How to customise the menu bar on a Mac

2 min read · 5 steps · Updated 2 October 2026

The menu bar is the strip at the top of the screen. The right side holds small icons for things like Wi-Fi, battery and sound. You decide which ones are shown.

These steps are for recent versions of macOS, where the settings app is called System Settings. The pictures are our own screenshots from macOS Tahoe 26 on a MacBook Pro.

Step by step

1. 

   Open System Settings and click Menu Bar

   Click the Apple menu in the top left corner and choose System Settings. Menu Bar is in the sidebar. You may need to scroll down.

   Done

2. 

   Select the icons you want

   Each item in the list has a tick box. Tick the ones you want to see in the menu bar. Some, such as Focus or Sound, also let you choose Show When Active.

   Done

3. Deselect the ones you never use

   A shorter row of icons is easier to read, and on a MacBook with a camera notch it leaves room for the menus of the app.

   Done

4. 

   Add a control from Control Centre

   Click Control Centre in the menu bar and click Edit Controls, or click Add Controls on the Menu Bar page. Drag an item from the gallery up to the menu bar. Examples are Quick Note and Put Display to Sleep.

   Done

5. Remove a control again

   Open Edit Controls in the same way and drag the item off the menu bar.

   Done

Good to know

Inside Control Centre you can also Control-click an item and choose Add to Menu Bar or Copy to Menu Bar.

On macOS versions before Tahoe the same choices are under System Settings, Control Centre.

More on the panel itself: how to customise Control Centre on a Mac.

In short: System Settings, Menu Bar, select or deselect icons. More through Control Centre, Edit Controls.