How to Automate Your Mac Appearance with Solace

What can Solace automate about your Mac's appearance?

Solace handles four aspects of Mac appearance that macOS manages separately - or not at all. Where the built-in tools give you a basic on/off switch, Solace gives you a full scheduling system with multiple trigger methods and independent controls for each feature.

Here is a complete overview of what Solace automates:

• Dark mode scheduling - switch automatically based on solar position, custom times, or local weather conditions
• Colour temperature - warm your display in the evening on a schedule that is entirely independent from your dark mode schedule
• Wallpaper pairing - assign a different wallpaper to light mode and dark mode; Solace switches them automatically when appearance changes
• Weather-aware switching - trigger dark mode when it is overcast, raining, or snowing outside, not just after a fixed sunset time
• Global keyboard shortcut - override any schedule instantly with a single key combination
• Privacy by design - all location and weather data is processed entirely on-device; no telemetry, no account, no server communication

Solace requires macOS Sequoia or later and costs $4.99 as a one-time purchase. There is no subscription.

Why automate your Mac's appearance instead of switching manually?

An estimated 40% of Mac users forget to switch between light and dark mode on any given day. Manual switching sounds simple in theory but is one of those low-priority tasks that consistently gets skipped, especially when you are in the middle of focused work.

Beyond the inconvenience, consistency matters for your circadian rhythm. Research published in the Journal of Biological Rhythms found that irregular light exposure - bright screens late at night, or insufficient ambient light changes throughout the day - disrupts the body's internal clock more than a fixed pattern, even a less-than-optimal one. Automating your display settings at consistent times removes the variability entirely.

There is also the decision fatigue argument. The more small decisions you automate, the more cognitive capacity remains for work that actually requires judgment. Appearance switching is a perfect candidate: you have a preference, the logic is straightforward, and the computer can handle it without your involvement.

Solace handles all of this with a setup that takes about five minutes and then runs invisibly in the background.

How do you set up sunset-based dark mode scheduling in Solace?

Sunset/sunrise scheduling is the most popular Solace mode. It calculates the exact solar position for your location each day, so your Mac transitions at the right time year-round without any manual adjustment for seasonal changes.

Setting up sunset/sunrise scheduling

1. Open Solace from the menu bar (the sun/moon icon).
2. Go to Preferences > Scheduling.
3. Select Sunset/Sunrise as your scheduling method.
4. When prompted, grant Solace location access. This is used only for solar calculations - the data never leaves your device.
5. Solace will calculate today's local sunset and sunrise times immediately and display them in the preferences panel.
6. Optionally, use the offset slider to shift the transition earlier or later - for example, 30 minutes before sunset if you want dark mode to kick in while there is still daylight.

Once configured, Solace will switch to dark mode at sunset and back to light mode at sunrise, every day, recalculating for your location automatically. You do not need to touch the setting again unless you move to a different time zone.

Custom time scheduling

If you prefer a fixed daily schedule regardless of the actual sunset time, Solace also supports custom times. This is useful if you work a night shift, travel across time zones regularly, or simply prefer a consistent transition regardless of the season.

1. Go to Preferences > Scheduling and select Custom Times.
2. Set your preferred time for switching to dark mode and your preferred time for switching back to light mode.
3. Solace will apply this schedule every day at exactly the times you set.

Custom times and sunset/sunrise scheduling are mutually exclusive - you choose one per app launch. If you want to test the difference, you can switch between methods at any time in Preferences.

How does Solace's weather-aware appearance switching work?

Weather-aware switching is Solace's most distinctive feature. Instead of switching appearance at a fixed time each day, Solace checks your current local weather conditions and switches to dark mode when the conditions warrant it - regardless of the time of day.

Which weather conditions trigger dark mode

Solace monitors the following conditions via Apple's on-device weather framework:

• Overcast - heavy cloud cover with low ambient light
• Rain - light rain, moderate rain, and heavy rain all trigger dark mode
• Snow - snowfall conditions switch the display to dark mode
• Fog or mist - low-visibility conditions that reduce ambient light significantly

When conditions clear - returning to partly cloudy or sunny - Solace automatically reverts to light mode if it is still within daytime hours. All weather data is sourced from Apple's WeatherKit framework and processed entirely on your device. No weather API calls go to Solace's servers because there are no Solace servers.

Combining weather and solar scheduling

You can use weather-aware switching as a standalone mode or combine it with sunset/sunrise scheduling. In combined mode, Solace switches to dark mode at sunset or when the weather deteriorates during the day - whichever comes first. This is the most adaptive configuration and the one most users settle on after experimenting.

1. Go to Preferences > Scheduling.
2. Select Weather-aware from the scheduling method options.
3. Toggle Also switch at sunset if you want combined behaviour.
4. Solace will now respond to both solar position and real-time weather conditions.

How do you set independent colour temperature and dark mode schedules?

One of Solace's most underappreciated features is the ability to set colour temperature on a schedule that is completely independent from dark mode. macOS's Night Shift and dark mode share no coordination - they are separate settings with no relationship. Solace gives you explicit control over both, with separate timing for each.

Why independent schedules matter

Many people benefit from warming their display earlier in the evening - even while still using light mode for work. If you switch dark mode on at 8 PM but your colour temperature should start warming at 6 PM, Solace handles this naturally. The two settings operate independently and do not interfere with each other.

Configuring colour temperature

1. Go to Preferences > Colour Temperature.
2. Enable the evening warmth schedule.
3. Set the time at which warming begins each evening (for example, 6:00 PM).
4. Set the time at which the display returns to neutral colour temperature each morning (for example, 7:00 AM).
5. Adjust the warmth intensity slider to your preferred Kelvin level.
6. Disable Night Shift in System Settings > Displays > Night Shift to avoid conflicts. Solace replaces Night Shift entirely.

Solace uses native macOS colour management APIs for colour temperature, which means it is efficient (no measurable battery impact) and compatible with all display types including ProMotion, HDR, and external monitors.

Wallpaper pairing

Solace can automatically switch your desktop wallpaper when your Mac changes appearance mode. You assign one wallpaper for light mode and one for dark mode; Solace handles the switching without any additional input from you.

1. Go to Preferences > Wallpapers.
2. Click Set Light Mode Wallpaper and choose an image from your Mac.
3. Click Set Dark Mode Wallpaper and choose a second image.
4. Enable wallpaper switching. Solace will now swap the wallpaper every time dark or light mode activates.

If you have multiple displays, Solace supports different wallpaper assignments per monitor. Go to Preferences > Wallpapers and select each connected display from the dropdown to configure them independently.

Global keyboard shortcut

No matter how well-automated your schedule is, there will be times you want to manually override it - a video call, a bright outdoor environment, or simply a preference in the moment. Solace's global keyboard shortcut lets you toggle the current appearance instantly without opening any preferences.

1. Go to Preferences > Shortcuts.
2. Click the shortcut field and press your desired key combination (for example, ⌥⇧D).
3. Press Save. The shortcut is now active system-wide.

Pressing the shortcut overrides the current schedule for the rest of the session. The automatic schedule resumes at the next scheduled transition point (for example, the next sunset or your custom time).

Is Solace worth $4.99 compared to macOS's built-in tools?

macOS's built-in options are free and reasonably capable for basic use. Auto Appearance switches at sunset and sunrise. Night Shift warms the display in the evening. You can set a static wallpaper. What you cannot do with built-in tools:

• Switch at custom times other than solar sunrise/sunset
• Use weather conditions as a trigger for dark mode
• Control colour temperature on a schedule independent from dark mode
• Automatically swap wallpapers when appearance changes
• Use a global keyboard shortcut to toggle appearance instantly
• Set dark mode on a different schedule from colour temperature

If you only need basic sunset switching and Night Shift, macOS's built-in tools are sufficient and there is no reason to spend $4.99. Solace earns its place if you want any of the above - particularly weather-awareness, custom times, or independent colour temperature scheduling.

The alternative is assembling three or four separate free apps to cover the same ground: one for dark mode scheduling, one for colour temperature, one for wallpaper switching, and so on. Each adds a background process, a separate preferences panel, and potential conflicts between tools. Solace consolidates everything into a single app with a unified interface and a one-time payment.

For most users who want more control than macOS provides, Solace is the cleaner solution. It requires macOS Sequoia or later and runs as a lightweight menu bar app that is invisible until you need it.

Getting started with Solace

Setup takes about five minutes. Here is the complete first-run process:

1. Download Solace from theodorehq.com/solace or the Mac App Store.
2. Open Solace. The sun/moon icon will appear in your menu bar.
3. Grant location access when prompted - needed for solar scheduling and weather. All processing is on-device.
4. Go to Preferences > Scheduling and choose: Sunset/Sunrise, Custom Times, or Weather-aware.
5. Go to Preferences > Colour Temperature and configure your evening warmth schedule independently.
6. Go to Preferences > Wallpapers and assign a light mode and dark mode wallpaper for each display.
7. (Optional) Go to Preferences > Shortcuts and set a global keyboard shortcut for instant manual override.

Once setup is complete, Solace runs in the background and requires no further management. The menu bar icon turns to a moon in dark mode and a sun in light mode, so you can see the current state at a glance.

Frequently asked questions