Settings reference | Borago Board

Settings is the one dialog for everything about this device and this account that is not a project setting. In Borago Board it opens from the gear icon at the right of the top bar, or on a narrow window and on the phone from the menu button, then Settings. On a wide window the categories are a menu on the left and the chosen category's controls are on the right. On a narrow window the categories are a list, a tap opens one, and a back control returns to the list. A notification that concerns a setting opens Settings on the matching category.

Most controls apply the moment they change. The device-level settings in Browser access, Cloud sync, part of Application and part of Docker are one form, written only when Save at the bottom is pressed. Closing with unsaved changes opens the Unsaved settings dialog, which lists each change with its new and old value and offers Keep editing, Discard and Save. Escape and a click outside keep editing.

Surfaces are the desktop app, a browser on your network (the desktop's own board served over HTTP, see Browser access), the cloud browser, and the phone, which is the cloud board opened in the phone's browser. Some categories exist on only some of them. Project settings are on their own page, Project settings reference.

The categories

Category	The app's description	Visible when
Account	Your account, sign in and cloud sync.	Always in the desktop app. On the cloud browser and phone when signed in. Never in a browser on your network.
Application	Updates, time and date format, window behavior.	Always
Notifications	System notifications for this device.	Always
Browser access	Serve this board over HTTP to a browser or your LAN.	The desktop app only
Self-hosted services	Model servers you run yourself: add, edit, verify.	Always
Keys & credentials	Saved keys, and credentials held after a sync removed them.	Always
Data & recovery	Deleted projects and whole-board restore points.	Always
Docker	Engine location, auto-start, sandboxing and disk usage.	The desktop app and a browser on your network. Never on the cloud browser or phone, which run no containers.
Help & diagnostics	Documentation, and report a problem.	Always
About	Version and legal documents.	Always

Account

In the desktop app this category holds cloud sync and the sign-in to the cloud account. On the cloud browser and phone it holds the signed-in account card. A warning appears above the Cloud sync switch when the key that seals stored credentials on this device is itself unprotected (a denied macOS keychain prompt, or a Linux desktop with no system keyring). It warns and never blocks. See Security.

Label	What it does	Default	Surfaces	Notes
Cloud sync	Keeps this board in two-way sync with the Borago Board cloud, last change wins. When on, the sign-in form and the sync status appear below it. While signed in, the desktop also opens the relay, so the cloud browser and phone can reach this machine's containers, terminal, scripts and chat. Saved with Save.	Off	desktop app	The cloud address is fixed in the build and is neither shown nor editable. Signing in turns the switch on by itself. Sync needs an active subscription or trial, otherwise the status line says a subscription is required and offers View profile. The status line otherwise reads Connected with the last sync time and counts, an error, or that it is not connected yet. When sync is on, task text, comments, run output and chat are readable by the cloud service.
Sign in	Signs this desktop in to a cloud account with email and password. On an account with two-factor sign-in a second step asks for the authenticator code or a recovery code, and the button reads Verify. When another desktop is already linked to the account, a dialog asks to log out the other desktop and link this one.	None	desktop app	One desktop app per account. Signing in to a different account than the one on this device swaps the whole board, after a confirm when tasks are running. A first sign-in that enrols the account's secret key shows a one-time recovery code, the only way back into synced secrets after a forgotten password.
Forgot password?	Opens the cloud password reset in the system browser. At the two-factor step the link reads Can't access your authenticator? and opens the cloud sign-in page, where the lockout recovery lives.	None	desktop app	Both recoveries end in an email, which the desktop cannot receive, so they run in the browser.
Sign in with your browser or phone instead	Starts a sign-in that an already signed-in browser or phone approves. The app shows a short Sign-in code and a QR code and opens the cloud in the system browser. Approve there, or on the phone board choose Link desktop app and scan the code. The panel then reads Signed in, or says the request was denied or expired with a Reset link.	None	desktop app	The code lives 10 minutes and is used once. The approving side must show the same code. This flow never sees the password, so synced secrets stay locked on this device until one sign-in with the password, and the panel says so. Cancel abandons the request.
Add account	Shows the sign-in form while already signed in, to sign a second account in on this device. The current account keeps its stored session.	None	desktop app	Switching between accounts afterwards is a click in the profile menu, or Switch below.
Sign out	Signs this desktop out of the cloud account. Stored credentials are re-encrypted under the device key first, so the local board keeps working offline. Sync and the relay stop.	None	desktop app, cloud browser, phone	On the cloud browser and phone the button sits on the account card, which shows the signed-in email and whether the account is an administrator or a user, and ends the session in that browser. Plan, two-factor sign-in, recovery email and account deletion are on the Profile page reached from the profile menu, not in Settings.
Keep it awake	Appears under the signed-in status while no keep-awake switch covers the cloud. Pressing it turns on While connected to the cloud under Application. Saved with Save.	None	desktop app	A computer that sleeps takes its relayed board down with it.
Accounts on this device	Lists every account signed in on this device when there is more than one, marking the active one and any that is signed out. Switch swaps the whole workspace to that account. Remove forgets that account's sign-in on this device.	None	desktop app	Remove leaves the account's board on disk. It reopens at the next sign-in. See Switching accounts on one machine.

Application

Label	What it does	Default	Surfaces	Notes
Keep running when the window is closed	When on, closing the window hides the app and keeps it running. Reopen it from the tray icon on Windows and on a Linux desktop with a system tray, or from the menu bar icon or Dock on macOS. On a Linux desktop with no system tray the window minimizes instead. When off, closing the window quits the app. Saved with Save.	On	desktop app	The hint changes to match the desktop. Quitting stops any running task. Project containers keep running until you stop them, after a reboot too. Some Linux panels keep the icon until the app is next started.
While Borago Board is running	The first switch under Keep the computer awake. Holds a power-save blocker the whole time the app runs. Turning it on turns the other two switches on and locks them. Saved with Save.	Off	desktop app	Stops the computer from sleeping. The screen may still turn off.
While connected to the cloud	Holds the computer awake while the relay to the cloud is open. Saved with Save.	Off	desktop app	Locked on while the first switch is on.
While a task is running	Holds the computer awake while a task run is in flight on this machine. Saved with Save.	Off	desktop app	There is no session resume, so a run the computer sleeps through is paid for and lost.
Fullscreen title bar	macOS only. Mode chooses whether the app keeps its own bar and traffic lights on the fullscreen row, or macOS shows its own bar on hover in the board's theme. The options are Automatic (on macOS 15 and later), On, and Off (macOS default). A status line says what this launch is doing and why.	Automatic (on macOS 15 and later)	desktop app	Applied when the window is created, so a change takes effect the next time the app starts, and the panel says so after a change. Stored on the device, not in the account.
Applications menu entry	Linux AppImage only. Add to applications writes a desktop entry and an icon under ~/.local/share, so the taskbar shows the app's icon and name instead of a blank icon and the name borago-board. Remove from applications deletes both files.	Not added	desktop app	Shown when running from an AppImage, or when an entry the app wrote exists. The app offers this once, at the launch after the terms are accepted, and never asks again. The two files stay if the AppImage is later deleted.
Automatically keep Borago up to date	On a writable AppImage, and on a Mac app in the Applications folder, it checks daily, downloads the update in the background and installs it when you restart. On a deb or rpm installed from the Borago repository it checks daily and notifies you to update with apt or dnf. On every other install the switch is disabled with a message, and Download latest opens the download page. Saved with Save.	On	desktop app	Windows installs, and a Mac app opened from the disk image or straight from Downloads, are notify-only. A newer version raises a notification whose click opens the download page. A check also runs at launch when the last one is old. Not shown on the cloud browser or phone.
Daily check at	The local hour of the daily update check, 00:00 to 23:00. Saved with Save.	02:00	desktop app	Disabled while automatic updates are off. Shown only on installs that can update themselves or through a package manager.
Check now	Runs an update check at once, whatever the switch says, and prints one of three results under the buttons. You are on the latest version, an update is available with its version number, or the check could not run right now.	None	desktop app	On a Windows install, or a Mac app outside the Applications folder, the check still works and a newer version opens the download page. On an install with no update feed, such as a read-only AppImage, the result is always that it could not check.
Download latest	Opens the download page in the system browser.	None	desktop app	Shown only where the build cannot update itself.
Time format	24-hour or 12-hour, for every time shown on the board. Each option shows the same moment in its format. Applied immediately and saved to the account, so it follows you to your other devices.	24-hour	desktop app, browser on your network, cloud browser, phone	On a desktop that is signed out the choice is kept locally.
Date format	YYYY-MM-DD, DD/MM/YYYY, MM/DD/YYYY or System, which is the browser locale's own order. Applied immediately and saved to the account.	YYYY-MM-DD	desktop app, browser on your network, cloud browser, phone	Same storage as Time format.

Notifications

The bell in the top bar always shows notifications. This category is about being told outside the bell. See Notifications.

Label	What it does	Default	Surfaces	Notes
Desktop notifications	Shows a system notification for every board notification this client receives, such as a blocked task, a question, a sign-in failure or a rate limit. Turning it on asks the browser or the operating system for permission. Applied immediately. Clicking a notification focuses the app, marks it read and opens the task or project.	Off	desktop app, browser on your network, cloud browser, phone	A per-client preference kept in that browser's local storage, never synced, so each surface opts in on its own. If permission is denied the panel says to allow notifications in the system or browser settings and try again. On macOS the app also checks the system's own permission when the switch is turned on and when Settings is saved, and warns if it is blocked.

Browser access

Desktop app only. The HTTP server runs inside the desktop app and serves the same board with no login. See Browser access on your network and Ports and LAN access.

Label	What it does	Default	Surfaces	Notes
Expose to web	Serves the board over HTTP so a browser can open it. Saved with Save and applied at once. The address appears below when the server is running.	Off	desktop app	The board is served with no authentication. Browsing the desktop's filesystem is never offered to a browser.
Reachable from	This machine only listens on 127.0.0.1, so only browsers on this computer can open it. This machine + LAN listens on every network interface. Choosing the LAN option opens a danger confirm, Enable LAN access. Saved with Save.	This machine only	desktop app	With the LAN option, anyone on the network who can reach the port can open the board, create tasks and run the AI, with no login. Only on a trusted network. Cloud sync with an account is the way to reach the board from anywhere else.
Port	The TCP port the server listens on, 1024 to 65535. Saved with Save.	8484	desktop app	A port already in use makes the start fail and the address line does not appear.
Open	Beside the running server's address. Opens it in the system browser.	None	desktop app	Shown only while the server is running.

Self-hosted services

The account's list of model servers that speak the OpenAI chat completions protocol, such as Ollama, vLLM, llama.cpp's llama-server and LM Studio. No API key and no cost. The list syncs with the account, and only the server address can be overridden per device. Each row shows the name, the address, an online dot (Checking, Online or Not answering) and how many models were detected, with an Edit button and a delete icon. The project modal's AI Auth tab opens this category rather than an editor of its own. See Run tasks on a local model with Ollama and the tutorials for vLLM, llama.cpp and LM Studio.

Label	What it does	Default	Surfaces	Notes
Add a self-hosted service	Opens the editor on a blank service. Nothing is stored until Add is pressed in the editor.	None	desktop app, browser on your network, cloud browser, phone	The suggested name is Self-hosted AI service, numbered when that name is taken.
Edit	Opens the editor for that service. The editor is a draft, committed by Save.	None	desktop app, browser on your network, cloud browser, phone	Escape and Cancel discard the draft.
Delete	The trash icon on a row. Removes the service from every device on the account, after a confirm dialog.	None	desktop app, browser on your network, cloud browser, phone	Projects that use the deleted service report it as missing until they are pointed at another one.
Name	Required, marked with an asterisk. Projects refer to the server by name, so the same name on other devices lets each device use its own address for it.	Self-hosted AI service	desktop app, browser on your network, cloud browser, phone	Synced.
Server address *	Required. The address shared by every device on the account. The board makes the model call itself, so the project container needs no access to the server.	http://localhost:11434/v1	desktop app, browser on your network, cloud browser, phone	Synced.
Use a different address on this device	Unfolds Address on this device, an address that only this machine uses and that is never synced. Use the shared one clears it and folds the field away.	Not set	desktop app, browser on your network, cloud browser, phone	For a server that is on localhost here and on the network from other devices. The fold stays open while an override is set.
API key (optional)	Sent only when the server requires one, as vLLM and TGI can. Stored encrypted.	Empty	desktop app, browser on your network	Usually not needed. On the cloud browser and the phone the field is disabled with the reason, since the cloud never stores the key that encrypts it. A stored key stays stored and every other field still saves there.
Tool calling	Automatic (recommended) tries native tool calls and falls back to a text protocol for models that cannot do them. Native tool calls only and Text protocol only force one path.	Automatic (recommended)	desktop app, browser on your network, cloud browser, phone	Synced.
Image attachments	A switch reading Send images to this model or Never send images. Verify sets it from what an Ollama server reports. Other servers report nothing, so for them this switch is the only source.	Send images to this model, undetermined until verified	desktop app, browser on your network, cloud browser, phone	When off, attached images stay in the container as files and the model is told it cannot see them. PDFs are read as text on this transport whatever the model.
Time limit per task (min)	A wall-clock ceiling for one run on this service. A run that reaches it stops and reports it.	120	desktop app, browser on your network, cloud browser, phone	Self-hosted models cost nothing, so time is the thing worth capping.
Context window (tokens)	Overrides the detected context window. Leave it empty unless the board cannot detect it. Only Ollama reports what it serves, so for vLLM, llama-server, LM Studio and others enter the value the server was started with.	Empty, detected or auto	desktop app, browser on your network, cloud browser, phone	Too high is the harmful direction. The server cuts the prompt short without an error and the model looks confused rather than misconfigured.
Models on this server	The models detected from the server whenever it is verified or seen online, each with an approximate size where known, plus a Refresh button. These are what the project's AI Roles tab offers for this server.	Empty until detected	desktop app, browser on your network, cloud browser, phone	A failed or empty read never clears the list, so the pickers still work while the server is asleep. From the cloud browser and phone, Refresh runs on the connected desktop and is disabled with the reason when it is away.
Verify	Probes the saved endpoint with the chosen model and reports the server kind, whether the model is installed, tool calls, images, the context window served against the model's own, response time and warnings. Also records the models and the image capability it finds.	None	desktop app, browser on your network, cloud browser, phone	Disabled until the service is saved and a model is chosen. From the cloud browser and phone it runs on the connected desktop. An unverified service shows an amber note, because the board then assumes the model's full context window.
Start it	Offered after a failed Verify when a model server is installed on the machine but not running. Starts it and remembers the decision. No, I will start it myself declines and the offer is not repeated for that service.	None	desktop app, browser on your network, cloud browser, phone	The server keeps running after the app closes. When no server is installed the panel links to Install Ollama instead. Runs on the desktop machine.
Download	Offered after Verify when an Ollama server does not have the chosen model. Pulls it with a progress bar and a Cancel, then verifies again.	None	desktop app, browser on your network, cloud browser, phone	A large file. Runs on the desktop machine.
Add	In the editor of a new service. Stores the service on the account. Save does the same for an existing one.	None	desktop app, browser on your network, cloud browser, phone	Disabled until both the name and the server address are filled.

Keys & credentials

The vault holds credentials saved once for the account and linked into projects. See The key vault and Security.

Label	What it does	Default	Surfaces	Notes
Saved keys	Manage opens the vault. Git tokens, deploy keys and passwords are saved once and linked into projects instead of retyped. Values are never shown again.	None	desktop app, browser on your network, cloud browser, phone	The same vault opens from the key icon in the top bar and from the menu's Saved keys row.
Save a new key	Opens a form with Name, What is it for and Value, the first and last marked required. Save key encrypts the value and stores it. The eye icon reveals only what is being typed.	None	desktop app, browser on your network	Saving needs the desktop app or its board on your network. The value is encrypted under the account data key, which the cloud never stores, so on the cloud browser and phone the button is disabled with that reason. Linking an already saved key to a project works from every surface. The name must be unique.
Edit	Renames or re-describes a saved key. Replace the value, left blank, keeps the stored value.	None	desktop app, browser on your network, cloud browser, phone	Typing a new value replaces the credential, and needs the desktop app or its board on your network.
Delete	Removes the key from every device, after a confirm.	None	desktop app, browser on your network	Projects that link it keep the link and report a missing credential until pointed at another key, so they stay findable. Disabled on the cloud browser and phone with the reason.
Shared by a business	Lists keys a business granted to this account. The value is never shown. Remove takes a key out of your own use. Share with a business, for a business owner or admin in the desktop app, encrypts a provider key or an environment variable so that neither the cloud nor any member's machine can read it alone, then Share key sends it.	None	desktop app, browser on your network, cloud browser, phone	Shown only when a business has shared a key or the account administers one. An account managed by a business cannot remove a key that business granted. Sharing runs only in the desktop app. See Business accounts.
Removed credentials, still recoverable	Lists a git key, API token or set of environment variables that a change synced from another device removed, and that this machine still holds. Restore puts the value back and syncs it. Delete permanently, then Really delete it, destroys the held copy.	None	desktop app, browser on your network	Renders nothing when nothing is held. Each row shows the project, the credential and when it is deleted for good. The notification bell shows the same rows first, and this is the backstop for a dismissed notice.
Hold removed credentials for	How many days such a removed credential is kept before it is destroyed. 0 keeps it until you choose. Saved when the field loses focus, and applied at once to every hold already counting down, so raising it rescues one that was nearly out of time.	7	desktop app, browser on your network	Maximum 3650. Kept on this device beside the credential history, not in the account.

Data & recovery

Deleted projects stay recoverable for 30 days, and a copy of the whole board is saved before an app update changes anything. When there is nothing to recover this category is empty, which is the healthy state. See Recovering things and Recovery.

Label	What it does	Default	Surfaces	Notes
Recycle bin	Lists deleted projects with their task counts and when each is deleted for good. Restore brings the project and the tasks deleted with it back to the board. Delete asks you to type the project name, then confirms a second time, then destroys the project with its tasks, comments and attachments and removes its containers, volumes, networks and images. Empty now does that for every project in the bin.	Kept 30 days	desktop app, browser on your network, cloud browser, phone	Renders nothing while the bin is empty. A restored project is renamed with a suffix such as (restored) when a live project already uses its name. After a restore a dialog offers Switch to it. Tasks that were deleted before the project was do not come back. Permanent deletion cannot be undone.
Restore points	Copies of the whole board, saved automatically on this computer before an update is allowed to change it. Each row names why it was saved, when, and its size. Restore queues that copy, saves the board you have now as a restore point first, and restarts the app to apply it. Delete removes the copy and frees its space. Cancel it withdraws a queued restore before the restart.	2 kept	desktop app, browser on your network	Local files, not cloud backups. The cloud keeps none, so the section is absent there. Restoring replaces every project, task and comment with the copy. From a browser on your network the restore is queued and applied when the desktop app next starts. Deleting a copy cannot be undone.

Docker

Shown where the backend runs containers, which is the desktop app and its board on your network. See Installing Docker with the app, Container management and Containers.

Label	What it does	Default	Surfaces	Notes
Docker path	Where the docker command is on this machine. A saved path is used first. Empty means auto-detect, in this order: PATH, the well-known install locations, and on macOS the PATH of your login shell. Browse opens a file dialog. Saved with Save.	Empty, auto-detect	desktop app, browser on your network	A saved path that does not exist is reported in red and ignored, and Docker is resolved automatically instead. A line under the field names the path found automatically. Browse exists only in the desktop app.
Start Docker automatically	When Docker is installed but not running, the board launches it before showing the warning banner. On macOS and Windows it opens Docker Desktop. On Linux it starts Docker Desktop's user service, or the native engine where that needs no password. Saved with Save.	On	desktop app, browser on your network	Fires once per time Docker goes down, never against a running Docker. An automatic start never raises an administrator prompt. Where the native Linux engine needs one, the banner's Start Docker button asks. Turn this off if you keep Docker stopped on purpose.
Keep project containers off the local network	Every port a project container publishes binds to this computer only, whatever the project's Ports tab or compose file allows. Saved with Save.	Off	desktop app, browser on your network	A container keeps the ports it started with, so the switch reaches a running container only when it is recreated. The line under it names any container still open to the network, with Restart it or Restart them. Saving with the switch newly on offers that restart in a dialog, with a warning where a recreate discards uncommitted work. Kept on this device, not synced.
Move to their own networks	Appears when projects still share Docker's default network with everything else on this computer. Moves them onto a network per project, after a confirm. Running containers restart now. Stopped ones move at their next start.	None	desktop app, browser on your network	On Linux each firewall rule takes one administrator prompt, and rules that were not applied are printed with a copy button. The confirm warns where a recreate discards uncommitted work. See Connected projects.
Set up gVisor	Linux only, shown while the gVisor runtime is not registered with Docker. Opens the Set up gVisor sandboxing wizard. Install gVisor downloads the checksum-verified binaries, registers the runtime with your administrator approval, restarts Docker, and proves a sandboxed container runs before calling it done.	Not installed	desktop app, browser on your network	Restarting Docker briefly stops running containers, and the board refuses to start the install while task runs are in progress. When the machine is not eligible the wizard states the reason. Not offered on macOS and Windows, where Docker Desktop's virtual machine isolates the host. Projects use gVisor automatically once it is present, except a container running emulated for another CPU architecture, which never does.
Docker disk usage	A table of what Docker holds on this machine, by type, with in use against total, size and reclaimable. Read when the category opens and on Refresh, never polled.	None	desktop app, browser on your network	Reclaimable is Docker's figure for a full prune of the whole machine and is larger than what Clean up frees. A disclosure under the table explains the difference.
Clean up	Removes dangling images and the build cache across the whole Docker daemon, after a confirm. Containers, volumes and tagged images are never touched. Prints what was reclaimed.	None	desktop app, browser on your network	The next image build may be slower once while the cache rebuilds. Reclaiming nothing is normal on a tidy machine, and the panel says so.
Remove	Beside each family of Borago-labelled Docker artifacts that no project on this board owns. Removes every container, volume, network and image carrying that label, after a danger confirm.	None	desktop app, browser on your network	Disabled while a container in the family is running. Another account on this machine may own the family, so remove only what you recognise as gone. There is deliberately no remove-all.

Help & diagnostics

Label	What it does	Default	Surfaces	Notes
Documentation	Links to guides on the website: Setting up a self-hosted AI model and Container firewall.	None	desktop app, browser on your network, cloud browser, phone	Opens in the browser. See Setting up a self-hosted AI model and Container firewall.
Report a problem	Opens the Report a problem dialog. Choose Bug report or Error report, write what happened, optionally tick Include the recent log excerpt and Include system info, press Preview exactly what will be sent to read the exact payload, then Send report. The dialog confirms when the report was sent.	None	desktop app, cloud browser, phone	Nothing is sent automatically, and no account or device identifier is attached. The log excerpt exists only in the desktop app, is the end of the app log, and has secret patterns scrubbed on the device and again on receipt. It still names your projects and tasks, so read the preview. A report may be analysed with an AI coding assistant, so its content can reach that assistant's provider. Hidden in a browser on your network, which has no cloud to send to. Reports are kept 30 days.

About

Label	What it does	Default	Surfaces	Notes
Version	Shows Borago Board and the running version number, and reminds you that updates are under Application and Report a problem under Help & diagnostics.	None	desktop app, browser on your network, cloud browser, phone	On a browser on your network this is the only card in the category.
Terms & Policies	Opens the bundled documents in a read-only viewer: Terms & Conditions, EULA, Privacy Policy, Uninstalling, License and Third-Party Notices.	None	desktop app	The same Terms, EULA and Privacy Policy were accepted at first run, and a new version asks again. Uninstalling is a guide to what an uninstall leaves behind, not an agreement, see Uninstalling. The cloud browser and phone use the hosted terms at Legal.

Saving

Label	What it does	Default	Surfaces	Notes
Save	Writes the device-level form: Expose to web, Reachable from, Port, Keep running when the window is closed, the three keep-awake switches, Cloud sync, Automatically keep Borago up to date, Daily check at, Docker path, Start Docker automatically and Keep project containers off the local network. Applies web exposure and cloud sync at once and closes the dialog.	None	desktop app, browser on your network, cloud browser, phone	A failed save keeps the dialog open with the reason. The appearance theme is not part of this form. It is the toggle in the top bar, saved to the account and mirrored to the device.
Cancel	Closes the dialog. With unsaved form changes it opens the Unsaved settings dialog, which lists each changed setting with its new and old value and offers Keep editing, Discard and Save.	None	desktop app, browser on your network, cloud browser, phone	The X in the corner behaves the same. Everything outside the form was already saved where it was changed.

Source as Markdown: /docs/reference/settings.md · Updated 2026-10-11 · Was this right? Tell us