Desktop Composer 1.0 Released

I like to change the look of my system from time to time. I switch between Light and Dark mode, set the right wallpaper, and match my Xcode and Terminal themes — and SideNotes too. It feels good to have a focused look in the morning and a calmer one in the evening. Sometimes I want a quick refresh before a screen‑sharing call, or I want to hide desktop icons and widgets to keep the view clean. That is exactly where Desktop Composer helps — I can create profiles and switch them almost instantly with one click.

Desktop Composer is a macOS app that lets you create, manage, and instantly switch appearance profiles for your Mac. A profile represents a complete visual setup of the system and supported apps, so you can make a consistent change across your whole desktop in seconds.

Main Window

How It Works

  • Create appearance profiles that define how your system and supported apps should look.
  • Switch profiles instantly from the app or menu bar, or set them to activate automatically.
  • Keep control with selective option disabling so Desktop Composer never changes settings you want to keep static.

What You Can Customize

  • Wallpaper, solid colors, and gradients
  • Light or Dark appearance
  • Accent and folder colors
  • Icon and widget style
  • Dock size, position, magnification, and auto‑hide
  • Menu bar visibility
  • Stage Manager (on or off)
  • Desktop icon visibility
  • Widget visibility
  • Supported app themes (Xcode, Terminal, iTerm, Visual Studio Code, Alfred, Obsidian, Bear, ForkLift, SideNotes, FiveNotes, NotePlan)

Background Picker

What it can customize

For Beta Testers

Desktop Composer was available as a public beta for several months. Since the first beta, the app gained new background options with images, colors, and gradients, a full set of default profiles and specially crafted wallpapers, automation features like Focus Filters and Scheduling, selective option disabling, Spotlight discovery, Apple Shortcuts actions, AppleScript API, and expanded third‑party app integrations. Thank you for testing, reporting issues, and helping shape the 1.0 release.

Community

We also have a community on Reddit at https://www.reddit.com/r/DesktopComposer/ where we'll share news and behind‑the‑scenes updates, and you can share your screenshots, themes, setups, and suggestions.

Pricing, Download, and Availability

Desktop Composer 1.0 is available now via direct download and Setapp.

Press release: Desktop Composer 1.0 Released