7 Secret Settings to Disable and Reduce Mac Animations for Good

I appreciate the intuitive design and smooth animations of the macOS interface. However, the animations feel a bit too slow for my liking. Fortunately, there are ways to increase the macOS’s animation speeds using some secret settings and commands. I wish these options were more readily available in the Settings app itself.

Note: In this article, we’re not talking about speeding up a slow Mac. That’s a guide for another day. No, we’re focusing on increasing the animation speeds across the system for different actions.

Table of Contents

1. Speed Up Dock’s Opening/Closing Animation on Mac

Many of us hide the dock to get more screen space. However, when you move your cursor toward the bottom to bring up the dock, the default opening and closing animations can feel slow. This can make repeated tasks like opening apps take longer than necessary. Fortunately, you can speed up these animations with a simple Terminal command.

To make the dock’s animations faster, open the Terminal and type the following command:

defaults write com.apple.dock autohide-time-modifier -float 0.15;killall Dock

You can adjust the speed to your liking by changing the float value in the command above to your preference.

If you ever want to revert to the default speed or reset to the original settings, use this command instead:

defaults delete com.apple.dock autohide-time-modifier;killall Dock

2. Increase Launchpad’s Opening/Closing Animation on Mac

The Launchpad is a convenient way to access your apps, except for the default animation speeds. If you want a snappier experience, you can speed up these animations with a quick Terminal command. Once done, whether you launch the launchpad from the dock icon, hot corner, or with the keyboard shortcut, you should notice a change in the speed.

To make Launchpad animations faster, open the Terminal and enter the following commands:

defaults write com.apple.dock springboard-show-duration -float 0.1

The above command will only change the opening animation. To also change the closing animation, use this command:

defaults write com.apple.dock springboard-hide-duration -float 0.1;killall Dock

These commands will reduce the time it takes for Launchpad to appear and disappear, making your Mac feel more responsive and snappy. If you prefer a different speed, again adjust the float value accordingly.

To switch back to the default speeds, try these commands in the terminal one after another:

defaults delete com.apple.dock springboard-show-duration

defaults delete com.apple.dock springboard-hide-duration

3. Speed Up Page Navigation in Launchpad

Not only the Launchpad opening and closing animations, but the default animation of switching between pages in Launchpad is also slow. Fortunately, you can also speed up that animation.

To make page navigation in Launchpad faster, open the Terminal and type:

defaults write com.apple.dock springboard-page-duration -float 0.2;killall Dock

This command reduces the time it takes to move between pages in Launchpad, allowing you to access your apps quickly.

To switch back to default speeds, use this command:

defaults delete com.apple.dock springboard-page-duration

4. Disable Finder Animations on Mac

Finder isn’t just a file manager on the Mac—it’s a core component of macOS that handles many other actions in the background that you don’t even know are running. For instance, the right-click menu you use daily is a part of the Finder app. When you disable Finder animations, several subtle changes occur across the system, affecting the following:

Icon Movement: Disables animations when moving icons or resizing windows, making these actions instant.
View Transitions: Makes scrolling through items in different views faster
Info Panel Animations: Stops subtle animations when opening or closing the Info panel, making it appear instantly.
Progress Bar Animations: Disables smooth progress bar animations, leading to faster updates during file operations.
Rubber-Banding Effect: Removes the bounce-back effect when scrolling, resulting in a more direct scroll.
Dock Magnification: Disables the magnification effect when hovering over Dock icons, making the Dock static.
Mission Control Animations: Speeds up transitions in Mission Control, making workspace management more efficient.
Spotlight Search Box Animation: Eliminates the smooth appearance of the Spotlight search box, making it show results a bit more quickly without any window resize animation

To disable Finder animations and make your Mac feel snappier, open Terminal and type:

defaults write com.apple.finder DisableAllAnimations -bool true;killall Finder

This command will turn off unnecessary animations in Finder, making the system feel faster and more responsive. However, depending on the macOS version you’re running, some of these animations may remain unaffected.

If you encounter any issues or prefer to revert to the original settings, you can restore the default animations using this command:

defaults delete com.apple.finder DisableAllAnimations;killall Finder

5. Minimize Windows Faster on Your Mac

Minimizing windows is something we do frequently, but by default, we get the Genie animation which takes a lot of time in action. However, Apple allows changing the animation style in the System Settings.

To switch to the faster “Scale” animation:

Open System Settings > Desktop & Dock.
Change the Minimize windows using option from Genie to Scale.

The Scale animation is much faster than the Genie one.

Alternatively, you can use this Terminal command to change the animation style:

defaults write com.apple.dock mineffect -string scale; killall Dock

6. Disable These Animations in System Settings

While macOS doesn’t offer direct controls for all animations, you can disable certain animations through System Settings.

Open System Settings > Accessibility > Display.
Enable the Reduce motion toggle.

This setting disables many animations such as opening Mission Control, switching between apps, and moving between virtual desktops. While disabling animations can make the interface feel less smooth, it improves speed.

For example, this is how switching between virtual desktops looks like without the animation.

7. Adjust Refresh Rate in System Settings

While changing the refresh rate doesn’t directly alter animation speed, some animations are linked to the refresh rate rather than time. For instance, switching between virtual desktops using keyboard shortcuts may appear smoother with a higher refresh rate.

You can only adjust the refresh rate if your screen supports it. Some MacBook models, like the MacBook Air with M1, do not offer multiple refresh rates. This setting is particularly useful when connecting your Mac to an external monitor.

To change the refresh rate:

Go to System Settings > Displays.
Select your display and choose a higher refresh rate.

Keep in mind that increasing the refresh rate can lead to higher battery consumption, so proceed with caution.

By customizing these animations and settings, you can make your macOS experience feel faster and more responsive. Feel free to experiment with the timings to find the right balance between smoothness and speed.

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