Skip to content

Instantly share code, notes, and snippets.

@getaaron

getaaron/macos-messages-subject-field.md

Last active June 11, 2025 16:17
Show Gist options
  • Save getaaron/a9dc64b6ea2fa8299af6b7077f4386ae to your computer and use it in GitHub Desktop.
Save getaaron/a9dc64b6ea2fa8299af6b7077f4386ae to your computer and use it in GitHub Desktop.
Download ZIP
Enable iMessage (Messages) Subject Field in macOS Big Sur through Sonoma
Raw
macos-messages-subject-field.md

Want the Subject field (for bold iMessages) in macOS’ Messages app?

  1. Quit Messages
  2. Open Terminal
  3. Run defaults write com.apple.MobileSMS MMSShowSubject 1
  4. Start Messages

This worked for me on a fresh install of macOS 14.1.1 (23B81) (new Mac mini).

Note: On modern versions of macOS, you must enable Privacy & Security > Full Disk Access for your Terminal app in System Settings.

@getaaron
Copy link
Author

@jbburf I just figured out that on modern versions of macOS, you must enable Privacy & Security > Full Disk Access for your Terminal app in System Settings and then it will work. I am not sure if that is what you were running into, but worth a shot if you never got it working.

Sign up for free to join this conversation on GitHub. Already have an account? Sign in to comment