Settings Reference

This page lists every setting available in Ariv, organized by category. All settings are accessible from Settings (Cmd+, on macOS, Ctrl+, on Windows).

Tip

Use your browser’s find-in-page (Cmd+F / Ctrl+F) to quickly search for a specific setting on this page.

Editor

Settings that control the Markdown editor’s appearance and behavior. See Editor Settings for detailed descriptions.

Setting	Type	Default	Description
editor.fontFamily	string	System monospace	Font used in the editor
editor.fontSize	number (10—32)	16	Editor font size in pixels
editor.lineHeight	number (1.0—3.0)	1.6	Spacing between lines
editor.showToolbar	boolean	false	Show the formatting toolbar above the editor
editor.showLineNumbers	boolean	false	Show line numbers in the gutter
editor.lineWrapping	boolean	true	Wrap long lines instead of horizontal scrolling
editor.readableLineLength	boolean	true	Limit editor width to ~80 characters
editor.highlightActiveLine	boolean	true	Highlight the line the cursor is on
editor.autoPairBrackets	boolean	true	Auto-close brackets, parentheses, and quotes
editor.spellcheck	boolean	true	Enable OS-level spell checking
editor.vimMode	boolean	false	Enable Vim keybindings
editor.autoSaveDelay	number (0—10000)	1000	Auto-save delay in milliseconds (0 to disable)
editor.tabSize	number (1—8)	4	Number of spaces per tab
editor.cursorStyle	select	Line	Cursor shape: Line, Block, or Underline
editor.cursorBlink	select	Blink	Cursor animation: Blink, Smooth, Expand, Phase, or Off
editor.cursorWidth	number (1—6)	2	Cursor width in pixels (Line style only)

Appearance

Settings that control the overall look and feel of the Ariv interface. See Themes & Appearance for detailed descriptions.

Setting	Type	Default	Description
appearance.theme	select	System	Color theme: Light, Dark, or System
appearance.accentColor	select	Orange	UI accent color: Orange, Purple, Blue, Green, Pink, Red, or Cyan
appearance.dashboardStyle	select	Default	Dashboard visual style: Default, Classic, Desk, Terminal, Arcade, or Blueprint
appearance.uiFontSize	select	Default	Interface font size: Small, Default, or Large
appearance.showStatusBar	boolean	true	Show the status bar at the bottom of the window
appearance.compactMode	boolean	false	Reduce padding throughout the interface
appearance.language	select	System Default	Interface language: System Default, English, Francais, Espanol, or Arabic

Files & Links

Settings that control how notes are created, organized, and managed within your vault.

Setting	Type	Default	Description
files.defaultLocation	select	root	Where new notes are created: root, inbox, or current folder
files.newNoteName	string	Untitled	Default name for new notes
files.confirmDelete	boolean	true	Ask for confirmation before deleting a note
files.trashInsteadOfDelete	boolean	true	Move deleted notes to system trash instead of permanent deletion
files.excludedFolders	string	.git, node_modules, .obsidian	Comma-separated folders to hide from the sidebar and search
files.dailyNotesFolder	string	Daily Notes - Ariv	Folder where daily notes are stored
files.dailyNoteDateFormat	select	YYYY-MM-DD	Date format for daily note filenames
files.dailyNoteTemplate	string	(see below)	Markdown template used when creating a new daily note
files.dailyNoteOpenOnStartup	boolean	false	Automatically open today’s daily note when Ariv launches
files.lifecycleThresholdDays	number (1—90)	5	Days before a note moves from Active to Background
files.inboxAutoActivate	boolean	false	Automatically move inbox notes to Active when edited
files.quickCaptureMode	select	new	Quick capture behavior: new (create a new note) or append (add to existing)
files.attachmentFolder	select	vault	Where attachments are stored: vault root, same folder as note, or a subfolder
files.attachmentSubfolder	string	assets	Subfolder name when attachmentFolder is set to subfolder
files.templatesFolder	string	Templates - Ariv	Folder where note templates are stored

The default daily note template is:

## Tasks

- [ ]

## Notes



## Reflections

Note

The files.excludedFolders setting accepts a comma-separated list. Ariv automatically ignores common non-note folders like .git and node_modules, but you can add your own entries here.

Tip

If you use Obsidian alongside Ariv on the same vault, the default exclusion of .obsidian prevents Obsidian’s configuration files from cluttering your Ariv sidebar.

AI & Intelligence

Settings that configure AI-powered features like Ask Brain, auto-tagging, and semantic search. See AI Setup for a getting-started guide.

Setting	Type	Default	Description
ai.provider	select	gemini	AI provider: gemini, openai, anthropic, or ollama
ai.model	select	gemini-2.0-flash	Model to use with the selected provider
ai.customModel	string	(empty)	Custom model name (overrides ai.model when set)
ai.gemini.apiKey	string	(empty)	API key for Google Gemini
ai.openai.apiKey	string	(empty)	API key for OpenAI
ai.anthropic.apiKey	string	(empty)	API key for Anthropic
ai.ollama.url	string	http://localhost:11434	URL of your local Ollama server
ai.ollama.model	string	(empty)	Model name for Ollama (e.g., llama3, mistral)
ai.maxContextNotes	number (1—50)	10	Maximum number of notes included as context for AI queries
ai.semanticSearch	boolean	true	Enable semantic (meaning-based) search alongside keyword search

Caution

API keys are stored locally on your machine and are never sent anywhere except to the respective AI provider when you use AI features. If you’re concerned about key security, consider using Ollama for a fully local AI setup.

Note

The ai.customModel setting lets you use any model your provider supports, even if it doesn’t appear in the default dropdown. Leave it empty to use the standard ai.model selection.

Privacy & Data

Settings that control what data Ariv stores and shares.

Setting	Type	Default	Description
privacy.storeRecentFiles	boolean	true	Remember recently opened files for the Recent Files list
privacy.clearHistoryOnExit	boolean	false	Clear the recent files list every time Ariv closes
privacy.telemetryEnabled	boolean	true	Send a single anonymous ping on launch (no personal data)
privacy.analyticsEnabled	boolean	false	Send anonymous feature usage analytics

Note

Telemetry (privacy.telemetryEnabled) sends only a single anonymous ping when Ariv launches — no personal data, no note content, no file names. It helps the developer understand how many people are using the app. Analytics (privacy.analyticsEnabled) goes a step further and tracks which features you use (e.g., “opened Ask Brain”, “created daily note”) to guide development priorities. Both can be disabled at any time.

Advanced

Settings for power users and troubleshooting. Most people can leave these at their defaults.

Setting	Type	Default	Description
advanced.hardwareAcceleration	boolean	true	Use GPU for rendering (disable if you see visual glitches)
advanced.fileWatcherDelay	number (100—2000)	300	Delay in ms before Ariv reacts to external file changes
advanced.notificationsEnabled	boolean	true	Show desktop notifications
advanced.overdueReminder	boolean	true	Notify when action items are overdue
advanced.dueTodayReminder	boolean	true	Notify when action items are due today
advanced.advanceWarningMinutes	number (5—1440)	30	Minutes before a due time to show an advance notification
advanced.productTourCompleted	boolean	false	Whether the onboarding tour has been completed

Caution

Changing advanced.hardwareAcceleration requires restarting Ariv to take effect. Disable this only if you experience visual glitches, screen tearing, or rendering issues — GPU acceleration significantly improves performance on most systems.

Tip

If you edit your vault files with an external editor (like VS Code) and notice Ariv doesn’t pick up changes quickly enough, try lowering advanced.fileWatcherDelay to 100ms. If Ariv is using too much CPU because of frequent file changes, increase it to 500—1000ms.

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Related: Themes & Appearance — Detailed guide to appearance settings | Editor Settings — Detailed guide to editor settings | AI Setup — Getting started with AI features