Appearance & themes

Open Settings → Appearance. Choose the tab for the part of the workspace you want to change. Changes take effect locally; they do not alter the formatting of your exported document.

Settings → Appearance → App. Choose dock placement, background, accent, fonts, and theme here. Open full screenshot

Dock placement

In the App tab, choose Left, Bottom, or Right. This moves the home-screen dock containing New project, search, tools, and Settings. Try Bottom when you want the library to use the full width between its margins.

Background pattern

Choose Dots, Grid, or None for the project library background. None gives the shelf a plain background; the document editor keeps its own theme.

Accent color

Choose a color swatch to change the app’s selection and action accents. This changes interface colors; a figure’s colors and a document’s LaTeX or Typst styles stay under your control in the source.

Appearance mode

Under Appearance, choose Light, Dark, or System, which follows your operating system and changes when it does. The appearance button in the main toolbar is a quicker way to switch while working. The editor switches with it, to the theme you picked for that mode. See Editor themes.

App font size

Use App font size to make every piece of interface text bigger or smaller, from 13 to 20 px. Section titles, count badges, and other small labels scale with it. For larger source text, use Editor font size instead, or turn on Use the app font.

Zoom

Zoom makes everything in Oleafly bigger or smaller, the editor and the PDF included. Pick a level from 80% to 200%. While you work, press ⌘= and ⌘- (Ctrl+= and Ctrl+- on Windows and Linux) to change it, and ⌘0 (Ctrl+0) to go back to 100%. Every Oleafly window uses the same level, and Oleafly remembers it. You can change the keys in Settings → Keyboard Shortcuts.

App font

Choose any font installed on your computer for menus, panels, and dialogs. Each name in the list is drawn in its own font. Type to search the list, or type a name it doesn’t show. Symbol fonts such as Wingdings are left out, because they would turn every letter into a picture. If the font you saved is no longer installed, a note under the setting says so and Oleafly uses the default font.

The app font does not change the font compiled into a PDF. Document fonts belong in the template or manuscript source.

Editor font size

Settings → Appearance → Editor. Font, theme, keybindings, completion, brackets, and cursor controls are in this tab. Open full screenshot

Open the Editor tab and pick a size from 11 to 24 px, or choose Custom and enter any size from 6 to 100 px. For a screen-sharing demonstration, try 18 px and Layout → Editor Only so the toolbar and source stay readable.

Use the app font

Turn on Use the app font to give the editor the App font and App font size from the App tab. While it is on, the editor’s own font and size controls are locked, and their tooltip says why.

Editor font

Choose any font installed on your computer for source files. Monospaced fonts come first in the list, and each name is drawn in its own font. Type to search, or type a name the list doesn’t show. System default returns to the app’s default source font. The setting affects .tex, .typ, .md, and other text files in the editor.

Editor themes

The editor has one theme for light mode and one for dark mode. Pick them under Theme in light mode and Theme in dark mode, and the editor changes theme when the app does. Match app theme uses the app’s own light or dark colors. The other choices are Linear, GitHub Dark, Dracula, Nord, Tokyo Night, Rosé Pine, Catppuccin, One Dark, Paper, and One Light. Paper, a warm off-white, and One Light are the two light themes.

Either list accepts any theme, so you can keep a dark editor while the rest of the app is light. A theme you chose in an older version is used for both modes until you change one of them.

Editor colors

Open Editor colors to change any color of an editor theme. Choose Light mode or Dark mode to edit the theme set for that mode. The text beside those buttons names the theme you are editing. Below them, pick LaTeX, Typst, or Markdown to see a short sample in that language. The sample shows your changes as you make them.

Colors are grouped by role, and a role means the same thing in all three languages:

Group	Colors
Editor	Background, Text, Line numbers, Selection
Syntax	Commands, Preamble and imports, Headings, Formatting, Environments, Citations and references, Math, Values and strings, Names and keys, Links, Brackets and symbols, Comments

Click a swatch to pick a color. A color you changed gets a reset arrow that puts back the theme’s own color, and Reset clears every change for that theme. Oleafly keeps your changes for each theme separately, so they come back when you switch back to it. Match app theme keeps one set for light mode and one for dark mode. Export theme under Theme customization saves your editor themes and colors with the rest of the theme.

Keybindings

Choose the key set the source editor uses: Default, Vim, or Emacs. With Vim, press i to enter Insert mode and Esc to return to Normal mode. The change applies right away, and Default returns to the ordinary editor bindings. See Vim and Emacs keys.

Tab size

Tab size sets how many spaces one indentation level inserts, and how wide a tab character looks: 2, 4, or 8. The default is 4.

Line height

Choose Compact, Normal, or Wide for the space between source lines, or Custom for an exact value from 1 to 3.

Letter spacing

Letter spacing adds room between characters: +0.5, +1, or +1.5 px, or a Custom value up to 4 px. The extra room also leaves more space around the cursor.

Cursor width

Make the editor cursor 1, 2, or 3 px wide.

Cursor color

Cursor color has one swatch for light editor themes and one for dark ones, so a color you pick on a white page can’t vanish under a dark theme. Until you pick a color, each swatch shows the theme’s own cursor color. Use theme colors goes back to the theme. The Vim block cursor and the caret in Markdown Visual mode use the same color.

Non-blinking cursor

Enable Non-blinking cursor to keep the editor caret solid. This can make the insertion point easier to follow while reading or presenting source code.

Wrap long lines

Long lines wrap by default. Turn off Wrap long lines to scroll sideways instead.

Auto-complete

Enable Auto-complete to show suggestions while you type. With it off, press Ctrl+Space when you want the completion list. See Autocomplete for citations, commands, paths, and symbols.

Auto-close brackets

Enable Auto-close brackets to insert matching closing brackets and parentheses as you type an opening character. Try typing ( in a source file: the cursor stays between the pair so you can enter the contents.

Auto-close math

Enable Auto-close math to pair $, \(, and \[ as you type. In Typst, $ pairing needs both this switch and Auto-close brackets.

Auto-close environments

Enable Auto-close environments to insert the matching \end when you press Enter after a \begin line.

Inline suggestion

Enable Inline suggestion to show the likely completion after the cursor. Press Tab to accept a visible suggestion. This is an editor completion control. Connecting a model is a separate step under AI Assistant.

Sticky scroll

Enable Sticky scroll to keep the current sections, headings, and environments at the top of the source pane as you scroll. Use it in a long methods section to retain the surrounding structure without jumping back to the heading.

Math preview

Enable Math preview to show the rendered equation above the one the cursor is in. See Math preview.

When a file moves

Renaming or moving a file can leave paths in your sources that still use the old name. When a file moves sets what Oleafly does about them. Ask lists the paths and lets you update them or leave them, Always update changes them without asking, and Never update leaves them alone. See Paths follow a moved file.

Typst formatting and hints

The Typst group at the end of the Editor tab holds Format on save, Formatter line width, Formatter indent, Parameter name hints, and Typst lint checks. Code intelligence explains each one.

Terminal font size

Settings → Appearance → Terminal. Set text, cursor, startup behavior, and terminal colors here. Open full screenshot

In the Terminal tab, choose the size of shell input and output. Increase it before sharing a command demonstration; it does not affect the document editor.

Terminal font

Choose the terminal’s monospace font. Use a font with clear punctuation when reading compiler paths and shell commands.

Regular font weight

Set the weight used for ordinary terminal text. Compare a few lines of output before choosing a heavier weight, especially on a dark background.

Bold font weight

Set the weight for terminal output that requests bold text. This can differ from the regular weight so headings and command diagnostics remain distinct.

Cursor style

Choose the terminal cursor shape from Cursor style. The control affects the shell caret, not the editor caret.

Blink cursor

Enable Blink cursor to animate the terminal caret. Turn it off for a steady terminal insertion point.

Start shell with project

Enable Start shell with project to start the shell when you open a project. With it off, the shell starts when you first show the terminal. Use the latter if you rarely need command-line work.

Terminal color theme

Choose a terminal color theme, or let it follow the app. Open a terminal with a few lines of output to compare command text, errors, and the cursor.

Terminal background color

Use the background picker under Terminal colors to choose the terminal surface. Pair it with a foreground color that remains readable.

Terminal foreground color

Choose the default text color for terminal output. Programs can still emit their own ANSI colors.

Terminal cursor color

Choose a cursor color that stands out from both the background and text. This is useful when the shell prompt contains several colors.

Default search engine

Settings → Appearance → Browser. Choose a search engine, set the home page, or open Import cookies. Open full screenshot

In the Browser tab, choose the service used when you type a search query into Oleafly’s browser address bar. A complete URL navigates to that address instead.

Browser home page

Enter the page you want the browser to use as its home. For a research session, this might be a journal portal or your institution’s public library page. The browser’s own menu can also use the current page as home.

Browser cookies

The browser settings include cookie import. Choose the source browser and the sites you need rather than importing unrelated browsing state. Imported cookies affect sign-in inside Oleafly’s browser.

PDF dark mode

Settings → Appearance → PDF Preview. Set the default PDF colors and hover previews here. Open full screenshot

In the PDF Preview tab, enable PDF dark mode to invert preview colors by default. This changes the display, not the exported PDF. You can toggle it for the current view from the PDF toolbar.

Zoom the PDF only

⌘= and ⌘- (Ctrl+= and Ctrl+-) zoom the whole app, the PDF included, even while the PDF has focus. To zoom just the PDF, use the zoom controls on the preview toolbar, pinch on a trackpad, or hold Ctrl and scroll. Use the zoom menu to fit a page to width or height.

Preview PDF on hover

Enable Preview PDF on hover to show the most recent compiled page when you hover over a project in the library. Compile a document first so the shelf has a page to display.

Default home view

Settings → Appearance → Project. Set the opening layout and file tree behavior, then manage hidden file patterns. Open full screenshot

Choose whether the library opens as a grid or a list. The grid emphasizes covers and previews; the list makes project names easier to scan.

Open projects in

Choose the initial source, split, or PDF view. This is the starting arrangement when you enter a project. The project toolbar can change it while you work.

Show file tree on open

Enable this to open the Explorer with each project. Turn it off for more writing space, then open Explorer, the first tab in the left rail, when you need a file.

Hidden files

Enter a filename or pattern and choose Add to hide matching entries from the Explorer. For example, hide an auxiliary filename that distracts from the manuscript. Remove its chip to show it again. Hiding a file does not delete it.

Zen mode settings

The Zen mode group at the end of the Project tab has two switches. Go full screen fills the screen while Zen mode is on and restores the window when you leave. Show the PDF when you compile opens the PDF beside the editor each time you compile while it’s hidden. The key that turns Zen mode on and off is in Settings → Keyboard Shortcuts.

Theme customization

At the bottom of the App tab, open Theme customization, choose the light or dark mode to edit, and change individual color tokens. Click a token’s color circle to pick a color in your system’s color picker. The two modes have separate values, and each swatch shows that mode’s default color until you change it. Inspect text, selection, panels, and buttons after a change. The colors inside the editor have their own section, Editor colors.

Corner radius

Enter a CSS length such as 8px, 0.5rem, or 1em. Clear the value to use the default. This adjusts the app’s component corners.

Scoped CSS declarations

Enter declarations only, such as a supported custom-property value. The field does not accept complete CSS rules, imports, or URLs. Invalid values are reported instead of applied.

Import and export a theme

Choose Export theme to save a reusable theme file. It holds the color tokens, corner radius, and scoped CSS, plus your editor themes for light and dark mode and your editor colors. Import theme applies a saved file. Use the reset control to restore the defaults for the customization surface.

Try a writing setup

Set the source text to 16 px, enable Sticky scroll, open a long LaTeX document, and choose Layout → Editor + Preview. Drag the divider until the source lines are comfortable to read. Compile and choose Fit to width in the preview. Save the document’s typography in its source; use Appearance for your own reading environment.

Reset to defaults

Choose Reset to defaults at the bottom of Appearance to restore its preferences. The reset also clears Theme customization. A dot on the button means something in Appearance differs from its default. Review the confirmation before applying the reset.