macOS stores the preferences for every single application (and the operating system itself) inside hidden Property List files, known as `.plist` files. If you spend hours configuring complex preferences for a video editing app, or if you use Terminal commands to change hidden macOS UI elements (like changing the screenshot save location), all those settings are written to a plist.
If you are moving to a brand new MacBook and want to bring all your exact, highly customized hidden preferences with you, you cannot just copy the application. You must safely extract the XML-based plist files and convert them into readable text.
How to Safely Extract Mac Hidden Plist Configurations
You must use the `defaults read` command in the Terminal to extract the settings into a text file.
- Open the Finder, go to Applications, open the Utilities folder, and double-click Terminal.
- First, let’s look at a list of all the different preference domains on your Mac. Type this command and press Enter:
defaults domains - The terminal will output a massive, comma-separated list of application identifiers (e.g.,
com.apple.screencaptureorcom.adobe.PremierePro). - Identify the specific application whose settings you want to extract. For example, let’s extract your custom screenshot settings. Type the following command, replacing the application name, and press Enter:
defaults read com.apple.screencapture > ~/Desktop/screenshot_settings_backup.txt
Look at your Mac’s desktop. You will see a new text file named screenshot_settings_backup.txt. If you open it, you will see a perfectly formatted list of every single setting and its corresponding value (e.g., "location" = "~/Pictures/Screenshots";). You have successfully extracted your configuration. To restore these exact settings on a new Mac, you would simply use the defaults write command to inject those exact values back into the new system.