Settings Reference

To customize your Podman Desktop experience, modify the settings.json file located in your user configuration directory. You can also adjust these settings, except for internal settings, through the Settings > Preferences page in Podman Desktop.

Configuration File Location

Your user settings are stored in a JSON file at the following locations:

Windows

%APPDATA%\podman-desktop\configuration\settings.json

macOS

~/.local/share/podman-desktop/configuration/settings.json

Linux

~/.local/share/podman-desktop/configuration/settings.json

User Settings

Setting	Type	Default	Description
appearance.appearance	string	"system"	Theme: "system", "dark", or "light"
appearance.navigationAppearance	string	"IconAndTitle"	Navigation style: "IconAndTitle" or "Icon"
appearance.zoomLevel	number	0	Zoom level (-3 to 3)
dockerCompatibility.enabled	boolean	false	Enable Docker compatibility section
editor.fontSize	number	10	Editor font size (6-100 px)
extensions.autoCheckUpdates	boolean	true	Auto-check for extension updates
extensions.autoUpdate	boolean	true	Auto-install extension updates
feedback.dialog	boolean	true	Show experimental feature feedback dialog
kubernetes.Kubeconfig	string	"~/.kube/config"	Path to kubeconfig file
kubernetes.statesExperimental	object	null	EXPERIMENTAL: New context monitoring. Example: {}
preferences.ExitOnClose	boolean	Platform	Quit app on close vs minimize to tray
preferences.login.minimize	boolean	false	Minimize on login
preferences.login.start	boolean	true	Start on login
preferences.OpenDevTools	string	"undocked"	DevTools position in dev mode
preferences.TrayIconColor	string	"default"	Tray icon color (requires restart)
preferences.update.reminder	string	"startup"	Update reminders: "startup" or "never"
preferences.{extensionId}.engine.autostart	boolean	true	Autostart engine on launch (e.g., preferences.podman.engine.autostart)
proxy.enabled	number	0	Proxy mode: 0=System, 1=Manual, 2=Disabled
proxy.http	string	""	HTTP proxy URL
proxy.https	string	""	HTTPS proxy URL
proxy.no	string	""	No-proxy pattern (comma-separated)
recommendations.ignoreBannerRecommendations	boolean	false	Disable recommendation banners
recommendations.ignoreRecommendations	boolean	false	Disable extension recommendations
statusbarProviders.showProviders	object	null	EXPERIMENTAL: Show providers in status bar. Example: {"remindAt": 1758312136049, "disabled": false}
tasks.manager	object	null	EXPERIMENTAL: New task manager widget. Example: {}
tasks.statusBar	object	null	EXPERIMENTAL: Show tasks in status bar. Example: {}
tasks.toast	boolean	false	Show task creation notifications
telemetry.enabled	boolean	true	Send anonymous usage data to Red Hat
terminal.fontSize	number	10	Terminal font size (6-100 px)
terminal.lineHeight	number	1	Terminal line height (1-4)
titleBar.searchBar	object	null	EXPERIMENTAL: Enable titlebar searchbar. Example: {}
userConfirmation.bulk	boolean	true	Confirm bulk actions
userConfirmation.fetchImageFiles	boolean	true	Confirm fetching image layers
windowSettings.restorePosition	boolean	true	Restore window position on restart

Internal Settings

These settings are automatically managed by Podman Desktop and should not typically be modified manually:

Setting	Type	Default	Description
exploreFeatures.expanded	boolean	true	Explore features expanded state
exploreFeatures.hiddenFeatures	array	null	Hidden feature IDs
extensions.developmentExtensionsFolders	array	[]	Development extension folders
extensions.registryUrl	string	"https://registry.podman-desktop.io/api/extensions.json"	Extensions catalog URL
learningCenter.expanded	boolean	true	Learning center expanded state
libpodApi.forImageList	boolean	true	Use libpod API for images
list.{listKind}	array	Dynamic	Column preferences per list type (e.g., list.containers, list.images)
navbar.disabledItems	array	[]	Disabled navigation items
preferences.update.disableDifferentialDownload	boolean	Platform	Disable differential download
releaseNotesBanner.show	string	"show"	Release notes banner state
statusBar.pinnedItems	array	["podman"]	Pinned status bar items
telemetry.check	boolean	false	Telemetry dialog shown
welcome.version	string	"undefined"	Welcome page version shown
windowSettings.bounds	object	null	Window position and size. Example: {"x": 2008, "y": 310, "width": 1022, "height": 795}

Example Configuration

{
  "appearance.appearance": "dark",
  "appearance.zoomLevel": 0,
  "telemetry.enabled": false,
  "terminal.fontSize": 12,
  "editor.fontSize": 14,
  "preferences.update.reminder": "never",
  "kubernetes.Kubeconfig": "~/.kube/config",
  "preferences.login.start": true,
  "extensions.autoUpdate": true,
  "userConfirmation.bulk": true,
  "proxy.http": "https://127.0.0.1:8081",
  "statusbarProviders.showProviders": {
    "remindAt": 1758312136049,
    "disabled": false
  },
  "windowSettings.bounds": {
    "x": 2008,
    "y": 310,
    "width": 1022,
    "height": 795
  }
}

See Also

• Managed Configuration - Deploy and lock settings across multiple machines