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How to Rearrange Menu Bar Icons on Mac

You can reorder most menu bar icons with a keyboard modifier and a drag. A manager adds sections and a place to see everything at once.

Updated

Short answer. Hold Command and drag an icon left or right in the menu bar. That is built into macOS. Tuck's Layout screen does the same from a window, with three sections and a badge that decides where new icons go.

Steps

  1. Try Command-drag first. Hold the Command key and drag an icon along the menu bar. Release to drop it. This works for most third-party status icons.
  2. Turn off auto-hide while arranging. If the menu bar hides itself, set Automatically hide and show the menu bar to Never in System Settings, Menu Bar. Tuck also offers a button in Layout to turn auto-hide off while you arrange.
  3. Open Layout in Tuck. Open Settings, Layout. You see Visible, Hidden and Always-Hidden bars.
  4. Drag icons between sections. Drag an icon into the section you want. Drop it where it should sit inside that section.
  5. Set where new icons land. Move the New Items badge to Visible or Hidden. New apps appear there.
  6. Confirm the result. Reveal the hidden section and check each icon. Use Reset Layout only to start over, because it can move everything back to Visible.

Why some items will not move

macOS stops certain system items from being repositioned with Command-drag. They follow the pointer, then snap back when you let go. Some apps also host their icon in a way a manager cannot name, so the icon shows in the bar but not by name in Layout. Tuck’s documentation lists known cases.

Groups and spacers

Grouping items so they move together is planned for Tuck Pro. You can also add spacer items of your own, with a width you choose. Groups and folders are described on the features page.

Icons in the wrong section after a restart

macOS inserts new status items at the far left, which Tuck treats as Hidden. Some apps do not remember their position, so Tuck sees them as new every time. See why icons move after a restart.

The macOS steps target macOS 26. Tuck instructions describe its documented settings and supplied UI renders; the public DMG is launching soon. Pro features remain planned.

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