Safari toolbar missing on iMac

I have a new iMac running Tahoe 26.1. There is no Toolbar on Safari. When I go to the File Menu for Safari and list View, the only mention of Toolbar is to customize the toolbar. There is no Show or Hide Toolbar. It has just disappeared.


I have checked in System Settings Menu and Desktop and Dock but I get no clue as to how to restore the toolbar.


Any help will be appreciated.

iMac 24″, macOS 26.1

Posted on Jan 4, 2026 5:35 PM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Jan 4, 2026 5:46 PM

It’s not under the File menu in the menu bar. Go to View > Show Toolbar or try pressing Command ⌘ + option ⌥ + T.

7 replies

Jan 5, 2026 1:50 PM in response to John Galt

You are correct, Safari is useless. I have the 3 lights. I restarted the system and re opened Safari with the shift key down and still no Toolbar.


I then checked Customize toolbar which was not greyed out so I tried recreating the Toolbar from scratch. It worked and now Safari is usable again.


Your questions made a light bulb go off for me and I looked further at Customize Toolbar and it looks as though the entire Toolbar was wiped out somehow about few days ago. I was able to recreate it and all is now well with Safari.


Thank you so much for your help.



Jan 5, 2026 5:47 AM in response to dorSV

I am at a loss to understand exactly what's missing, but I am envisioning a window with no controls whatsoever other than (possibly) the three color buttons at its upper left. Is that what you're seeing? If so that Safari window won't be very useful.


In Tahoe, there is no "Show Toolbar..." but there is a "Customize Toolbar..." menu. What happens if you select that? Can it even be selected, or is it "greyed out"?


Next suggestion: Quit the Safari app, then hold a Shift key while launching Safari again from Applications or the Dock. Release the Shift key when a Safari window opens. Does that restore the Toolbar's appearance?

Jan 4, 2026 5:51 PM in response to dorSV

Re: Safari toolbar missing on iMac


Wondering what happens in Safari app, if you try the View menu > Custimise Toolbar

Apple support's online articlle (link below)

Customize the Safari browser window on Mac - Apple Support

Eg: says:

Customise the toolbar

  1. Go to the Safari app  on your Mac.
  2. Choose View > Customise Toolbar.
  3. Do any of the following:
    • Change the items in the toolbar: Add, remove and rearrange toolbar items by dragging them. For example, you can add a Privacy Report button  to see who was blocked from tracking you on the current web page.
    • Remove a toolbar item: Press and hold the Command key, then drag the item out of the toolbar.
  1. Click Done.

Tip: You can quickly rearrange toolbar buttons directly on the toolbar. Press and hold the Command key, then drag buttons right or left. This shortcut doesn’t work for the Back/Forward, Sidebar, Home, History or Downloads buttons or the Smart Search field.

_______________________

Else: Updating the Mac OS to MacOS Tahoe 26.2 may help. (Always wise to back-up Mac before uodating)

Safari toolbar missing on iMac

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.