How to Activate and Use Responsive Design Mode in Safari

Access developer tools in Apple's web browser

By
Scott Orgera
Scott Orgera
Scott Orgera
Writer
Scott Orgera is a former Lifewire writer covering tech since 2007. He has 25+ years' experience as a programmer and QA leader, and holds several Microsoft certifications including MCSE, MCP+I, and MOUS. He is also A+ certified.
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Updated on May 20, 2022

What to Know

  • To enable: Preferences > select Advanced tab > toggle Show Develop menu in menu bar on.
  • To use: select Develop > Enter Responsive Design Mode in Safari toolbar.

This article explains how to enable Responsive Design Mode in Safari 9 through Safari 13, in OS X El Capitan through macOS Catalina.

How to Enable Responsive Design Mode in Safari

To enable the Safari Responsive Design Mode, along with other Safari developer tools:

  1. Go to the Safari menu and select Preferences.

    Press the keyboard shortcut Command+, (comma) to access Preferences quickly.

  2. In the Preferences dialog box, select the Advanced tab.

    The Advanced tab

  3. At the bottom of the dialog box, select the Show Develop menu in menu bar check box.

    The "Show Develop" option in Safari settings

  4. You'll now see Develop in the top Safari menu bar.

    The Develop menu in Safari

  5. Select Develop > Enter Responsive Design Mode in the Safari toolbar.

    Press the keyboard shortcut Option+Command+R to enter Responsive Design Mode quickly.

    Select Develop > Enter Responsive Design Mode in the Safari toolbar.

  6. The active web page displays in Responsive Design Mode. At the top of the page, choose an iOS device or a screen resolution to see how the page will render.

    The active web page will now be displayed in Responsive Design Mode.

  7. Alternatively, see how your web page will render in various platforms by using the drop-down menu above the resolution icons.

    See how your web page will render in various platforms by using the dropdown menu above the resolution icons.

Safari Developer Tools

In addition to Responsive Design Mode, the Safari Develop menu offers other useful options.

Safari's other developer tools

Open Page With

Opens the active web page in any browser currently installed on the Mac.

User Agent

When you change the User Agent, you can fool a website into thinking you're using another browser.

Show Web Inspector

Displays all a web page's resources, including CSS information and DOM metrics.

Show Error Console

Displays JavaScript, HTML, and XML errors and warnings.

Show Page Source

Lets you view the source code for the active web page and search the page contents.

Show Page Resources

Displays documents, scripts, CSS, and other resources from the current page.

Show Snippet Editor

Lets you edit and execute fragments of code. This feature is useful from a testing perspective.

Show Extension Builder

Helps you build Safari extensions by packaging your code accordingly and appending metadata.

Start Timeline Recording

Lets you record network requests, JavaScript execution, page rendering, and other events within the WebKit Inspector.

Empty Caches

Deletes all stored caches within Safari, not only the standard website cache files.

Disable Caches

With caching disabled, resources are downloaded from a website each time an access request is made as opposed to using the local cache.

Allow JavaScript from Smart Search Field

Disabled by default for security reasons, this feature allows you to enter URLs containing JavaScript into the Safari address bar.

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