commands
defaults -currentHost write -globalDomain NSStatusItemSpacing -int 6
defaults -currentHost write -globalDomain NSStatusItemSelectionPadding -int 12
Logout/relogin to apply changes.
default spacing
new spacing
The craziest part about modern macOS menu bar item spacing is that it was tighter when Apple still had a 30-inch display for sale—yet the decision to increase the spacing was at a time when Apple’s largest display was 27 inches
A value of 6 (x) for spacing and 12 (y) for padding looks good, but if you want more compact spacing, 4 (x) and 8 (y) may be better particularly on the 13 and 14 inch notched MacBooks. Results appear optimal when the padding value is twice the spacing value. Reddit source link
Values can be decreased down to 0 for extra-compact appearance. Keep in mind that below a certain value, the small Location Services symbol periodically appearing in the Control Center menu bar item might be cut off.
revert back to default settings
defaults -currentHost delete -globalDomain NSStatusItemSelectionPadding
defaults -currentHost delete -globalDomain NSStatusItemSpacing
You can apply the settings without logging out with this:
ps -A | grep Core | awk '{ print $1 }' | xargs -I{} kill -9 {}
But logging out is more thorough, because otherwise you’ll have to manually restart all of the third party apps that have menu bar icons.
Last modified on 2024-11-24
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