How to change the accent colour on a Mac

howtosimply.com/guides/how-to-change-the-accent-colour-on-a-mac/ · Checked October 2026 · MacBook Neo · macOS 27.0.1

3 of 4 steps with real screenshots · 3 official sources below

Device

Mac

Shown on

macOS 27.0.1 (MacBook Neo)

App

System Settings

Real screenshots

3 of 4 steps

What we did

Performed: we made the change on our device and show the result

Checked

October 2026

Sources

3 official, linked below

Step by step

1. 

   Open System Settings

   Click the Apple menu in the top-left corner of the screen and choose System Settings…

   Done

2. 

   Click Appearance in the sidebar

   Appearance is below Accessibility.

   On our MacBook Neo the page opens with Appearance, Liquid Glass and Theme sections.

   Done

3. 

   Click a colour

   The circles are in the Color row under Theme, and the chosen colour's name appears below its circle.

   On our MacBook Neo the row has ten circles. The last one, labelled This Mac, was selected until we clicked the circle labelled Green.

   Done

4. Choose the highlight colour for text

   Text highlight color, the next row, sets the colour for selected text. Click its menu to change it.

   On our MacBook Neo it was set to This Mac, and it stayed that way after we chose Green.

   Done

If you do not see this option

• There is an extra circle at the end On our MacBook Neo the tenth circle in the Color row was labelled This Mac. It sits after the grey circle.
• Icons take the colour too Apple says that with Tinted chosen under Icon & widget style, icons, text and graphics use the colour chosen under Theme. On our MacBook Neo the options were Default, Dark, Clear and Tinted. Source: Change Appearance settings on Mac · Source: Change Display settings for accessibility on Mac · Source: Change General preferences on Mac
• Your Mac has System Preferences Apple's guide for macOS Monterey 12 says to choose System Preferences, then General. The row is called Accent color there, and the colour for selected text is Highlight color. Source: Change Appearance settings on Mac · Source: Change Display settings for accessibility on Mac · Source: Change General preferences on Mac

If this does not work

• Selected text keeps its old colour Text highlight color is a separate setting. On our MacBook Neo it stayed on This Mac after we chose Green, so set it in its own menu.
• Toolbars take on other colours Apple says Tint window background with wallpaper color lets the wallpaper tint toolbars and status bars. Source: Change Appearance settings on Mac · Source: Change Display settings for accessibility on Mac · Source: Change General preferences on Mac
• All colours on screen look wrong Apple says Color Filters in Accessibility, Display change display colours. Check that they are off. Source: Change Appearance settings on Mac · Source: Change Display settings for accessibility on Mac · Source: Change General preferences on Mac

About this guide

Buttons and selected items on a Mac use an accent colour that you can change in System Settings.

Screenshots: MacBook Neo, macOS 27.0.1, dark mode.

Good to know

Light and dark appearance are at the top of the same page: how to turn on dark mode on a Mac.

On our MacBook Neo the same page also has Folder color, set to Automatic, and Sidebar icon size, set to Medium.

In short: Apple menu > System Settings… > Appearance > Theme > Color.