Desktop settings, shortcuts and configuration

This page is the lookup table for SynapseX Desktop: where each setting lives, what every keyboard shortcut does, exactly which tools each agent security mode allows, and the identifiers your IT team needs to package or allow-list the app. Use it when you already know what you want and just need the exact value.

Installing for the first time? Start at /desktop/install.

Where is each setting?

Settings open with Cmd+, on macOS. The navigation has three sections:

Section	Tabs
SynapseX AI	Account, Plan & Resources, Permissions
Desktop	General, Shortcuts
Server	Servers, Compute Services, Providers, Models

These docs cover Account, Permissions, and the Providers and Models views. The remaining tabs are shipped but not documented here.

Agent security modes

Settings → SynapseX AI → Permissions → Agent security mode picks one of three concrete rule bundles. This is the exact per-tool mapping — allow means the agent acts without asking, ask means you get a prompt, deny means it is refused outright.

Tool	Full access	Sandboxed	Strict
`read`	allow	allow	ask
`edit`	allow	allow	ask
`glob`	allow	allow	ask
`grep`	allow	allow	ask
`list`	allow	allow	ask
`task`	allow	allow	ask
`skill`	allow	allow	ask
`todowrite`	allow	allow	allow
`question`	allow	allow	allow
`lsp`	allow	allow	allow
`bash`	allow	ask	ask
`webfetch`	allow	ask	ask
`websearch`	allow	ask	ask
`doom_loop`	allow	ask	ask
`external_directory`	allow	ask	deny

Sandboxed is the practical middle ground: reading and editing files inside the project stays automatic, while anything that runs a command, reaches the network, or touches a directory outside the project asks first. Strict never lets the agent leave the project directory at all.

The same three presets are also selectable from the permission-mode control in the composer, and both surfaces write identical configuration. Task guide: /desktop/agent-permissions.

Keyboard shortcuts

The application menu bar is built on macOS only. On Windows and Linux the menu and its accelerators do not exist; drive the app from the in-app UI instead.

Shortcut	Action
`Cmd+O`	Open Project…
`Shift+Cmd+S`	New Session
`Cmd+Shift+N`	New Window
`Cmd+,`	Settings
`Cmd+B`	Toggle Sidebar
Ctrl+`	Toggle Terminal
—	Toggle File Tree (menu item, no accelerator)
`Cmd+[`	Back
`Cmd+]`	Forward
`Option+Up`	Previous Session
`Option+Down`	Next Session
`Cmd+Option+Up`	Previous Project
`Cmd+Option+Down`	Next Project

The same table alongside the SynapseX Chat shortcuts: /reference/keyboard-shortcuts.

Environment variables

Set these before launching the app to point it at a different endpoint or to supply a key without signing in.

Variable	What it does	Default
`SYNAPSEX_API_KEY`	Loads the built-in `synapsex` model provider from the environment instead of a stored sign-in	unset
`SYNAPSEX_API_URL`	Base URL of the built-in `synapsex` model provider	`https://platform.synapsex.ai/api/v1`
`SYNAPSEX_AUTH_URL`	Host used by the device-flow sign-in	`https://chat.synapsex.ai`
`SYNAPSEX_COMPUTE_URL`	Host of SynapseX Compute	`https://chat.synapsex.ai`
`SYNAPSEX_CHAT_URL`	Origin loaded by the embedded web modes in the title bar	`https://chat.synapsex.ai`
`SYNAPSEX_CODE_PORT`	Pins the loopback port of the embedded agent server instead of using a random one	ephemeral port
`SYNAPSEX_CODE_CONFIG_DIR`	Overrides the configuration directory	XDG config dir
`SYNAPSEX_CODE_DISABLE_DEFAULT_PLUGINS`	Disables the built-in plugins, including the plugin that provides “Sign in with SynapseX”	unset
`SYNAPSEX_CODE_SERVER_USERNAME` / `SYNAPSEX_CODE_SERVER_PASSWORD`	Basic-auth credentials of the embedded agent server. The desktop normally sets these itself — username `synapsexCode` and a fresh random password on every launch	set per launch


# Linux: start the desktop app with a pinned agent-server port
SYNAPSEX_CODE_PORT=4096 ./synapsex-desktop-x86_64.AppImage

The app runs its agent server on 127.0.0.1 behind HTTP Basic auth, so your code, terminal and git stay on your machine — only model traffic leaves it.

Identifiers for IT and packaging

Item	Value
Application id	`ai.synapsexCode.desktop`
Product name	`SynapseX`
macOS bundle	`SynapseX.app`
Windows executable	`SynapseX.exe`
Linux executable	`ai.synapsexCode.desktop`
URL scheme	`synapsexCode://`
Version	`1.17.9`

The app registers itself as the handler for synapsexCode:// links, so links can open directly in the desktop app.

Windows: running the agent server in WSL

On Windows the app can host the SynapseX Code server inside a WSL distribution rather than on the Windows side. The option lives in Settings → Desktop → WSL. This page documents only that the option exists.

Download URLs and install commands: /reference/downloads
Signing in: /desktop/sign-in
Model ids: /reference/models