Solo's settings control app appearance, notifications, hotkeys, the sidebar and workspaces, terminal behavior, agents, optional features such as Todos and Scratchpads, MCP and the local HTTP API, and your account — all in one place.
Opening settings
You can open settings in several ways, including:
- Use the Open settings shortcut. It defaults to
Cmd+,on macOS andCtrl+,on Windows and Linux, and can be remapped or disabled under Settings > Hotkeys. - On macOS, go to Solo > Settings in the application menu. Windows and Linux don't show an application menu.
- Open the command palette and search for “Settings.” The palette shortcut defaults to
Cmd+Kon macOS andCtrl+Kon Windows and Linux, and can also be remapped or disabled. - Click Settings at the bottom of the sidebar when the settings footer is visible.
- Right-click the workspace rail and choose Manage workspaces… to open Settings > Workspaces.
- In an agent terminal's MCP details, choose Open MCP settings to open Settings > Integrations > MCP.
Keyboard shortcuts depend on the current UI context; see When shortcuts are active for overlay and Hotkeys-page restrictions.
Settings opens full screen inside the Solo window. A sidebar on the left lists its pages in groups, with a Back button at the top and your license status at the bottom.
Settings pages
General
| Page | What's inside |
|---|---|
| Appearance | Theme, interface font family, and interface font scale |
| Notifications | Notification permission status, test notification flow, and bell sound |
| Hotkeys | Search, remap, disable, or reset configurable shortcuts |
| Account | License status, activation and deactivation, feedback, updates, app version, and acknowledgements |
Workspace
| Page | What's inside |
|---|---|
| Sidebar | Filter visibility, subgroup order, section header lines and counts, empty-section visibility for process sections, focus-on-open behavior, project and process stats thresholds, project header quick actions, and the settings footer |
| Workspaces | Workspace names, icons, colors, ordering, and deletion — see Managing workspaces |
Terminal
| Page | What's inside |
|---|---|
| Appearance | Terminal font family, weights, size, line height, letter spacing, focus borders, and a live preview |
| Behavior | macOS Option as Meta, Copy on select, and scroll wheel speed for TUI apps |
| Shells | Default shell (Default execution profile on Windows) and shell profiles |
| Compatibility | Maximize compatibility for ssh and sudo — see Compatibility notes |
| Tools | Default editor, terminal, and browser for quick-open actions |
Agents
| Page | What's inside |
|---|---|
| Agent tools | Agent tool configuration, enabled state, installation health, and Solo MCP connection |
| Names | Automatic renaming for agent names |
| Summaries | Auto-summarization |
| Context pins | Which agent context pins appear on agent terminals |
| Timers | Whether agents get timer MCP tools |
| Key-value | Whether agents get key-value MCP tools |
Features
| Page | What's inside |
|---|---|
| Todos | Turn Todos on or off, open them, MCP enablement, sidebar visibility, empty-section visibility, and preview count |
| Scratchpads | Turn Scratchpads on or off, open them, MCP enablement, sidebar visibility, empty-section visibility, and preview count |
| Prompt templates | Turn prompt templates on or off, open them, and prompt template MCP tools |
| Activity monitor | Turn the Activity monitor on or off, and open it |
Integrations
| Page | What's inside |
|---|---|
| MCP | MCP server enablement, agent client setup, and a summary of which feature tools are on, with an Edit link to each feature's page |
| HTTP API & CLI | The local HTTP API, which the solo CLI needs, and its port |
Turning features off
Each page under Features starts with an on/off switch named after the feature. All four are on by default.
Turning a feature off hides it throughout Solo — its sidebar section, menu items, command palette entries, links, and Back/Forward history — and keeps its data. Turning it back on restores everything. The switches stay in sync across open windows.
While Todos or Scratchpads are off, Solo MCP, the local HTTP API, and the solo CLI can't read or change them and return an error that names the setting to turn back on. Turning off prompt templates also removes their MCP tools.
Navigating settings
Click a page in the settings sidebar to open it. With focus in Settings, the Up and Down arrow keys move to the previous or next page unless a dropdown has focus.
Click Back or press Escape to return to where you were. If a dismissible overlay is on top, Escape closes that overlay first; a non-dismissible overlay leaves Settings open. Cmd+W on macOS or Ctrl+W on Windows and Linux also closes Settings. When you open Settings again, it returns to the page you last used.
Most settings save immediately. A few fields show an explicit Save button, such as model text fields or port fields. The HTTP API port can only be changed while the HTTP API is disabled, and it takes effect the next time that server starts.
Settings storage
Settings are saved locally on each device. They aren't shared via solo.yml.
Resetting settings
If you need to reset specific settings or core app state, see Resetting Settings.