March 21, 2026
Icon-pocalypse Now
Hide macOS Tahoe's Menu Icons
Mac fans revolt over Tahoe’s menu icons — one command fixes it
TLDR: A popular developer shared a simple Terminal command to disable macOS Tahoe’s new menu icons, and users cheered. Comments erupted into a wider design fight—some confuse menu bar tweaks with menu icons, others blast Tahoe’s visionOS-inspired look—while many demand Apple add a proper toggle ASAP.
Apple stuffed macOS Tahoe’s drop-down menus with little icons, and the community is not having it. Enter internet favorite Steve Troughton-Smith with a one-line rescue: defaults write -g NSMenuEnableActionImages -bool NO. Fans say it zaps the clutter while keeping a few useful symbols, and the crowd is begging Apple to add a simple on/off toggle in the next version. Cue the memes: “icon‑pocalypse,” “sticker book UI,” and praise like “Steve is my hero.”
Then the bickering begins. One commenter swears there’s a “built-in way” in Settings to hide icons, but others clap back: that only moves status icons on the top bar, not the new icons inside menus. The thread morphs into a full-on design trial for Tahoe: critics call it “absolutely awful,” blaming Apple’s push to match visionOS (the Apple headset system) for the glassy look and jumbo sizing. Power users pile on asking for more fixes—window corners, Finder overlays, the works—while link-sharers drop a related thread and the source post. Verdict from the peanut gallery: the command works, the vibes don’t, and Apple needs a toggle, yesterday.
Key Points
- •The article addresses new menu icons introduced in macOS Tahoe.
- •A Terminal command is provided to disable menu action images: defaults write -g NSMenuEnableActionImages -bool NO.
- •Disabling action images preserves certain useful icons, such as for window zoom/resize.
- •Applications must be relaunched for the change to take effect.
- •The author urges Apple to roll back the change in a future macOS version or provide an official setting to disable menu icons.