How to make the menu bar transparent or solid on a Mac

Current macOS draws the menu bar straight over your wallpaper. One setting gives it a solid background again, and a few more change how readable it is.

Guide · Updated 22 October 2026

How do I give the menu bar a background?

  1. Open System Settings, Menu Bar.
  2. Turn on Show menu bar background.

The menu bar gets its own strip again instead of floating over the wallpaper. Turn it off for the transparent look.

How do I make it even easier to read?

  • Turn on Reduce transparency in System Settings, Accessibility, Display. The menu bar, menus and sidebars become solid. See reduce transparency.
  • Choose a darker or plainer wallpaper. See change your wallpaper.
  • In Appearance, pick Dark mode, which keeps light text on a dark bar.

Can I hide the menu bar instead?

Yes. In the same pane, Automatically hide and show the menu bar has Always, In Full Screen Only, and Never. See auto hide the menu bar.

The rest of the new look: Liquid Glass settings. Tidy what is in the bar: customise the menu bar.

Checked on 22 October 2026 on a MacBook Air (M1) running macOS 27.0.1: Show menu bar background and the auto hide choices were read from System Settings, Menu Bar.

Questions

How do I make the menu bar solid on a Mac?

Turn on Show menu bar background in System Settings, Menu Bar.

Why is my Mac menu bar transparent?

Current macOS draws it over the wallpaper by default. Show menu bar background gives it a solid strip.

How do I make menus less see through?

Turn on Reduce transparency in System Settings, Accessibility, Display.

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