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Apple System Preferences URL Schemes
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macOS_SytemPrefs.md

macOS 10.15 System Preference Panes

Below are a list of System Preference pane URLs and paths that can be accessed with scripting to assist users with enabling macOS security settings without having to walk them through launching System Preferences, finding panes, and scrolling to settings. Not all panes have an accessible anchor and some are OS specific.

To find the Pane ID of a specific pane, open the System Preferences app and select the desired Preference Pane. With the pane selected, open the ScriptEditor.app and run the following script to copy the current Pane ID to your clipboard and display any available anchors:

tell application "System Preferences"
	set CurrentPane to the id of the current pane
	set the clipboard to CurrentPane
	get the name of every anchor of current pane
end tell

Opening with URL Schemes

If the preference pane supports it, you can open them with a URL in terminal using the following syntax (replace <PaneID> with the desired pane ID):

open "x-apple.systempreferences:<PaneID>"

Open with System Preferences Bundle Identifier and Pane Path

You can also access the main preference panes using the file path to each pane from /System/Library/PreferencePanes/ using the open command with slightly different syntax (replace /Path/To/Pane with your desired pane):

open -b com.apple.systempreferences /Path/To/Pane

Preference Panes

Below are all the panes that display on most Macs running 10.15 Catalina but there are a few that are ommitted that are available on later versions of Apple hardware or installed plugins. If the pane supports being opened with URL then it is listed, otherwise you can use the path.

Apple ID Pane

/System/Library/PreferencePanes/AppleIDPrefPane.prefPane

Family Sharing Pane

/System/Library/PreferencePanes/FamilySharingPrefPane.prefPane

General Pane

/System/Library/PreferencePanes/Appearance.prefPane

Desktop & Screen Saver Pane

/System/Library/PreferencePanes/DesktopScreenEffectsPref.prefPane

Dock Pane

/System/Library/PreferencePanes/Dock.prefPane

Mission Control Pane

/System/Library/PreferencePanes/Expose.prefPane

Siri Pane

com.apple.preference.speech
/System/Library/PreferencePanes/Speech.prefPane

Spotlight Pane

/System/Library/PreferencePanes/Spotlight.prefPane

Language & Region Pane

/System/Library/PreferencePanes/Localization.prefPane

Notifications Pane

com.apple.preference.notifications
open -b com.apple.systempreferences /System/Library/PreferencePanes/Notifications.prefPane

Internet Accounts Pane

/System/Library/PreferencePanes/InternetAccounts.prefPane

Users & Groups Pane

/System/Library/PreferencePanes/Accounts.prefPane

Accessibility Pane

com.apple.preference.universalaccess
/System/Library/PreferencePanes/UniversalAccessPref.prefPane

  • Display com.apple.preference.universalaccess?Seeing_Display

  • Zoom com.apple.preference.universalaccess?Seeing_Zoom

  • VoiceOver com.apple.preference.universalaccess?Seeing_VoiceOver

  • Descriptions com.apple.preference.universalaccess?Media_Descriptions

  • Captions com.apple.preference.universalaccess?Captioning

  • Audio com.apple.preference.universalaccess?Hearing

  • Keyboard com.apple.preference.universalaccess?Keyboard

  • Mouse & Trackpad com.apple.preference.universalaccess?Mouse

  • Switch Control com.apple.preference.universalaccess?Switch

  • Dictation com.apple.preference.universalaccess?SpeakableItems

Screen Time

com.apple.preference.screentime
/System/Library/PreferencePanes/ScreenTime.prefPane

Extensions Pane

/System/Library/PreferencePanes/Extensions.prefPane

Security & Privacy Pane

Tip: The "Advanced" anchor will initially open S&P pane to your last used tab (General, FileValut, Firewall, Privacy)but if the pane is already open it triggers a the panel unlock wherever the user may be at in the Security and Privacy pane. So, if you want them to enable a specific Privacy setting, open the desired Privacy anchor first (e.g. ?Privacy_Contacts) and then open the Advanced anchor (?Advanced) to prompt the user password to unlock the preference pane.

Main Tabs

com.apple.preference.security
/System/Library/PreferencePanes/Security.prefPane

  • General com.apple.preference.security?General

  • Advanced com.apple.preference.security?Advanced

  • FileVault com.apple.preference.security?FDE

  • Firewall com.apple.preference.security?Firewall

  • Privacy Main com.apple.preference.security?Privacy

Privacy Anchors

  • Location Services com.apple.preference.security?Privacy_LocationServices

  • Contacts com.apple.preference.security?Privacy_Contacts

  • Calendars com.apple.preference.security?Privacy_Calendars

  • Reminders com.apple.preference.security?Privacy_Reminders

  • Photos com.apple.preference.security?Privacy_Photos

  • Camera com.apple.preference.security?Privacy_Camera

  • Microphone com.apple.preference.security?Privacy_Microphone

  • Speech Recognition com.apple.preference.security?Privacy_SpeechRecognition

  • Accessibility com.apple.preference.security?Privacy_Accessibility

  • Input Monitoring Not Available

  • Full Disk Access com.apple.preference.security?Privacy_AllFiles

  • Files and Folders Not Available

  • Screen Recording Not Available

  • Automation com.apple.preference.security?Privacy_Automation

  • Analytics and Improvements com.apple.preference.security?Privacy_Diagnostics

  • Advertising com.apple.preference.security?Privacy_Advertising

Software Update Pane

/System/Library/PreferencePanes/SoftwareUpdate.prefPane

Network Pane

/System/Library/PreferencePanes/Network.prefPane

Bluetooth Pane

/System/Library/PreferencePanes/Bluetooth.prefPane

Sound Pane

/System/Library/PreferencePanes/Sound.prefPane

Printers & Scanners Pane

/System/Library/PreferencePanes/PrintAndFax.prefPane
/System/Library/PreferencePanes/PrintAndScan.prefPane

Keyboard Pane

/System/Library/PreferencePanes/Keyboard.prefPane

  • Dictation com.apple.preference.speech?Dictation

Trackpad Pane

/System/Library/PreferencePanes/Trackpad.prefPane

Mouse Pane

/System/Library/PreferencePanes/Mouse.prefPane

Displays Pane

/System/Library/PreferencePanes/Displays.prefPane

Energy Saver Pane

/System/Library/PreferencePanes/EnergySaver.prefPane

Date & Time Pane

/System/Library/PreferencePanes/DateAndTime.prefPane

Sharing Preference Pane

com.apple.preferences.sharing
/System/Library/PreferencePanes/SharingPref.prefPane

  • Screen Sharing com.apple.preferences.sharing?Services_ScreenSharing

  • File Sharing com.apple.preferences.sharing?Services_PersonalFileSharing

  • Printer Sharing com.apple.preferences.sharing?Services_PrinterSharing

  • Remote Login com.apple.preferences.sharing?Services_RemoteLogin

  • Remote Management com.apple.preferences.sharing?Services_ARDService

  • Remote Apple Events com.apple.preferences.sharing?Services_RemoteAppleEvent

  • Internet Sharing com.apple.preferences.sharing?Internet

  • Bluetooth Sharing com.apple.preferences.sharing?Services_BluetoothSharing

Time Machine Pane

/System/Library/PreferencePanes/TimeMachine.prefPane

Startup Disk Pane

/System/Library/PreferencePanes/StartupDisk.prefPane

Profiles Pane

/System/Library/PreferencePanes/Profiles.prefPane

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