Project icons, names, and customization

Every project in Solo can have a custom name, icon, and color, and Solo displays that project identity in the sidebar.

Renaming a project#

The sidebar uses a local display-name override when one exists. Otherwise, it uses a name supplied when the project was added or imported from the top-level name in solo.yml; the folder name is the fallback. To change the displayed name:

1. Open the project from the sidebar with Edit project....
2. Use the rename control in the project pane header.
3. Type the new display name and confirm.

Renaming only affects Solo's display name. It doesn't rename your folder on disk.

You can also rename via the command palette: by default, press Cmd+K on macOS or Ctrl+K on Windows and Linux, search for the project, then use the rename action. The Open command palette shortcut can be changed or disabled under Settings > Hotkeys.

Setting an icon#

Each project can show either a swatch-style icon or a custom image icon.

1. Open Edit project....
2. Open the Project icon controls.
3. Choose one of:
   • Swatch — one of Solo's built-in colors with optional 1-2 initials.
   • Custom image — a file inside the project folder.

Tips for icons#

• Custom images must live inside the project folder.
• Supported formats: PNG, JPG, JPEG, GIF, ICO, and WebP. SVG is not supported.
• Maximum file size: 256 KB.
• The path is validated after resolving symlinks, so it cannot point outside the project directory.

Automatic favicon fallback#

If a project has no configured icon, Solo looks for a favicon inside the project folder and uses it as the project icon automatically. It checks the project root plus the public, static, app, and src/app directories for common filenames such as favicon.ico, favicon.png, favicon-32x32.png, and apple-touch-icon.png.

A detected favicon is display-only: Solo doesn't write anything to solo.yml. If the favicon file changes, the changed icon is reflected the next time project configuration is refetched or reloaded; favicon files are not directly watched. The project icon controls show "Using favicon from project folder" when a favicon is in use. An explicit icon — either a custom image or one configured in solo.yml — always takes precedence over the favicon; the swatch is used when neither an explicit icon nor a favicon is available. Favicons follow the same rules as custom images (supported formats, 256 KB limit, must live inside the project folder).

Setting a color#

Projects can have a color accent — a small swatch displayed in the sidebar.

1. Open Edit project....
2. Use the swatch controls in the project icon modal.
3. Pick one of the built-in colors.

The swatch controls can also store 1-2 initials for the project. Valid swatch colors are slate, blue, green, red, purple, cyan, orange, and pink.

Where customization is stored#

Customization metadata is split between Solo's local app storage and solo.yml, while custom image bytes remain in a separate referenced file inside the project:

• Display-name overrides and swatch colors are local to your Solo app.
• For a custom image icon, Solo writes only the image's relative path to solo.yml; the image remains a separate file inside the project. Teammates get the same icon after both solo.yml and the referenced image file are shared or committed.
• Swatch initials are stored locally. For a primary project with an existing solo.yml, Solo also writes them as icon_initials; linked-checkout swatch overrides remain local. Teammates see the same initials after the solo.yml change is shared or committed and they load or sync that file. See solo.yml overview.

Removing and re-adding a project resets its local display-name override and swatch color. Local-only initials reset too, while initials in a preserved solo.yml can be restored when the project is re-added and synced. A top-level name or custom-image path in a preserved solo.yml can also return; the image file must still exist at the referenced path.

Resetting to defaults#

To remove a custom icon, open the project icon modal and remove the custom image.

To return to a neutral swatch look, choose the default-style swatch and clear any custom initials.