Settings Overview
Open Settings with Cmd+, / Ctrl+, or via Quick Actions (Cmd+K / Ctrl+K) → “Open Settings”.
Settings are organized into tabs:
| Tab | Contents |
|---|
| General | Font family and size, terminal width, log level and buffer, max output lines, shell configuration, input send behavior, default toggles (history, thinking), power management, updates, privacy, context warnings, usage stats, document graph, storage location |
| Shortcuts | Customize keyboard shortcuts (see Keyboard Shortcuts) |
| Themes | Dark, light, and vibe mode themes, custom theme builder with import/export |
| Notifications | OS notifications, audio feedback (text-to-speech), toast notification duration |
| AI Commands | View and edit slash commands, Spec-Kit, and OpenSpec prompts |
| SSH Hosts | Configure remote hosts for SSH agent execution |
Checking for Updates
Maestro checks for updates automatically on startup (configurable in Settings → General → Check for updates on startup).
To manually check for updates:
- Quick Actions:
Cmd+K / Ctrl+K → “Check for Updates”
- Menu: Click the hamburger menu (☰) → “Check for Updates”
When an update is available, you’ll see:
- Current version and new version number
- Release notes summary
- Download button to get the latest release from GitHub
- Option to enable/disable automatic update checks
Pre-release Channel (Beta Opt-in)
By default, Maestro only notifies you about stable releases. If you want to try new features before they’re officially released, you can opt into the pre-release channel.
To enable beta updates:
- Open Settings (
Cmd+, / Ctrl+,) → General tab
- Toggle Include beta and release candidate updates on
What changes:
- Update checks will include pre-release versions (e.g.,
v0.11.1-rc, v0.12.0-beta)
- You’ll receive notifications for beta, release candidate (rc), and alpha releases
- The Update dialog will show all available pre-release versions
Pre-release version types:
| Suffix | Description |
|---|
-alpha | Early development, may be unstable |
-beta | Feature-complete but still testing |
-rc | Release candidate, nearly ready for stable |
-dev | Development builds |
-canary | Cutting-edge nightly builds |
Pre-release versions may contain experimental features and bugs. Use at your own risk. If you encounter issues, you can always download the latest stable release from GitHub Releases. Notifications & Sound
Configure audio and visual notifications in Settings (Cmd+, / Ctrl+,) → Notifications tab.
OS Notifications
Enable desktop notifications to be alerted when:
- An AI task completes
- A long-running command finishes
- The agent requires attention
To enable:
- Toggle Enable OS Notifications on
- Click Test Notification to verify it works
Audio Feedback (Text-to-Speech)
Maestro can speak a brief summary when AI tasks complete using your system’s text-to-speech.
To configure:
- Toggle Enable Audio Feedback on
- Set the TTS Command — the command that accepts text via stdin:
- macOS:
say (built-in)
- Linux:
espeak or festival --tts
- Windows: Use a PowerShell script or third-party TTS tool
- Click Test to hear a sample message
- Click Stop to interrupt a running test
Piped commands: You can pipe through multiple commands, e.g., cmd1 | cmd2.
Toast Notifications
In-app toast notifications appear in the corner when events occur. Configure how long they stay visible:
| Duration | Behavior |
|---|
| Off | Toasts are disabled entirely |
| 5s / 10s / 20s / 30s | Toast disappears after the specified time |
| Never | Toast stays until manually dismissed |
When Notifications Trigger
Notifications are sent when:
- An AI task completes (OS notification + optional TTS)
- A long-running command finishes (OS notification)
- The LLM analysis generates a feedback synopsis (TTS only, if configured)
Sleep Prevention
Maestro can prevent your computer from sleeping while AI agents are actively working, ensuring long-running tasks complete without interruption.
To enable:
- Open Settings (
Cmd+, / Ctrl+,) → General tab
- Scroll to the Power section
- Toggle Prevent sleep while working on
When Sleep Prevention Activates
Sleep prevention automatically activates when:
- Any session is busy (agent processing a request)
- Auto Run is active (batch processing tasks)
- Group Chat is in progress (moderator or agents responding)
When all activity stops, sleep prevention deactivates automatically.
| Platform | Support Level | Notes |
|---|
| macOS | Full support | Equivalent to running caffeinate. Check Activity Monitor → View → Columns → “Preventing Sleep” to verify. |
| Windows | Full support | Uses SetThreadExecutionState. Verify with powercfg /requests in admin CMD. |
| Linux | Varies by desktop environment | Works on GNOME, KDE, XFCE via D-Bus. See notes below. |
Linux Desktop Environment Notes
Sleep prevention on Linux uses standard freedesktop.org interfaces:
- GNOME, KDE, XFCE: Full support via D-Bus screen saver inhibition
- Minimal window managers (i3, sway, dwm, bspwm): May not work. These environments typically don’t run a screen saver daemon.
If sleep prevention doesn’t work on Linux:
- Ensure
xdg-screensaver is installed
- Verify a D-Bus screen saver service is running
- Some systems may need
gnome-screensaver, xscreensaver, or equivalent
On unsupported Linux configurations, the feature silently does nothing — your system will sleep normally according to its power settings.
Storage Location
Settings are stored in:
- macOS:
~/Library/Application Support/maestro/
- Windows:
%APPDATA%/maestro/
- Linux:
~/.config/maestro/
Cross-Device Sync (Beta)
Maestro can sync settings, sessions, and groups across multiple devices by storing them in a cloud-synced folder like iCloud Drive, Dropbox, or OneDrive.
Setup:
- Open Settings (
Cmd+, / Ctrl+,) → General tab
- Scroll to Storage Location
- Click Choose Folder… and select a synced folder:
- iCloud Drive:
~/Library/Mobile Documents/com~apple~CloudDocs/Maestro
- Dropbox:
~/Dropbox/Maestro
- OneDrive:
~/OneDrive/Maestro
- Maestro will migrate your existing settings to the new location
- Restart Maestro for changes to take effect
- Repeat on your other devices, selecting the same synced folder
What syncs:
- Settings and preferences
- Session configurations
- Groups and organization
- Agent configurations
- Session origins and metadata
What stays local:
- Window size and position (device-specific)
- The bootstrap file that points to your sync location
Important limitations:
- Single-device usage: Only run Maestro on one device at a time. Running simultaneously on multiple devices can cause sync conflicts where the last write wins.
- No conflict resolution: If settings are modified on two devices before syncing completes, one set of changes will be lost.
- Restart required: Changes to storage location require an app restart to take effect.
To reset to the default location, click Use Default in the Storage Location settings.