Settings, shortcuts & backups

Open settings#

Use the user menu. Desktop and web settings differ, and role permissions affect available entries. Language, theme and input behavior are client preferences; model and workspace settings have separate scopes.

Common settings#

Start at system sign-in (development validation)#

This feature is being validated on the development branch. Check the release notes to see whether your installed build includes it.

In a supported desktop build, open Settings → App → Startup. The first normal launch of an installed production build registers this computer’s login item by default; upgrades initialize the preference once if no earlier choice exists. Turning it off is remembered across MATLOOK account changes and is not synced to another computer. If you skip running the Windows app after installation, registration waits until its first manual launch.

• Enabled: the system confirms the login item; MATLOOK opens its main window after system sign-in.
• Disabled or Disabled in system settings: subsequent launches and upgrades do not silently turn it back on. Explicitly enable the switch when needed.
• Waiting for system approval: allow MATLOOK in system login items, then refresh the status; you can also turn the switch off.
• Managed in system settings: another startup entry or a machine-wide policy controls the app. Use Open system settings.
• Could not confirm the startup setting: the change or readback failed. Refresh or retry. Corrupt local preferences are preserved rather than resetting your choice.

Install the Mac app in Applications and complete the Windows installer. Unpacked test copies do not register. Development, test, headless and temporary-location instances do not register. Ad-hoc-signed macOS builds may fail to register; use the actual reported status and do not treat a switch as proof of reboot acceptance.

This feature starts after system user sign-in. Shutdown, sleep, the system login screen and explicitly quitting the app do not guarantee remote availability. Background running starts off: with it off, the existing window-close behavior is preserved; with it on, windows are hidden as described below. Startup does not enable remote sync or launch a model runtime. Remote access retains existing authentication and sync choices; see Cross-device and remote access.

Background running and startup (development validation)#

Open Settings → App → Background running. Both options start off, are independent, and apply only to this computer. They do not change with MATLOOK account/workspace switches and are not synced.

• Keep running when windows close hides windows after the existing modal/panel close handling. Existing tasks, local terminals and enabled remote sync keep running. Use Open MATLOOK in the menu bar or tray to restore the same window. With this option off, existing close behavior is preserved.
• Start in the background at system sign-in hides initial windows only for an actual login startup, a restorable local sign-in and a usable menu bar/tray. It does not enable login startup for you. Manual launches, the Dock, notifications and deep links show a window; sign-in recovery restores a visible entry point.
• Quit MATLOOK explicitly saves sessions and cleans up services through the existing exit flow. Update installation, account-profile transitions and explicit restarts also bypass close-to-background interception.

The menu bar/tray shows local remote-sync status and the number of running tasks. This does not guarantee availability during sleep, network loss or an upstream outage. Background running does not enable remote sync; see Remote access. Failed or lost trays restore a visible window and stop hiding, preserving a recovery path.

On Windows, upgrades add a login-launch marker only to an owned startup entry that the system still allows. Disabled, opted-out and externally managed entries retain their choices. Physical login/reboot and Windows tray acceptance remain pending; the installed app has not been replaced.

Use the current shortcut reference#

Open Settings → Shortcuts for the current operating system's mappings. Command on macOS and Ctrl on Windows are common, but not every combination translates directly. Finish Chinese input-method composition before invoking shortcuts.

What belongs in a backup?#

Include global configuration, actual workspace directories, project assets, knowledge data and source originals. Locations may be customized. Copying the application alone does not preserve the work, and a knowledge exchange package is not a complete backup.

Verify the backup#

Check completeness and readability in a separate location. Protect current data before restoring. Configure credentials and account authorization again on a new device rather than distributing keys through shared files. Record the installed version and backup date.

Guides and version updates#

Open Settings → Version updates to check your version and look for updates; customer announcements live on the Settings → Messages page. Update notes are in Version updates and guide changes. The Subscriptions & quota entry depends on platform rollout settings. Offline help retains the installation’s guide revision; online guides may receive later corrections.

RC49 cross-device resources (desktop)#

Sign in to the same account in Settings → Account, enable resource sync when needed, and select knowledge, skills, templates or connection settings. Sync starts disabled and does not upload workspaces automatically. Create local copies on another computer; local data and downloaded originals remain available offline. Review both versions before resolving conflicts.

Knowledge originals require a separate sharing choice and are limited to 20 MiB each. Download and verify them on the receiving computer before opening offline. Ordinary text and originals are not end-to-end encrypted; review what you share. Absolute paths, skill script dependencies and local MCP environments need configuration on the new computer.

Static model API keys, API credentials and remote MCP credentials use a separate encrypted vault. Sync the connection settings first, save a recovery file, then explicitly share selected credentials. The new computer must sign in to the same account, sync and import the settings, authorize with the recovery file, and apply credentials to matching copies. Different existing credentials are not overwritten and connections are not enabled automatically. OAuth requires sign-in on each device.

Keep the sensitive recovery file offline, outside chats and ordinary resource sync. Losing every authorized computer and recovery file makes vault recovery impossible. Forgetting local vault authorization does not remove imported credentials; removing a cloud credential cannot revoke secrets already downloaded to other computers. Revoke a lost device's login and rotate keys with the provider. Upgrade the desktop clients and server together.

Reasoning model capabilities and budgets#

Open Model capabilities and budgets from a connection menu in Settings → AI. Configure context capacity, maximum model output and the per-request output limit separately. Declare only parameters and reasoning levels explicitly supported by the provider or custom gateway; do not infer support from a model name. Existing configurations remain compatible and unknown endpoints retain conservative defaults. Editing a connection and refreshing model IDs preserves explicit settings for the same model and protocol.

When reasoning consumes the output allowance without text or tool calls, MATLOOK retries once only if it can change the effective request strategy. It may temporarily lower a declared reasoning level or adjust output within explicit limits, without changing global thinking settings or exceeding your output cap. Stop at any time, or choose the immediate correction action on a queued message. Partial text is not replayed automatically, and incomplete tool arguments are not executed.