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Pretty-Print a Plist in the Terminal with plutil -p

Dump any property list as readable key-value output — no Xcode, no XML squinting.

macOSplistplutilinspectionLow risk
Run plutil -p ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.TextEdit.plist to print that app's preferences; swap in any .plist path.

01Command

Command
$ plutil -p ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.TextEdit.plist

02What it does

plutil -p prints plists in a compact human-readable format (nested braces, no XML tags), which makes it the fastest way to inspect an app's preferences, a LaunchAgent job definition, or an exported defaults backup. Unlike plutil -convert, it reads and prints only — it never modifies the file, and it also accepts binary plists directly.

03Risk

RiskLow risk
!Warning: The output format is explicitly not stable for machine parsing — for scripts use plutil -convert json -o - instead, and sandboxed apps may deny access to their container plists.

04Undo

✓No undo needed — this command does not change persistent state.

05Sources

  • plutil - Property List Utility
    SS64 · technical · 2026-09-17
    Evidence: Documents the -p option which prints the property list in a human-readable form to the terminal.
  • plutil(1) man page
    Xcode Man Pages · technical · 2026-09-17
    Evidence: The plutil man page describes -p: print the property list in a human-readable fashion (output format not designed for machine parsing).

Last verified: 2026-09-19 · Category: Developer

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