Import & Export

Back up your icon configurations or transfer them to another Mac.

What Gets Exported

An export file (JSON) includes:

• App aliases — your custom search name mappings
• Cached icon references — which apps have custom icons and the cached icon files

Exporting

From the GUI

Go to Settings > Advanced > Configuration, and click Export.

From the CLI

iconchanger export ~/Desktop/my-icons.json

Importing

From the GUI

Go to Settings > Advanced > Configuration, and click Import.

From the CLI

iconchanger import ~/Desktop/my-icons.json

TIP

Import only adds new items. It never replaces or removes your existing aliases or cached icons.

Validating

Before importing, you can validate a configuration file:

iconchanger validate ~/Desktop/my-icons.json

This checks the file structure without making any changes.

Automation with Dotfiles

You can automate IconChanger setup as part of your dotfiles:

#!/bin/bash
DMG_URL="https://github.com/Bengerthelorf/macIconChanger/releases/latest/download/IconChanger.dmg"
DMG_PATH="/tmp/IconChanger.dmg"

# Install the app
curl -L "$DMG_URL" -o "$DMG_PATH"
hdiutil attach "$DMG_PATH" -mountpoint /Volumes/IconChanger
cp -R /Volumes/IconChanger/IconChanger.app /Applications/
hdiutil detach /Volumes/IconChanger

# Install CLI (from the app bundle)
sudo cp /Applications/IconChanger.app/Contents/Resources/IconChangerCLI /usr/local/bin/iconchanger
sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/iconchanger

# Import your icon configuration
iconchanger import ~/dotfiles/iconchanger/config.json