Search Every Preference Domain with defaults find

Find which app or system domain stores a setting you half-remember, before you change or delete it.

macOSsearchdefaultssettingsLow risk

Run defaults find autohide to list every preference domain and key containing the word 'autohide'.

01Command

Command

$ defaults find autohide

02What it does

macOS stores each app's settings in a named domain (usually com.company.AppName). defaults find scans all of your user domains at once and prints domain, key and value for every hit, which is the fastest way to locate an undocumented key or to clean up after an uninstalled app. Pair it with defaults read <domain> to see the full picture.

03Risk

RiskLow risk

!Warning: It only searches your user preferences, not the root-level /Library/Preferences; use sudo defaults find for some system-wide domains.

04Undo

✓No undo needed — this command does not change persistent state.

05Sources

defaults - Access macOS Preferences
SS64 · technical · 2026-09-17
Evidence: Documents 'defaults find word' — search for a word in the user's defaults and print a list of matching domains, keys and values.
defaults(1) man page
manpagez.com · technical · 2026-09-17
Evidence: The man page describes 'defaults [host] find word': search for word in the user's defaults, and print a list of matches.

Last verified: 2026-09-19 · Category: System & Settings