macOS defaults

Appearance

Keyboard navigation ​

Choose whether to enable moving focus with Tab and Shift Tab.

  • Tested on macOS:
    • Sonoma
    • Sequoia
  • Parameter type: int
    • 0
    • 2

Set to: Disabled (default) ​

bash
defaults write NSGlobalDomain AppleKeyboardUIMode -int "0"

Save changes dialog with keyboard navigation disabled

Set to: Enabled ​

bash
defaults write NSGlobalDomain AppleKeyboardUIMode -int "2"

Save changes dialog with keyboard navigation enabled, showing focus ring on Don't Save

Read current value ​

bash
defaults read NSGlobalDomain AppleKeyboardUIMode

Reset to default value ​

bash
defaults delete NSGlobalDomain AppleKeyboardUIMode

Set value from UI ​

  1. Open the Keyboard preference pane in System Preferences
  2. Toggle "Keyboard navigation"