diff --git a/macos/Sources/Features/Terminal/TerminalController.swift b/macos/Sources/Features/Terminal/TerminalController.swift
index b0c2df1ca..21f5188de 100644
--- a/macos/Sources/Features/Terminal/TerminalController.swift
+++ b/macos/Sources/Features/Terminal/TerminalController.swift
@@ -269,12 +269,14 @@ class TerminalController: NSWindowController, NSWindowDelegate,
         // Handle titlebar tabs config option. Something about what we do while setting up the
         // titlebar tabs interferes with the window restore process unless window.tabbingMode
         // is set to .preferred, so we set it, and switch back to automatic as soon as we can.
-        if (ghostty.config.macosTitlebarTabs) {
+        if (ghostty.config.macosTitlebarStyle == "tabs") {
             window.tabbingMode = .preferred
             window.titlebarTabs = true
             DispatchQueue.main.async {
                 window.tabbingMode = .automatic
             }
+        } else if (ghostty.config.macosTitlebarStyle == "transparent") {
+            window.transparentTabs = true
         }
         
         if window.hasStyledTabs {
diff --git a/macos/Sources/Features/Terminal/TerminalWindow.swift b/macos/Sources/Features/Terminal/TerminalWindow.swift
index ce6f25e1e..9e4d3600e 100644
--- a/macos/Sources/Features/Terminal/TerminalWindow.swift
+++ b/macos/Sources/Features/Terminal/TerminalWindow.swift
@@ -175,16 +175,15 @@ class TerminalWindow: NSWindow {
     var hasStyledTabs: Bool {
         // If we have titlebar tabs then we always style.
         guard !titlebarTabs else { return true }
-
-        // This should never happen, but if we don't have a theme set then
-        // we just style the tabs. Either response here is probably okay.
-        guard let windowTheme else { return true }
-
-        // We only style if the window theme is auto. Any other specific
-        // window theme type will always show up as that native theme.
-        return windowTheme == .auto
+        
+        // We style the tabs if they're transparent
+        return transparentTabs
     }
-
+    
+    // Set to true if the background color should bleed through the titlebar/tab bar.
+    // This only applies to non-titlebar tabs.
+    var transparentTabs: Bool = false
+    
     var hasVeryDarkBackground: Bool {
         backgroundColor.luminance < 0.05
     }
diff --git a/macos/Sources/Ghostty/Ghostty.Config.swift b/macos/Sources/Ghostty/Ghostty.Config.swift
index 2f455e578..64a627091 100644
--- a/macos/Sources/Ghostty/Ghostty.Config.swift
+++ b/macos/Sources/Ghostty/Ghostty.Config.swift
@@ -228,12 +228,14 @@ extension Ghostty {
             return String(cString: ptr)
         }
 
-        var macosTitlebarTabs: Bool {
-            guard let config = self.config else { return false }
-            var v = false;
-            let key = "macos-titlebar-tabs"
-            _ = ghostty_config_get(config, &v, key, UInt(key.count))
-            return v
+        var macosTitlebarStyle: String {
+            let defaultValue = "transparent"
+            guard let config = self.config else { return defaultValue }
+            var v: UnsafePointer<Int8>? = nil
+            let key = "macos-titlebar-style"
+            guard ghostty_config_get(config, &v, key, UInt(key.count)) else { return defaultValue }
+            guard let ptr = v else { return defaultValue }
+            return String(cString: ptr)
         }
         
         var backgroundColor: Color {
diff --git a/src/config/Config.zig b/src/config/Config.zig
index cf38788cb..26c5fb9e1 100644
--- a/src/config/Config.zig
+++ b/src/config/Config.zig
@@ -662,7 +662,7 @@ keybind: Keybinds = .{},
 ///   * `light` - Use the light theme regardless of system theme.
 ///   * `dark` - Use the dark theme regardless of system theme.
 ///
-/// On macOS, if `macos-titlebar-tabs` is set, the window theme will be
+/// On macOS, if `macos-titlebar-style` is "tabs", the window theme will be
 /// automatically set based on the luminosity of the terminal background color.
 /// This only applies to terminal windows. This setting will still apply to
 /// non-terminal windows within Ghostty.
@@ -958,23 +958,30 @@ keybind: Keybinds = .{},
 ///
 @"macos-non-native-fullscreen": NonNativeFullscreen = .false,
 
-/// If `true`, places the tab bar in the titlebar for tabbed windows.
+/// The style of the macOS titlebar. Available values are: "native",
+/// "transparent", and "tabs".
 ///
-/// When this is true, the titlebar will also always appear even when
-/// fullscreen (native fullscreen) with only one tab. This is not considered
-/// a bug but if you'd like to improve this behavior then I'm open to it and
-/// please contribute to the project.
+/// The "native" style uses the native macOS titlebar with zero customization.
+/// The titlebar will match your window theme (see `window-theme`).
 ///
-/// This option intercepts the native tab bar view from macOS and forces it to use
-/// different positioning. Because of this, it might be buggy or break entirely if
-/// macOS changes the way its native tab bar view is constructed or managed.
-/// This has been tested on macOS 14.
+/// The "transparent" style is the same as "native" but the titlebar will
+/// be transparent and allow your window background color to come through.
+/// This makes a more seamless window appearance but looks a little less
+/// typical for a macOS application and may not work well with all themes.
 ///
-/// For macOS 13 users: saved window state will not restore tabs correctly
-/// if this is enabled. macOS 14 does not have this issue.
+/// The "tabs" style is a completely custom titlebar that integrates the
+/// tab bar into the titlebar. This titlebar always matches the background
+/// color of the terminal. There are some limitations to this style:
+/// On macOS 13 and below, saved window state will not restore tabs correctly.
+/// macOS 14 does not have this issue and any other macOS version has not
+/// been tested.
 ///
-/// This option only applies to new windows when changed.
-@"macos-titlebar-tabs": bool = false,
+/// The default value is "transparent". This is an opinionated choice
+/// but its one I think is the most aesthetically pleasing and works in
+/// most cases.
+///
+/// Changing this option at runtime only applies to new windows.
+@"macos-titlebar-style": MacTitlebarStyle = .transparent,
 
 /// If `true`, the *Option* key will be treated as *Alt*. This makes terminal
 /// sequences expecting *Alt* to work properly, but will break Unicode input
@@ -3509,6 +3516,13 @@ pub const WindowColorspace = enum {
     @"display-p3",
 };
 
+/// See macos-titlebar-style
+pub const MacTitlebarStyle = enum {
+    native,
+    transparent,
+    tabs,
+};
+
 /// See gtk-single-instance
 pub const GtkSingleInstance = enum {
     desktop,