Settings

Every setting, explained.

Last updated 6 October 2026

Open Settings with the ⚙ tab, the menu-bar icon's Settings…, or ⌘K → "Settings". In the sidebar it's one column: a list of panes you go into (‹ goes back). When the sidebar isn't on screen it opens in a window of its own, with the panes listed on the left.

Every pane is made of cards: a short title, one line saying what it's for, and its settings, each with a line under it. Settings most people never change are under More options. Learn more opens the pane's page of these docs.

Finding a setting#

Search settings, at the top, filters every setting as you type (words in any order, matching its name, its line, its pane or a related word such as "startup" or "quota"). ↑↓ move through the results, Enter or a click goes to the setting: its pane opens, scrolls the matching row into view and lights it up for a moment. Esc clears the search.
⌘K offers every setting as "Settings: <name>" (for example "Settings: Glass" or "Settings: Notification banner"), after the other actions; running one opens Settings at that row. Density and Tint have their own ⌘K actions instead ("Density: Comfortable", "Tint: Warm").

Needs attention#

When something isn't right, a banner at the top of General (and of the list of panes in the sidebar) says how many things need attention, each with the button that fixes it: Accessibility off (Allow…; "went stale after an update" when it worked in an earlier copy), notifications off while banners are on (Allow… or Open Settings…), live status that needs repair (Repair…) or can't read Claude's settings, a locked or ended licence (Subscribe… / Renew…) or one that needs a check (Check now). The pane each one belongs to shows a count in the list of panes, and the same items at its top.

General#

Card	Setting	What it does
Startup	Open Pairbar at login	start with your Mac
	Hide Pairbar	collapse Pairbar and show the app's own sidebar instead (also `⌃⌥S`). Greyed out in the basket, where Pairbar is the basket's sidebar: switch to Overlay to hide it
Permissions	Accessibility	its state (Allowed or Off) and Allow…; switching apps, window layouts and `⌥`/`⌘` peeking need it. Once asked (or after an update left a stale permission, shown as Stale): Open Settings… and Restart Pairbar, with a line saying what to do (see Troubleshooting). Re-checked every couple of seconds while shown. Pairbar never sees your logins
	Notifications	its state and Allow… (while macOS can still ask) or Open Settings… (Pairbar's page in System Settings → Notifications); says so if it's still off when you come back
	Screen Recording (optional)	its state and Allow…; only for smoother window animations, Pairbar never records or saves your screen. Once asked and still off (or Stale after an update): Open Settings… and Restart Pairbar, since macOS applies it only to a fresh launch
Plan limits	Claude and Codex	how much of each plan's limit is used and when it resets, as in the header's rings; Details opens the limits card (see Limits)

Look#

Card	Setting	What it does
Chat rows	Density	pick from two live previews. Comfortable: one line per chat, the title, with its status on the app icon and the time on the right. Detailed (to start with): also what it's doing or asking, or its project or branch, on a second line. Also `⌘K` → "Density: Comfortable" / "Density: Detailed"
Colour	Tint	pick from two previews. Neutral (to start with): Pairbar's graphite greys. Warm: Claude's warm greys for the background and text. Also `⌘K` → "Tint: Neutral" / "Tint: Warm"
Sidebar surface	Glass	from clear to solid, with its value (solid automatically with Reduce Transparency); the preview above shows it over an app's own sidebar
	Corner radius	match your window's corners, in points

Card	Setting	What it does
Chat list	Group by / Sort by	same as the view menu over the list; Group by includes Tasks
	Show chats hidden from Pairbar	hidden chats come back, marked
	Details on hover	the hover card: branch, diff and PR checks when the pointer rests on a chat
Focused chat	Show context for the focused chat	on to start with: a card at the top of the list with the project, branch, PR and task of the chat Claude or Codex shows, and the skills, agents, workflows and quick actions that fit there. See The focused chat's context
	Show the context as	Compact line (to start with: where it is, the task's suggestion, the PR; ⌄ unfolds it) or Card (also the task, skills, agents, quick actions and what needs a look). The card's ⌄/`⌃` switches between the two too
New chats	Start new chats in	Suggest (Claude or Codex by each plan's limit and where you've been working), Always Claude, or Always Codex
Peek at the app's own sidebar	Hold `⌥` over the sidebar	peek at the app's own sidebar
	Hold `⌘` over the sidebar	the same with `⌘`, except while you type in Pairbar
	Double-tap `⌥` to keep it	a sticky peek, until the next double-tap, another app, or 30 s with the pointer elsewhere
More options	Clear search cache	Clear deletes the text cache used to search inside conversations; searching builds it again
	Codex sidebar width	the width used when Codex's own sidebar width can't be read

Windows#

Card	Setting	What it does
Layout	Window layout	small pictures of Overlay, and the basket Side by side, Stacked and Focus; the one in use is ticked, and a click uses it now (the same as the sidebar's layout menu). See Window layouts
Basket	Hide the apps' own sidebars in the basket	on to start with: Pairbar's sidebar and each app's own are one or the other. Pairbar presses each app's own View-menu item to hide its sidebar in the basket, and shows it again when you go back to Overlay, when you hide Pairbar and while it's locked. Off: Pairbar never touches them. See Window layouts
	Basket controls	the small pill (Side by side, Stacked, Focus, Swap apps, Overlay) on the basket's top edge while it's in front (on to start with)
	Animate the basket and swaps	windows glide into place (on to start with; nothing glides with Reduce Motion)
	Screen Recording for smoother animation	optional, Allow…: Pairbar animates pictures of the windows instead, never recording or saving your screen
Saved setups	Save setup…	remember where the basket (or each window, in Overlay) is for the displays connected now; each setup has Restore and, under ⋯, Rename… and Delete…. See Saved setups
	Restore a saved setup when displays change	put things back as saved when displays are plugged in or out (off to start with)

Shortcuts#

Card	Setting	What it does
In Claude and Codex	`⌘K` to search, `⌃1–9` to jump to a chat	on or off; only while Claude or Codex is in front and Pairbar is showing. `⌘K` replaces the app's own shortcut there
From any app	Show / hide sidebar	`⌃⌥S`
	Search from anywhere	`⌃⌥K`
From any app	Dictate	`⌃⌥S`pace to start: hold to talk, tap for hands-free. Click it and press a new shortcut (Esc cancels, ⌫ clears). See Voice dictation
Window shortcuts	Overlay, Basket, Side by side, Stacked, Focus, Swap apps	drawn as keys: click one and press the new shortcut (Esc cancels, ⌫ clears, × removes it). Only Swap apps has one to start with (`⌃⌥⌘S`); a shortcut two commands share is flagged. See Keyboard

Notifications#

Card	Setting	What it does
Alerts	Claude chats / Codex chats	alerts per app, each with its app's icon: when a chat finishes or stops to ask you something (never for the chat you're looking at)
How you're told	Sound	a sound when a chat finishes or needs you
	Notification banner	a banner for finished and needs-you chats; click it to open the chat. The card says whether macOS allows banners, with Allow… when it doesn't
	Include what the chat is asking	off by default (banners show on the lock screen)
	Subagent finished or failed	off to start with: a banner when a chat's subagent finishes ("Subagent finished") or fails ("Subagent failed"), only while neither Claude, Codex nor Pairbar is in front; follows the Claude chats / Codex chats switches and needs the notification banner on. A failure's reason is included only with the switch above

Voice#

See Voice dictation. Four tabs at the top (⌘1–⌘4); the last one is remembered, and a search result opens its tab. The names and their order match the voice menu (right-click either pill or the composer's mic): Mode, Language, Polish, Where the pill lives.

Tab	Setting	What it does
Setup	Microphone	Allowed, "Not asked yet", or Off with Open Settings…
	Find Claude's message box	Allowed, or Estimated with Allow… (once asked and still off: Open Settings… and Restart Pairbar): Screen Recording, so the pill sits exactly on Claude's and Codex's message box and follows it when a side pane opens (only the bottom of their window is looked at, never saved)
	The dictation pill	Always visible, in one place (the default): one pill with the mic in every app, Claude, Codex and Pairbar included; hover for the shortcut, click to dictate into the field you're in, drag it to another dock. Hidden only for a full-screen video or slideshow and while hidden for an hour. Next to text fields: instead, a small dot just above the text field you're in, in other apps that say where it is (not Chrome-based ones like Slack, Chrome, Brave, Figma or VS Code). Off (shortcut only)
	Where the pill lives	one of four places, named as in the voice menu: Bottom (the default, at the bottom centre above the Dock), Left or Right (a tab half tucked into the edge halfway up, sliding out on hover and while recording), Top (under the notch) (or Top, under the menu bar, on a display without one). Dragging the pill shows the four and it springs into the nearest; each display remembers its own
	Which display	The display you're working on (the default: it follows the focused window), or Always on one display (by name; while it's unplugged, the pill is on the display you're working on)
	Not in these apps	with Next to text fields: apps the dot stays out of: right-click it, Not in this app; password managers to start with. Allow one again from the list
	Also under Claude and Codex's message box	a second pill there while Claude or Codex is in front: click to talk, right-click for the voice menu (on to start with; it's fine that it duplicates the always-visible one). Also in the voice menu
	Show Notes button	show the Notes circle beside the microphone (on by default). Right-click Notes → Hide Notes button turns it off; your notes and sessions stay saved
	Dictation sounds	a tick when it starts and a pop when the words are in
	Dictate	the shortcut (also under Shortcuts): `⌃⌥S`pace to start
	Double-tap to dictate	Right `⌘` (the default), Right `⌃` or Off: with the cursor in Claude's or Codex's message box
	When you stop talking	in Claude's or Codex's message box, what letting go of the shortcut (or Fn, the second press or double tap) does: "Review first (recommended)", the words kept in the card to read; "Send right away"; or "Insert without sending". Return always sends and `⇧R`eturn always reviews
	Insert text into	"The box you're typing in (recommended)": Pairbar's composer when you're typing there, else Claude's or Codex's message box in front, else the card waits; or "Always Pairbar's composer"
	Hold Fn (🌐) to talk	under More options: Off (the default) or Fn; first set System Settings → Keyboard → "Press 🌐 key to" to "Do Nothing" (Open Keyboard Settings)
Languages	Language	Automatic (the default: Pairbar listens for your languages and picks the right one) or one language
	Your languages	what Automatic listens for, in order: each Ready, or Download…, or Not on this Mac; add, move up, remove
	Recognition	"Best for code words (recommended)": knows your project's names; or "Fastest": words show sooner
	Translate to English	shown with a language other than English (or the mode in use): speak any language, get English text; a one-time download of Apple's on-device translation, offline after that
	Personal dictionary	words to recognise, one per line; `said -> written` corrects or expands
Polish	Default mode	Prompt (the default), Message, Verbatim, Code, Notes or To English. The selector sits below its label, with the full mode description underneath
	Different mode per place	its own mode for Pairbar's composer, Claude and Codex (off to start with)
	Rewrite with	Claude (recommended) (the default), Codex, On-device (free) or Off, as in the voice menu: your words rewritten into a clean prompt on your own plan, with more processing time for longer text (up to 60 seconds); you can insert the plain text any time. An engine that can't polish says "(unavailable)"; the line under it says why and what the pick means (Low Power Mode, modes that aren't polished)
	Claude warm-up	A short Ready, Starting or Off status, with the reason on its own wrapping line. Shown when Claude can be the selected rewrite provider; Codex, On-device and Off do not show an irrelevant Claude warm-up row
History	Keep dictation history	Forever, 30 days (the default), 7 days or Don't keep
	Open voice history	the list in Pairbar's sidebar
	Delete all dictations	Delete all…: the history and any kept audio
	Keep audio for 24 hours	under More options; off to start with: keeps each dictation's audio for a day, for Transcribe again
	Dictation history	the list: search, Original, copy, insert, copy original, delete

Agents & workflows#

Card	Setting	What it does
Agents	Save new agents in	the folder new agents are written to; Change… picks another
	Show agents from Claude Code plugins	include read-only plugin agents
Workflows	Workflows	how many are saved, and Open for the Workflows page
Skills	Keep skills the same in Claude and Codex	off by default (the same switch is at the top of the Skills tab). On: Pairbar mirrors your personal skills between the apps in the background, backs up what it replaces, and asks only about a skill you changed in both apps (more)

Otherwise the Skills tab lists what Claude and Codex load, and changes something only when you ask: a row's Make available, a plan you approve (a fix, Sync all skills…), or the switch above. Pairbar's own skills (guide, advisor, review, handoff and parallel) come with its tools for Claude and Codex (Settings → Integrations, below).

Integrations#

Card	Setting	What it does
Claude	Live status for Claude (hooks)	its state as a chip (Installed · last event 12 s ago, Installed · no events yet, Needs repair, Not installed, Can't read settings) with the action beside it: Install… adds Pairbar's hooks to `~/.claude/settings.json` (after a backup and your confirmation), so status, the tool running and permission prompts arrive the moment they happen; Install also runs Claude Code's status line through Pairbar's helper for your plan limits (your own status line looks the same); Uninstall removes exactly them and puts your status line back; Repair when the app moved; Limits: Update / Limits: reconnect connect the status line with one click (an older install, or after you changed it). How it works says what Install writes and what Claude sends. See Integrations
Codex	Live status for Codex (hooks)	the same for Codex's `~/.codex/config.toml` (or `hooks.json`), with how many of its hooks Codex trusts so far. See Integrations
Pairbar tools for Claude and Codex	Pairbar tools for Claude	its state as a chip (Installed · last call 12 s ago, Installed · no calls yet, Needs repair, Update available, Turned off, Not installed) with the action beside it: Install… writes Pairbar's plugin to `~/.pairbar/plugins` and links it into `~/.claude/skills` (no Claude command runs, no Claude settings file changes), so Claude's chats can read Pairbar's chats, tasks, skills, agents, workflows and limits, and ask for agent actions; Uninstall undoes it; Repair; Update. See Pairbar's tools
	Pairbar tools for Codex	the same with Codex's commands (Codex's `config.toml` is backed up, never edited by Pairbar)
	Start Pairbar when an agent needs it	on: a tool call from a chat opens Pairbar in the background when it isn't running; off: the call says Pairbar isn't running
	Agents can see chats in other projects	off: a chat sees only its own project's chats and tasks; on: all of them (still metadata only, never their messages)
	How it works	the exact commands, what the tools may see, the allow rule for Claude (`mcp__plugin_pairbar_pairbar__`, with Copy), and Install that way…*: Advanced, through Claude's plugin manager (Claude may rewrite `settings.json`; Pairbar checks it and undoes the install if anything but its own entries changed)
Agent activity	Agent activity	every call to Pairbar's tools: the last 24 hours in a line, the list filtered by All, Claude, Codex, Other or Problems only, Export… and Clear…. See Agent activity
Agent actions	Pause agent actions	the kill switch: agents can still read, but every request to start or ask for anything is refused. Also `⌘K` → "Pause agent actions" / "Resume agent actions"
	Second opinions and reviews	Off, Ask me (to start with) or Allow: a read-only chat on the other app
	Read-only helper chats	Off, Ask me (to start with) or Allow
	Helpers that run commands or edit	Off or Ask me (to start with); never Allow: you approve each one
	Handoffs to the composer	Off or Allow (to start with): the composer opens with the chat attached, and you press Send
	Messages to their own helpers	Off or Allow (to start with)
	Notifications from agents	Off or Allow (to start with): at most one a minute per chat
	Running your workflows	Off or Ask me (to start with); a workflow you marked Agents may run this in its editor runs without asking
	Workflow drafts	Off or Allow (to start with): the Workflows editor opens with a planned draft, and you press Create workflow
	Check-ins a chat schedules for itself	Off or Ask me (to start with); you can allow a chat's check-ins for good when you approve one
	Deliver results into the chat that asked	on to start with: a result the chat didn't collect goes into it when it can take a message (Codex queues it, Claude only when idle). See Results
	Helpers per chat at once	3 to start with: running or waiting for you, for one chat
	Helpers per chat per hour	8 to start with
	Agent-started chats at once	6 to start with, across Pairbar
	Agent-started chats per day	30 to start with, across Pairbar
	Keep this much of each plan for you	25% to start with: no new helper on an app with less than that left
	Helpers can ask for second opinions	on to start with: a helper may ask for a second opinion or a review, never start helpers; off: helpers can ask for nothing
	Stop all agent-started chats	how many are running and waiting, and Stop all: stops every helper and workflow run agents started, withdraws every waiting request, and ends the check-ins chats set up on themselves. See Agent actions
Profiles	Profiles	the presets agents name for second opinions, reviews and helpers (five to start with: Deep reviewer, Implementer, Second opinion, Scout, Writer): each one's app, model, effort, what it may do and when to use it, with Edit and Delete; Add profile; Reset to the five defaults. See Profiles

Licence#

Card	Setting	What it does
Plan	Plan	the trial or licence at a glance: Free trial with the days left (and a bar), Pairbar Yearly, Pairbar Monthly or Pairbar Lifetime · Active ("Yearly · renews 1 Oct 2027 · licensed to …", "Lifetime · licensed to …"), Subscription ended, Trial ended or locked. Subscribe · $39 first year (or Renew · $49/year), Monthly · $9/month and Lifetime · $129 once while you have no licence, it's locked or the subscription has ended; Manage subscription… once you have one (cancel, resume or pay at Lemon Squeezy; Your orders… for Lifetime). See Trial, licence and updates
Licence key	Licence key	the key (masked) and this Mac's name; Check now ("Renewed? Check again" once the subscription has ended) and Deactivate this Mac…
Already subscribed?	Use my email / Enter a licence key	during the trial, while locked, or once the subscription has ended: your email and Use my email (a link that activates this Mac), or Enter a licence key and Activate; Find my key…
Help	Help with your licence	emails support; Terms of Sale and Refund policy (the website), Contact support…
Updates	Check for updates automatically	daily checks for a new version (on by default)
	Check for Updates…	Check now looks for a new version

About & advanced#

Card	Setting	What it does
About	Version	the Pairbar wordmark, version, build and copyright; Terms of Sale (pairbar.com/legal/terms) and Licence agreement (EULA) (pairbar.com/legal/eula); Contact support… (an email draft you check first: see Contact support)
Privacy	Privacy	your chats stay on this Mac; what Pairbar sends and when; Privacy policy
	Hide Pairbar from screenshots (Coming Soon) and screen sharing	off by default; when on, the sidebar and every Pairbar window stay out of screenshots (Coming Soon), recordings and shared screens
Advanced	Show welcome	reopen the welcome window
	Reset Pairbar…	pins, labels, renames, hidden chats, task names and marks, and all settings back to defaults (chats and agents aren't touched)
	Quit Pairbar

Vocabulary and input device#

Tab	Setting	Behaviour
Setup	Microphone to use	Automatic or a connected microphone; Automatic avoids Bluetooth when a wired or usable built-in input is available
Languages	Developer and product words	Built-in vocabulary, selected for the destination and project; on by default
Languages	Learnt words	Saved corrections: full heard phrase above its replacement, with a button to forget each
Languages	Keep my last 20 recordings on this Mac to improve recognition	Off by default; local audio and recognition notes, no upload; turning off clears them
Languages	Delete recordings	Clears the optional recognition recordings

In a narrow sidebar, wide controls move below their labels. Long setting descriptions offer More and Less so you can read the complete explanation. Hover a menu to see its full selected value.

In a narrow sidebar, each attention item puts its action below the explanation. Permission status and action buttons wrap instead of shortening their labels. Plan limit reset times move below the plan name and percentage when they do not fit on one line.

Look and Window layout previews adapt to the actual settings viewport, using one column when two previews do not fit. The notification permission badge wraps its full status text when needed.

On narrow sidebars, sliders put their value and endpoint labels below the track. Window settings uses Save setup…; hovering shows that it saves the current window setup.

Long page titles wrap in narrow sidebars. In Agents & workflows, the saved folder and Change… appear on separate lines; hover the path to read it in full. About & advanced keeps legal and support links readable by wrapping them.

In Licence, narrow sidebars stack the plan status, purchase choices and activation controls. Button labels wrap so the price and billing period remain visible. Email and key fields keep their own line; Enter a licence key and Use my email instead switch between them.

In Integrations, installation status and actions wrap onto separate lines when needed. Agent activity puts caller filters, Problems only, and export/clear actions on separate rows. Narrow profile rows put Edit and Delete below their text. Profile editors put short Change… buttons beside the option when the card has room, and below it in narrow windows. Profile name, When to use it and Skills have visible labels; long descriptions offer More and Less.

The Settings home page keeps pane names readable at narrow widths: attention counts move below their descriptions, and a scrollbar shows that more panes are available below. Preview grids also reflow when you resize an open Look or Windows page.

Search results show the setting name and its pane. In a narrow sidebar, names wrap onto multiple lines and the pane stays underneath; decorative icons and arrows make room for the text. Hover for the description, or open the setting to read it in context. Clicking a result, or selecting it with the arrow keys and pressing Return, opens the correct pane or Voice tab, unfolds More options when needed, scrolls to the setting and highlights it.

In the separate Settings window, status labels and groups of actions keep their natural width beside the setting text. The text wraps normally instead of disappearing into an oversized row.

Settings controls use the available card width: menus and sliders move below their labels in the narrower content column, even when the window still shows the pane list on the left. Wider content keeps compact controls alongside their descriptions.