How to customize the Touch Bar on the MacBook Pro

By Lory Gil
last updated

The Touch Bar is an OLED panel across the top of the keyboard on the latest model MacBook Pro. With it, you can control a wide variety of settings and tools within the Mac system, as well as built-in and third-party apps. Many Touch Bar settings are customizable, including the Control Strip, so you can add or remove tools to create a better workflow for your daily usage. Here's how.

How to customize the Touch Bar on the MacBook Pro

I want to point out that, not every app will offer customization of the Touch Bar. Developers have the option to include it with their apps. All of the Mac's built-in apps offer Touch Bar customizations, but you'll have to check to see if your third-party apps have customized Touch Bar tools.

  1. Choose an app or program. If you want to change the Control Strip. Click your desktop screen.
  2. Click View in the app menu bar at the top of your Mac's screen.
  3. Select Customize Touch Bar from the drop down menu.
  4. Select and drag a tool from the customization panel down toward the bottom of the screen.

The tool will appear on the Touch Bar, where you can further organize it by moving it to any location within the app section.

How to reorganize tools in the Touch Bar on the MacBook Pro

You can add and remove tools in the Touch Bar with many apps, and you can also move them around in the app region to line them up according to the way you use them.

  1. Choose an app or program. If you want to change the Control Strip. Click your desktop screen.
  2. Click View in the app menu bar at the top of your Mac's screen.
  3. Select Customize Touch Bar from the drop down menu.
  4. Touch and hold a tool in the Touch bar when the customization panel appears. It will enter "jiggly mode" just like on iOS.
  5. Drag the tool to its new location within the app region.
  6. Tap Done when finished.

How to remove tools from the Touch Bar on the MacBook Pro

Whether you want to get rid of the default tools or have changed your mind about what you want to store in the Touch Bar, you can remove them.

  1. Choose an app or program. If you want to change the Control Strip. Click your desktop screen.
  2. Click View in the app menu bar at the top of your Mac's screen.
  3. Select Customize Touch Bar from the drop down menu.
  4. Touch and hold a tool in the Touch bar when the customization panel appears. It will enter "jiggly mode" just like on iOS.
  5. Drag the tool to the trash can icon on the far left of the Touch Bar.
  6. Tap Done when finished.

Any questions?

Is there anything about customizing the Touch Bar you'd like to know more about? Drop them into the comments and I'll help you out.

MacBook Pro

MacBook Pro with M1

○ MacBook Pro with M1 Review
○ Macbook Pro with M1 FAQ
○ Touch Bar: The ultimate guide
○ MacBook forums
○ Buy at Apple (opens in new tab)

Lory Gil
Lory Gil

Lory is a renaissance woman, writing news, reviews, and how-to guides for iMore. She also fancies herself a bit of a rock star in her town and spends too much time reading comic books.  If she's not typing away at her keyboard, you can probably find her at Disneyland or watching Star Wars (or both).

4 Comments
  • Two questions. Is there any way to add menu commands or keyboard shortcuts to the bar? Using Safari as an example, can I add Show Responsive Design Mode or Clear Caches to it? Also with regards to Safari, can I drag Extensions buttons to the Touch Bar, like Ghostery or Instapaper?
  • Safari tools on the Touch Bar are customizable. We don't have any official information as to which tools are customizable yet, though. Stay tuned. We'll have all of this information as soon as we get our hands on the new MBP.
  • Can you customize by adding an eject key? Apple took that off the keyboard for 2016.
  • Can you disable Siri? Kinda don't use it and keep hitting it by mistake.