves .DS_Store files in every folder it opens to remember view settings, and on network shares reading them slows browsing. Apple documents a setting that stops this on SMB shares, so folders list faster. Windows and Linux users of the share will thank you too.
Where they go, what format, and the shadow and thumbnail.
Window screenshots include a wide transparent shadow, which looks odd in documents and makes the image bigger. Hold Option when you click to drop it for one shot, or turn shadows off for good.
If you're pasting a screenshot into a chat or email, you don't need a file at all. Add Control to any screenshot shortcut and the image goes to the clipboard instead of the desktop.
macOS can read text in images. Open a screenshot in Preview and you can select the words in it and copy them, just like a document. Great for error messages, slides or anything you can't normally select.
PNG screenshots of photos or busy screens can be several megabytes each. Switching the format to JPG or HEIC makes much smaller files, which is handy for sharing. The catch: these are lossy, so text can look slightly softer.
Every screenshot lands on the desktop by default, which gets messy fast. You can send them to any folder (for example Pictures/Screenshots), or straight to the clipboard, from the Screenshot toolbar.
The built-in screencapture command can do things the toolbar can't easily: a silent capture after a delay, a capture of an exact rectangle, or one that opens straight in Preview. Useful for capturing menus or hover states, and for scripts.
After each screenshot, a thumbnail sits in the corner for a few seconds so you can mark it up. If you take lots of screenshots in a row, or the thumbnail gets in the way of your next shot, you can switch it off.
Key repeat, accents popup, dragging and other input settings.
Three-finger drag lets you move windows, select text and drag files just by sliding three fingers on the trackpad, with no clicking and holding. Long-time Mac users swear by it, but Apple hid it in Accessibility settings.
If an app has a menu command you use all the time but no shortcut for it, you can add one yourself. It works for any app, or for all apps at once (for example, a shortcut for 'Export as PDF…').
On a Mac, holding down a letter key pops up a menu of accented characters (é, è, ê…) instead of repeating the letter. That's annoying in code editors, games and Vim-style apps. One Terminal setting brings back normal key repeat.
The top row of a Mac keyboard controls brightness, volume and media by default, so apps that use F-keys (spreadsheets, IDEs, games) need Fn held down. You can flip it so F1–F12 are standard keys and Fn gives you the media controls.
Caps Lock sits in prime keyboard space but most people rarely use it. macOS lets you change what it (and Control, Option, Command) does without any extra apps. Many developers make it a second Control or Escape key; others just disable it.
macOS quietly 'fixes' your typing: it corrects words, capitalises sentences, turns a double space into a full stop, and swaps straight quotes for curly ones. That's nice in letters but a pain for code, passwords in notes, or technical terms. Each one can be switched off separately.
macOS speeds the pointer up when you move a mouse quickly, so the same hand movement can land in different places. Gamers and designers often prefer it off, so a given movement always moves the pointer the same distance. Apple added a proper switch in macOS Sonoma.
Text Replacements turn a short code into longer text as you type, for example 'addr' into your full address. It's a free, built-in text expander, and replacements you add on your Mac also show up on your iPhone and iPad.
Sleep, battery, Spotlight indexing and keeping the Mac awake.
If your MacBook lives on the charger, keeping the battery below 100% helps it age more slowly. macOS Tahoe 26.4 added a built-in Charge Limit, so you no longer need a third-party app for this.
A Mac that shows almost no free memory is usually fine: macOS keeps recently used files cached in RAM so apps reopen faster. The number that matters is the Memory Pressure graph in Activity Monitor, which combines free memory, swap and cached files.
If your Mac won't sleep, or the display stays on, an app is usually holding a 'power assertion'. One read-only command lists every app currently blocking sleep, and Activity Monitor shows the same thing in a column.
Need your Mac to stay awake during a long download, render or presentation without changing your sleep settings? The built-in caffeinate command holds sleep off for as long as you say, then everything goes back to normal on its own.
The Login Items screen often shows vague names that don't tell you which app installed what. An undocumented command dumps macOS's full list of login and background items, with the app and file behind each one, to a text file you can read.
pmset can wake or power on your Mac on a schedule, for example every weekday morning before you sit down, so it's ready and has finished its updates and backups.
Many apps add themselves to your login, or install background helpers that run all the time. Trimming them makes start-up faster and saves memory and battery. macOS lists both kinds in one place.
Low Power Mode lowers energy use for longer battery life and, on Macs with fans, quieter running, at the cost of some speed. You can set it separately for battery and for the charger, so it only kicks in when you unplug.
Connection tests, Wi-Fi details and network tools built into macOS.
Since macOS Sequoia, your Mac uses a private MAC address on each Wi-Fi network so it's harder to track. You can make it rotate every two weeks on public Wi-Fi, or turn it off on your home network if your router's device list or parental controls rely on a stable address.
If a website moved to a new server, or you changed DNS settings and some sites still won't load, your Mac may be holding on to old address lookups. Flushing the DNS cache makes it look them up fresh. It's a troubleshooting step, not a speed boost.
Quick read-only commands show your local IP address and other connection details without clicking through System Settings. Useful when setting up port forwarding, a printer, or remote access.
When both Ethernet and Wi-Fi are connected, macOS uses whichever is at the top of its service order. If your Mac keeps sending traffic over Wi-Fi while plugged in, change the order so the faster wired link always wins.
Holding Option while you click the Wi-Fi icon turns the simple network list into a detailed readout: your IP address, router address, channel, band, security type and Wi-Fi standard. Handy for working out why one room has bad Wi-Fi.
macOS has its own speed test in Terminal. Besides download and upload speed, it measures 'responsiveness' (round trips per minute while the line is busy), which explains why video calls stutter on a connection that looks fast.
You can point your Mac at a different DNS provider (for example your router, Pi-hole, or a public resolver) in System Settings, or with one networksetup command that's easy to script and to undo.
macOS includes a Wi-Fi troubleshooting app that's only reachable from a hidden menu item. It checks your connection, lists problems with suggested fixes, and saves a report you can hand to your ISP or IT support. It doesn't change your settings.
Gatekeeper, firewall, Touch ID for sudo and privacy settings.
A coloured dot next to the Control Center icon tells you something is recording: orange means the microphone is in use, green means a camera is in use, and purple means system audio is being recorded. Opening Control Center tells you which app it is, so you can catch anything listening or watching when it shouldn't be.
One shortcut locks your Mac the moment you walk away. Pair it with 'require password immediately' so no one can wake it without you, and add a lock-screen message with contact details in case it's ever lost.
If you clicked 'Don't Allow' by mistake, or an app's permission seems stuck, tccutil wipes the saved decision so the app has to ask again. You can reset one permission for one app, or everything for an app you've uninstalled.
The macOS firewall blocks unwanted incoming connections, but it isn't always switched on. Stealth mode goes further and makes your Mac ignore pings and probes from other devices, so it's harder to find on public Wi-Fi.
Gatekeeper blocks apps that aren't from the App Store or a verified developer. If you trust the app (say, a small open-source tool), you don't need to switch Gatekeeper off. Approve that one app in Privacy & Security and macOS remembers it.
On Apple silicon and T2 Macs the disk is always encrypted, but without FileVault it isn't tied to your password. Turning FileVault on means nobody can get at your files without your login password or recovery key. On older Intel Macs without a T2 chip it's the only disk encryption.
If you use Terminal a lot, typing your password for every sudo gets old. Since macOS Sonoma, Apple ships a template file that lets sudo accept Touch ID, and it survives system updates (older hacks edited a file that updates overwrote).
Popular Mac “speed-ups” that do nothing useful today, or cause harm.
Memory booster apps show a scary 'used RAM' number and 'free' it with one click. But macOS deliberately fills spare RAM with cached files to make things faster. Throwing that cache away just means it has to be rebuilt, and the app itself uses memory and CPU in the background.
Resetting the SMC and NVRAM (Option-Command-P-R at startup) is classic Mac troubleshooting, but it only applies to Intel Macs. On Apple silicon (M1 and later), Apple says the NVRAM steps don't apply and aren't needed, and the SMC resets automatically. A normal restart does the job.
purge empties the disk cache, the copies of recently used files macOS keeps in RAM so they open quickly. It's meant for benchmarking, not maintenance. After a purge, the next things you open have to come from disk again, so it can make your Mac briefly slower.
For years, Mac 'maintenance' advice was to run sudo periodic daily weekly monthly, or let a utility app do it. Apple stopped relying on these scripts and removed the periodic command entirely in macOS Sequoia. Housekeeping like log cleanup is handled automatically by other parts of macOS.
Repairing permissions was standard Mac advice until OS X El Capitan, when System Integrity Protection arrived and Disk Utility dropped the feature. System files are protected from getting wrong permissions in the first place, and Apple hasn't recommended repairing home-folder permissions since Big Sur.
Old tips say to switch off Spotlight indexing to speed up a Mac. It's a blunt fix that breaks search, and it doesn't work the way people think: switching off the categories in Spotlight settings doesn't actually stop indexing, and Howard Oakley found it can even slow some Finder operations.
Cleaner suites promise a faster Mac by deleting caches, logs and 'junk'. Caches exist to speed things up, so deleting them usually makes things slower until they're rebuilt, and deleting logs makes problems harder to diagnose. A Mac doesn't need routine cleaning.
Some 'tuning' guides tell you to disable SIP from Recovery to speed things up or to allow deep tweaks. SIP is what keeps critical system locations read-only so malware can't modify them. Switching it off strips that protection, and there's no established general speed benefit in return.