Maps Desktop — Google Maps app for Mac with dark mode

The Google Maps desktop app macOS never had.
Full Google Maps in a native Mac window, with a real dark mode, trackpad gestures and map links that open right in the app.

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Google has no official Google Maps app for Mac, and the website in a browser tab has no dark mode, swallows trackpad swipes and gets lost among other tabs. Maps Desktop puts the complete Google Maps website — search, directions, Street View, reviews, saved places and your Google account — into its own lightweight Mac app and fixes exactly those things.

Features

• 🌙 Dark mode for Google Maps — a dark theme for the whole interface and the map, with cool night-blue map colours. Photos, satellite view and Street View keep their real colours. Follows the macOS appearance automatically, or pick Light / Dark in the Appearance menu.
• 🖐 Trackpad gestures that make sense — two-finger swipe pans the map like on a phone, pinch zooms, lists and panels scroll normally. In a browser, two-finger scroll only zooms Google Maps.
• 🔗 Open Google Maps links in the app — google.com/maps, maps.google.com, maps.app.goo.gl short links and even Apple Maps links clicked in Chrome open in Maps Desktop, as do comgooglemaps:// and geo: links from any app. Links to other sites from inside the map open in your usual browser.
• 🧩 Chrome extension — sends Chrome's map links to the app (your default browser stays the same) and gives Google Maps in Chrome the same dark theme, on any computer.
• 📍 My Location works — Maps Desktop asks macOS for location access and passes your position to Google Maps, so the “show my location” button works on a Mac.
• 🔄 Automatic updates — new versions are downloaded from GitHub Releases and checked against a cryptographic signature before installing.
• 🌐 Your language — the app follows the macOS language (English and Russian included); Google Maps itself uses your system language too.
• 🪶 Native and light — under 2 MB, built with Swift, AppKit and WebKit. No Electron, no tracking, no API keys.
• ⌨️ Mac keyboard shortcuts — ⌘L / ⌘F search, ⇧⌘C copy link to the current place, ⇧⌘O open in browser, ⌘R reload, ⌘[ / ⌘] back and forward.

Download and install

1. Download MapsDesktop.zip — always the latest version, about 1 MB. Open it and macOS unzips Maps Desktop.app next to it.
2. Drag Maps Desktop.app into Applications.
3. Open it. The first time, macOS says it can't verify the developer, because Maps Desktop isn't notarized by Apple. Click Done, open System Settings ▸ Privacy & Security, scroll down and click Open Anyway. Or run once:

   xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine "/Applications/Maps Desktop.app"

4. Sign in to your Google account inside Maps Desktop to see saved places and history.
5. Using Chrome? Accept the offer to add the Dark Maps extension, and Google Maps links you click in Chrome will open in the app (details below).

Updates install themselves from then on; to check right away, choose Maps Desktop ▸ Check for Updates…. Older versions are on the Releases page.

Open Google Maps links from Chrome

The Dark Maps by Maps Desktop extension hands Google Maps links you click in Chrome — in Gmail, Slack, Telegram Web, search results or links other apps open in Chrome — to the app. Your default browser stays the same. It also gives Google Maps in Chrome the same dark theme as the app: it follows the system, or right-click the extension button ▸ Google Maps theme to keep it Light or Dark. Clicking the button only pauses or resumes opening links in the app. The dark theme works on any computer; opening links in the app needs a Mac.

Install the Dark Maps extension from the Chrome Web Store

How the app and the extension find each other:

1. From the app. On first launch (if Chrome is installed) Maps Desktop offers the extension; later it's in Maps Desktop ▸ Install Chrome Extension… and Help ▸ Chrome Extension in Chrome Web Store. Install… opens the extension in the Chrome Web Store — click Add to Chrome.
2. From the extension. Right after it's added, the extension opens a welcome page with a Download Maps Desktop button for those who don't have the app yet, and Connect. Connect opens the app: Chrome asks “Open Maps Desktop?” — tick Always allow and click Open — and Maps Desktop confirms that Chrome is connected.
3. Then just click Google Maps links in Chrome. If the app isn't on this Mac, the extension doesn't fail silently: it offers to download Maps Desktop or to open the map in Chrome.

The extension's source is in chrome-extension/.

The first time a map opens in the app, the extension asks whether to close the Chrome tab from then on; change the answer in the extension's options. Click the extension's toolbar button to pause or resume it. File ▸ Open in Browser in the app opens the current map in Chrome, and the extension leaves that tab alone.

FAQ

Is there an official Google Maps app for Mac? No. Google offers Google Maps on the web, iPhone and Android only. Maps Desktop is an unofficial desktop app that shows the real Google Maps website.

How do I open Google Maps links in an app instead of a browser on Mac? Install the Dark Maps extension for Chrome — see above.

How do I get Google Maps dark mode on a Mac? The Google Maps website has no dark mode on desktop. Maps Desktop adds one that switches together with macOS, and the Dark Maps extension adds the same theme to Google Maps in Chrome, on any computer.

Does it need a Google Maps API key? No. It is the regular Google Maps website, so search, directions, Street View and your account work as usual.

Why does a two-finger swipe move the map instead of zooming? That's the point: in Maps Desktop the trackpad behaves like in Apple Maps. Pinch to zoom.

Is it safe? The source code is here, builds run on GitHub Actions, and every update is signed — the app refuses an update whose signature doesn't match.

Build from source

Requires macOS 14+ and the Xcode Command Line Tools.

git clone https://github.com/donsamoylov/maps-desktop.git
cd maps-desktop
./build.sh --install

Releases are built by GitHub Actions when a v* tag is pushed — see .github/workflows/release.yml.

По-русски

Maps Desktop — Google Карты для Mac с темной темой. Полноценные Google Карты в отдельном окне macOS: темная тема в холодных тонах, которая переключается вместе с системой; свайп двумя пальцами двигает карту, щипок масштабирует; ссылки на Google Карты из Chrome (через расширение), Telegram, почты и других приложений открываются прямо в приложении; работает «Где я»; обновления приходят сами. Приложение при первом запуске предлагает поставить расширение для Chrome, а расширение сразу после установки помогает скачать приложение и подключить его одной кнопкой. Язык интерфейса — как в системе.

Приложение — только для Mac. Расширение для Chrome на любом компьютере делает Google Карты темными, а на Mac еще и открывает ссылки в приложении.

Установка: скачайте Maps Desktop для Mac, откройте архив и перенесите Maps Desktop.app в Программы. В первый раз macOS не даст открыть приложение от непроверенного разработчика: нажмите Готово, затем Системные настройки ▸ Конфиденциальность и безопасность ▸ Все равно открыть.

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_{Maps Desktop is an independent open-source project. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Google LLC. Google Maps is a trademark of Google LLC; the app simply displays the public Google Maps website, and its use is subject to Google's terms.}