Useful macOS defaults: QuickTime Player

QuickTime Player settings live under com.apple.QuickTimePlayerX (the X comes from the rewrite in Mac OS X Snow Leopard).

After changing these, quit and reopen QuickTime Player.

Auto-play videos when opened

Make QuickTime start playing a video the moment you open it:

defaults write com.apple.QuickTimePlayerX MGPlayMovieOnOpen -bool true

To go back to waiting for you to press play:

defaults write com.apple.QuickTimePlayerX MGPlayMovieOnOpen -bool false

Stop QuickTime from reopening previous files

defaults write com.apple.QuickTimePlayerX NSQuitAlwaysKeepsWindows -bool false

Default recording quality

Set the default quality for new screen recordings or movie recordings. These are best changed through the recording options in the app itself, but you can read the current values:

defaults read com.apple.QuickTimePlayerX

Read all current QuickTime settings

defaults read com.apple.QuickTimePlayerX

Notes

QuickTime Player has few hidden settings. Most recording options (microphone source, quality, save location) are set through the recording interface. Screen recording can also be started from the Screenshot toolbar (Command Shift 5).

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