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General Settings ​

Sidian provides extensive configuration options to customize your development environment. This guide covers the most important settings for optimizing your development experience.

Accessing Settings ​

You can access Sidian's settings through several methods:

Keyboard Shortcut ​

  • Windows/Linux: Ctrl+,
  • macOS: ⌘+,
  • File → Preferences → Settings
  • macOS: Sidian → Preferences → Settings

AI Behavior Settings ​

Fine-tune how Sidian's AI features behave:

Auto Refresh Models ​

Automatically refresh available AI models

  • Default: true
  • Type: boolean

Enable Autocomplete ​

Enable AI-powered code completion

  • Default: false
  • Type: boolean

Show Inline Suggestions ​

Display AI suggestions inline while typing

  • Default: true
  • Type: boolean

Chat Mode ​

Set the default AI chat interaction mode

  • Default: agent
  • Type: string
  • Options: agent, chat

Include Tool Lint Errors ​

Include linting errors in AI tool responses

  • Default: true
  • Type: boolean

Memory Settings ​

Configure AI memory and conversation persistence

  • Default: Comprehensive memory settings object
  • Type: object

Additional AI Settings ​

Advanced AI behavior configuration:

Auto Approve ​

Automatically approve certain AI operations

  • Default: { terminal: false }
  • Type: object
  • Description: Configure which AI operations are auto-approved

Auto Execute Cell ​

Automatically execute notebook cells after generation

  • Default: false
  • Type: boolean

Auto Accept LLM Changes ​

Automatically accept AI-generated code changes

  • Default: false
  • Type: boolean

Appearance Settings ​

Customize Sidian's visual appearance:

Theme Settings ​

  • Color Theme: Choose your preferred color scheme
    • Default: Dark+ (default dark)
    • Popular options: Dark+, Light+, Monokai, Solarized Dark
  • Icon Theme: Select file and folder icons
    • Default: vs-seti
    • Options: vs-seti, vs-minimal, material-icon-theme
  • Product Icon Theme: Choose UI icons
    • Default: Default

Window Settings ​

  • Title Bar Style: Control title bar appearance
    • Default: native
    • Options: native, custom
  • Menu Bar Visibility: Show/hide menu bar
    • Default: default
    • Options: default, visible, toggle, hidden
  • Zen Mode: Distraction-free editing
    • Toggle with Ctrl+K Z

File and Folder Settings ​

Configure file handling behavior:

Terminal Settings ​

Configure the integrated terminal:

Shell Configuration ​

  • Default Shell: Choose your preferred shell
    • Windows: PowerShell, Command Prompt, Git Bash
    • macOS/Linux: bash, zsh, fish
  • Shell Arguments: Pass arguments to shell
  • Environment Variables: Set custom environment variables

Terminal Appearance ​

  • Font Family: Terminal font (inherits from editor by default)
  • Font Size: Terminal text size
  • Cursor Style: Terminal cursor appearance
    • Options: block, line, underline

Advanced Configuration ​

For advanced users, Sidian supports JSON configuration:

settings.json ​

Access raw settings file:

  1. Ctrl+Shift+P → "Preferences: Open Settings (JSON)"
  2. Edit settings directly in JSON format
  3. Changes apply immediately

Workspace Settings ​

Override global settings per workspace:

  1. Create .vscode/settings.json in your project
  2. Add workspace-specific settings
  3. These override global settings for that project

User vs Workspace Settings ​

  • User Settings: Apply globally to all projects
  • Workspace Settings: Apply only to current project
  • Folder Settings: Apply to specific folders in multi-root workspaces

Troubleshooting Settings ​

Reset Settings ​

To reset settings to defaults:

  1. Ctrl+Shift+P → "Preferences: Open Settings (JSON)"
  2. Delete the contents and save
  3. Restart Sidian

Settings Not Applying ​

  • Check for syntax errors in settings.json
  • Verify setting names are correct
  • Restart Sidian if needed
  • Check for conflicting extensions

Performance Issues ​

  • Reduce file watching scope
  • Increase memory limits
  • Disable unnecessary features
  • Check extension impact

Proper configuration of these settings will help you create an optimal development environment tailored to your specific needs and preferences.