Preferee
Preferee is a macOS utility for advanced users who edit app defaults, property lists, and JSON files through a dedicated graphical editor.
What is Preferee?
Preferee is a macOS utility that helps advanced users inspect and edit user defaults, property lists, and JSON files without relying entirely on Terminal commands. It is made by Many Tricks and is aimed at developers, technical support workflows, and power users who need fine control over app settings and preference data. The app can work with known defaults domains, open plist-style files directly, and save changes back to the targeted settings source. It also includes syntax checking, code folding, and format-aware editing for XML and JSON views, which makes large settings files easier to work with. For some edits, it can relaunch a running app after saving so changes take effect more reliably. On Mac, it fits best as a focused utility for preference editing and troubleshooting.
Key features
- Edit macOS user defaults through a graphical interface
- Open and modify property list and JSON files
- Swap in edited or imported settings and swap back later
- Check syntax errors and type mismatches while editing
- Fold and unfold dictionaries, arrays, and data elements
- Search and organize defaults domains, including favorites
- Optionally relaunch affected apps after saving changes
Review app leftovers with diCleaner
Inspect caches, support files, containers, and login items before cleaning.
Safety overview
Status: Mostly safe
Preferee is a legitimate settings-editing utility, but it is designed to change application preferences directly. That access is normal for its purpose, yet incorrect edits can make an app behave unexpectedly or reset parts of a workflow until the settings are corrected. It is best used by people who understand the settings they are changing and who want precise control over preference data.
Recommendation: Keep Preferee if you actively edit app preferences, troubleshoot settings, or work with plist and JSON configuration files on your Mac. If you do not use those workflows, you can remove it without affecting macOS itself, though any convenience it provides for editing defaults and related files will be lost.
Common paths
/Applications/Preferee.app
Preference paths
~/Library/Preferences/com.manytricks.Preferee.plist
Share your experience
Be the first to share your experience.