macOS defaults

Appearance

Column auto sizing ​

Automatically adjust column widths in column view to fit the longest filename visible in each column.

  • Tested on macOS:
    • Tahoe
  • Parameter type: bool

Set to true ​

Columns automatically resize to fit content

bash
defaults write com.apple.finder "_FXEnableColumnAutoSizing" -bool "true" && killall Finder

Example output with value set to true

Set to false (default value) ​

Columns use fixed width

bash
defaults write com.apple.finder "_FXEnableColumnAutoSizing" -bool "false" && killall Finder

Example output with value set to false

Read current value ​

bash
defaults read com.apple.finder "_FXEnableColumnAutoSizing"

Reset to default value ​

bash
defaults delete com.apple.finder "_FXEnableColumnAutoSizing" && killall Finder

Set value from UI ​

  1. Open a Finder window
  2. Switch to column view (Cmd + 3)
  3. Press Cmd + J to open View Options
  4. Toggle "Resize columns to fit filenames"