Settings And Preferences

The Settings screen is the source of truth for available options and defaults. This page documents selected behavior that is not obvious from the labels; it is not an exhaustive copy of every setting. Platform differences are described in 3.05-Web-App-vs-Desktop.

Global Settings

A search box sits above the settings tabs. Typing into it searches every tab at once and lists the matches in a dropdown, each showing the section it belongs to and, where a specific option matched, that option's label. Picking a result switches to the tab it lives on, expands the section, and scrolls to it. Searching for a tab name lists everything on that tab. Settings that are not collapsible sections — the Appearance group (dark mode, theme, and wallpaper), sound, plugins, sync setup, and the time tracking switch on the Time & Tracking tab — are searchable too, as are the Import from Todoist and Import from TickTick buttons in the Import/Export section.

The default General tab opens with the Appearance group, followed by App Features (expanded when Settings opens, with a link to the Plugins tab below its switches), then language and other general preferences.

App Features

• Defaults on a new install — A fresh install starts with time tracking, Planner, project notes, search, the sync button, and the Support us page. Schedule, the schedule day panel, Views (boards), Habits, the issues panel, Finish Day, and focus mode start switched off and can be switched on here. Existing data keeps its own settings. The defaults themselves are never saved or synced, and changing a switch here syncs only that switch, so a new device does not turn features off on your other devices. A new device joining an account whose feature settings were never changed can therefore show fewer features until you switch them on there.
• Switching a feature off where you see it — Sidebar entries for Planner, Schedule, and Habits, and the header of the sidebar's Views section, offer Disable feature in their menu; the play button in the header offers the same for time tracking (right-click, or long press on touch devices, while there is a task to track). The Time tracking switch is also the first item on the Time & Tracking tab.

Localization

• Datetime format locale — Controls numeric date formatting and the 12/24-hour time format, including time entry fields such as the time in the schedule and deadline dialogs. The ISO 8601 option uses YYYY-MM-DD and a 24-hour clock. With ISO 8601 selected, weekday labels in Schedule, Habits, and Planner follow the app language. The System default option follows your browser or operating system regional locale, except when the app is set to a language other than English that differs from it: then it follows the app language (a German app on an English browser uses German formats). Arabic and Persian keep the browser locale, as their date formats can't be typed back; when formatting data for a locale is not available, dates fall back to British English (en-GB) formatting. The same day/month order is used to read numeric dates typed with short syntax: @3/1 is 3 January with a day-first format and March 1 otherwise (3.04-Short-Syntax).

  Time entry fields use your device's own time control when its clock format matches this setting. Otherwise they become a text field with a list of times; type 14:30, 1430 or 2:30pm.

Miscellaneous

• Show the number of tasks due today or overdue on the app icon (desktop, default: off) — Counts incomplete top-level tasks in active projects with a scheduled date today or earlier. Subtasks are not counted separately. Timed tasks later today count too, and the configured start of the day applies. Zero clears the badge. Windows uses a dark gray circle with smooth, semibold white numbers, displaying up to 99+; macOS uses the Dock badge and requires notification permission. Linux support depends on the launcher.

• Show current countdown in the tray / status menu (macOS only) — Shows the active timer or countdown in the desktop status menu title. When this is disabled and current-task display is enabled, the title can show the current task instead.

• Automatically check for new versions (desktop only, default: on) — Once a day the desktop app asks the GitHub releases API whether a newer version has been published and shows a dismissible notice linking to the download page. No personal data is sent, nothing is installed automatically, and each version is announced at most once. The setting (and a manual "Check for updates" link in the settings footer) only appears on builds without their own update channel; Microsoft Store, Mac App Store, and Snap builds update through their stores and never check.

• Disable celebration in daily summary (default: on) — Turns off the confetti shown on the daily summary and on project completion. Untick it to turn the celebration on. Installs that saved this setting before the default changed keep their previous choice.

• Enable local REST API (desktop only, default: off) — Starts a localhost HTTP API on http://127.0.0.1:3876 for local scripts and tools. Every request except GET /health must include the generated access token as Authorization: Bearer <token>. The token is shown below this setting and can be regenerated, which invalidates the previous token immediately. This is a breaking change for older API clients that used the API without authentication. The setting is stored on this computer only and is not synced; after updating from a version where it was synced, switch it on again on each computer that should serve the API (the access token stays the same). The panel shows whether the API is running, or why it is not.

• Enable assistant access (MCP, desktop only, default: off) — Lets an AI assistant on this computer (for example Claude Code or Codex) use Super Productivity through the Model Context Protocol at http://127.0.0.1:3876/mcp, limited to the permissions chosen below it: read tasks, also read task notes, and add new tasks to the Inbox (all off by default). The access key is shown once when generated; replacing it disconnects assistants using the old one. The panel includes a ready-made Claude Code command and a generic client configuration. Stored on this computer only and not synced. See 3.01-API (Assistant Access).

Reminders

Found under Settings → Time & Tracking → Reminders.

• Disable all reminders (default: off) — Stops task reminders from popping up. Reminder times stay saved on the tasks: a reminder that came due in the meantime appears as soon as you turn the setting off again. The banner shortly before a reminder is due still appears; turn off Show countdown banner before reminders are due in the same section to hide it too. Banners for upcoming calendar events are not affected either; those are set per calendar. On Android and iOS this also cancels the planned-for-today notifications below.

• Use alarm-style reminders (Android and desktop, default: off) — On Android, reminders use the louder alarm sound and are delivered as full-screen notifications: when the screen is off, Android turns it on and shows the reminder on the lock screen with its Done and Snooze actions, instead of only playing a sound and leaving the notification in the drawer. The task title and actions are shown on the lock screen even if Android is set to hide sensitive notification content. Due-date notifications always stay regular. On Android 10 and later, waking the screen needs the full-screen notification permission. Only the F-Droid build requests it, so on those versions the Google Play build and the APK from GitHub releases show a normal heads-up popup instead. If alarm-style reminders in the F-Droid build do not wake the screen, allow Super Productivity under Settings → Apps → Special app access → Full screen notifications (the exact name varies by device).

  On desktop, a bell rings while the reminder dialog is open, until you act on the reminder or for at most 10 minutes, and the window comes to the front. A reminder for the task you are currently tracking shows a short message instead and does not ring. The setting syncs between devices.

• Show notifications for tasks planned for today (Android and iOS, default: off) — Sends one notification per task that is planned for a day but has no time or reminder, at the hour set in Hour to show planned-task notifications (default: 9, shown once enabled). If your phone rings once for every Today task each morning, this setting is on: untick it. Reminders you set on a task are not affected.

Tasks

• Show current task in the tray / status menu (macOS/Windows only) — Allows the desktop tray or status menu to show the active task. On macOS, the current countdown setting takes priority while it is enabled.
• Enable Markdown formatting in task notes (default: on) — Notes are edited in an editor that renders markdown as you type, showing the plain syntax only on the line you are editing. Turning this off replaces that editor with a plain text box everywhere notes are edited (task notes, project notes, and the fullscreen editor); the note text itself is unchanged either way.
• Priority icons (default: Chevrons) — How a task's priority is shown next to its title and in the priority menus: chevrons or circled numbers (3 = High, 2 = Medium, 1 = Low). Each option previews its icons. Tasks without a priority show nothing.

Short Syntax

• Enable deadline short syntax — Parses !<deadline time> while entering task titles. This option is disabled by default.
• Enable priority short syntax — Parses the lowercase words p1 (High), p2 (Medium) and p3 (Low) while entering task titles and removes them from the title. See 3.04-Short-Syntax. This option is enabled by default.

Idle Handling

• Enable idle time tracking — When enabled, Super Productivity will detect when you are away from the computer and show an idle dialog asking what you did.
• Minimum idle time — The amount of time you need to be away before the idle dialog is shown. Must be at least 1 minute: the desktop app never reports shorter idle periods, so anything lower is rounded up to about a minute rather than honoured. Idle is sampled every 30 seconds, so the dialog can appear up to that much after the threshold is reached.
• Only show idle dialog when a task is active — Only show the idle dialog when a task is currently being tracked. Default: on for new installs; existing setups keep their saved value.
• Suppress idle dialog during work sessions — When enabled, the idle dialog will not appear while a focus mode work session is running. Useful when you are working at the computer without active keyboard/mouse input (e.g. reading, studying, or writing exams). Default: on for new installs; existing setups keep their saved value.

Schedule

• Tasks without a time (default: Placed automatically) — Where the Schedule shows tasks that are planned for a day but have no time. Placed automatically fits them into the free time of the day. Kept in a tray lists them above the day instead and leaves the timeline to tasks you gave a time. See 4.04-Schedule-View.

Break Reminder

• Enable take a break reminder — Shows a reminder after you have tracked time for the minimum working time without a break. Default: off for new installs; existing setups keep their saved value. See 4.16-Break-Reminders.

Focus Mode

• Enable Pomodoro overtime — When a Pomodoro work session reaches its length, the timer keeps running until you end the session, instead of switching into a break on its own. Default: on for new installs; existing setups keep their saved value. See 4.15-Timers-and-Focus-Mode.

Focus Mode (this device)

These settings are stored on this device only and are not synced.

• Loop the break-end sound until I dismiss the break (default: off) — Keeps playing the break-end sound until you dismiss the break, instead of playing it once.
• Show a browser notification when a Pomodoro session or break ends (web app only, default: off) — Shows a browser notification when a Pomodoro focus session or any break reaches its end while the app is not focused. Turning it on asks the browser for notification permission; if the browser blocks it, the option turns itself off again. Hidden in browsers without notification support. Countdown sessions already notify on their own.

Keyboard Shortcuts

See 3.03-Keyboard-Shortcuts for full list.

Plugins

See 2.21-Manage-Plugins for installation, configuration, permissions, and the plugin trust model.

Sync & Export

SuperSync: AI Assistants

• Let AI assistants add tasks — Off by default. Lets AI assistants add tasks to your Inbox through the SuperSync server. Shows the server URL, creates tokens and lists connected assistants with Revoke. See 3.01-API#agent-task-capture-mcp. On Android it also sends shares to the server, encrypted on the phone, so your other devices get them on their next sync without the app opening on the phone (see 3.05-Web-App-vs-Desktop#receive-shared-links-and-text-on-android). Turning it off deletes waiting shares too; the confirmation counts them.

Automatic Backups

• Enable automatic backups — Creates local backups automatically when supported by the current platform.
• Restore latest automatic backup — Android only. Restores the latest usable automatic backup and replaces the current local data after confirmation.
• Maximum backup files — Desktop only. Limits how many automatic backup JSON files are kept in the backups/ folder; older files are deleted once the limit is exceeded.

Recurring Task Settings

In a task's repeat settings, expand Advanced configuration and choose a Priority (None, Low, Medium, or High). New occurrences use this default. When a task becomes recurring, its current priority is copied into the repeat settings.

Changing the repeat priority offers Update all instances or Only future tasks. Choose None to clear the series default. Changing priority from an individual task's context menu affects that occurrence only; use the repeat settings to change the series.

Phone Bottom Navigation

On narrow screens (below 600px) a bar at the bottom holds Today, a second destination, the add-task button, the side panels and the menu. The second destination is Planner by default. Long-press it (or right-click it, or press the context-menu key while it is focused) to choose Planner, Inbox, Views (opens the last view you opened), Schedule, Search or a page an enabled plugin adds to the side menu instead; a normal tap still opens it. Only destinations whose feature is switched on in App Features are offered. If the chosen one is switched off or its plugin is removed, the button goes back to Planner (a plugin choice shows Planner until the plugin has loaded); if Planner is switched off too, the button is hidden. The choice is stored on the device only and is not synced, so each phone keeps its own.

The menu (side navigation) slides in from the right. Besides the menu button, swiping left from the right screen edge opens it; on the schedule's day view and the planner calendar that swipe keeps paging instead. With Android gesture navigation the screen edges belong to the system back gesture, so use the menu button there.

Project, Tag, Today, And Inbox Settings

Basic Settings

• Enable Project Backlog — Adds a separate backlog list to the project.

Theme

Theme settings can include background images for light mode, dark mode, or both. When at least one background image is set, the background contrast and blur sliders are shown. The blur slider defaults to 0px. When at least one mode has no background image, the colored background tint setting is shown. See 3.09-Theming for theme details.