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I would really like to use a script to enable these things on macOS High Sierra, by using defaults. I know how to create the script in .bash_profile, as I will use a function for it, and then just run the function in the terminal. However, what I'm missing are the actual strings to enable the following:

  • Displaying of Bluetooth icon
  • Displaying of Volume icon
  • Displaying of battery percentage
  • Displaying of full date

Are any of these programmatically settable by using Defaults, and have they changed a great deal between 10.6-10.13?

Ok, based on what IconDeamon said in the comments section for this post, I was able to go and edit ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.systemuiserver.plist and was able to see a list of menus that I have enabled.

However, this does not necessarily take me to the place I want to go to. Ideally, it'd be good to find a list and be able to solve this. I mean, okay, now, thanks to help on this forum, I know that the ones I wish to display are:

/System/Library/CoreServices/Menu Extras/Script Menu.menu

/System/Library/CoreServices/Menu Extras/RemoteDesktop.menu

/System/Library/CoreServices/Menu Extras/Bluetooth.menu

/System/Library/CoreServices/Menu Extras/TimeMachine.menu

/System/Library/CoreServices/Menu Extras/AirPort.menu

/System/Library/CoreServices/Menu Extras/TextInput.menu

/System/Library/CoreServices/Menu Extras/Battery.menu

/System/Library/CoreServices/Menu Extras/Volume.menu

/System/Library/CoreServices/Menu Extras/Clock.menu

and that the menu can have a _5 or a _3 at the end to signify where it should go. But..? It's not exactly a user-writable textfile I can just edit.

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7
  • I'll presume you know how to set bash and script this and are looking for the keys (or someone to say on the record - no you can't do this) for a specific version of macOS.
    – bmike ♦
    Commented Nov 25, 2017 at 21:34
  • yep. i'm running osx el capitan but the machine i'm looking to just type "defaults" in (my function name in .bash_profile) is going to be a high sierra.
    – esaruoho
    Commented Nov 25, 2017 at 22:03
  • 1
    Look in ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.systemuiserver.plist.
    – IconDaemon
    Commented Nov 25, 2017 at 22:29
  • thanks @IconDaemon - now i have a list of what i tend to use. but i'm not sure how to use this info for writing on a brand new computer. also, the Battery.menu does not automatically seem to specify percentage.
    – esaruoho
    Commented Nov 25, 2017 at 23:52
  • The following command will show the Battery Percentage: defaults write com.apple.menuextra.battery ShowPercent YES; killall SystemUIServer
    – user3439894
    Commented Nov 26, 2017 at 0:45

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
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This defaults write command will enable several menu-bar icons, including Bluetooth. 

defaults write com.apple.systemuiserver menuExtras -array \
"/System/Library/CoreServices/Menu Extras/AirPort.menu" \
"/System/Library/CoreServices/Menu Extras/Bluetooth.menu" \
"/System/Library/CoreServices/Menu Extras/Clock.menu" \
"/System/Library/CoreServices/Menu Extras/Displays.menu" \
"/System/Library/CoreServices/Menu Extras/Volume.menu"

Changes will not take effect until you restart the SystemUIServer:
killall SystemUIServer

If you want to enable additional items, look in ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.systemuiserver.plist to find the specific name of the menu extra you are seeking.

Note: If you attempt to enable a menu extra that you do not have on your machine, the command will get stuck in an endless loop. Some users may not have the Eject.menu, for example.

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5
  • I'm getting an endless loop of 2018-09-25 00:31:35.052 defaults[48638:10853265] Rep argument is not a dictionary Defaults have not been changed. 2018-09-25 00:31:35.973 defaults[48677:10853403] Rep argument is not a dictionary Defaults have not been changed. 2018-09-25 00:31:36.892 defaults[48715:10853535] Rep argument is not a dictionary Defaults have not been changed. 2018-09-25 00:31:37.807 defaults[48753:10853666] Rep argument is not a dictionary Defaults have not been changed. with macOS High Sierra. What am I doing wrong?
    – esaruoho
    Commented Sep 25, 2018 at 7:32
  • 2
    @esaruoho The command needs to be one line -- if you have extra carriage returns or blank lines in there, that might cause an issue like the one you mentioned.
    – Wade Williams
    Commented Sep 25, 2018 at 18:28
  • I did paste it as one line and got those errors.
    – esaruoho
    Commented Sep 26, 2018 at 0:17
  • 2
    Hi, after removing Eject, I was able to get them all to work. Eject.menu was creating this endless loop :)
    – esaruoho
    Commented Nov 19, 2018 at 8:00
  • For me, the Clock item would always reappear in the defaults after running killall
    – felixfbecker
    Commented Jul 21, 2019 at 16:09
5

In macOS Big Sur, it seems some of the options are set in

~/Library/Preferences/ByHost/com.apple.controlcenter.$hostId

and can be set by using the defaults -currentHost write command.

Battery percentage is one of them.

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