Settings Reference

Configure Notelet to work exactly the way you want

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Access Settings by right-clicking the Notelet menu bar icon and selecting "Settings..." (or press Cmd+,). Settings are organized into three tabs: General, Appearance, and History.

General Settings

Show in Menu Bar

Controls whether Notelet appears in the macOS menu bar. This setting is always enabled and cannot be disabled (the menu bar is Notelet's primary interface).

Type: Toggle (Always On) Default: Enabled

Show in Dock

Controls whether Notelet appears in the macOS Dock. When disabled, Notelet is a menu bar-only app (accessory mode). When enabled, Notelet behaves like a regular application with a dock icon.

Type: Toggle Default: Disabled Recommendation: Keep disabled for minimal distraction

Check Spelling While Typing

Enables or disables macOS built-in spell checking as you type. When enabled, misspelled words are underlined and you can right-click for suggestions.

Type: Toggle Default: Enabled

Spelling Language

Selects the language dictionary used for spell checking.

Type: Dropdown Default: English

Available languages:

  • English (en)
  • Nederlands (nl)
  • Deutsch (de)
  • Français (fr)
  • Español (es)

Global Hotkey

Displays the current keyboard shortcut for opening Notelet from anywhere on your Mac. The hotkey is system-wide and works even when Notelet is not in focus.

Type: Display Only (customization coming in future release) Default: Cmd+Shift+N

Note: Using the global hotkey requires Accessibility permissions. macOS will prompt you to grant this permission when you first launch Notelet.

Appearance Settings

Font Family

Selects the typeface used in the note editor. Choose a font that matches your workflow and readability preferences.

Type: Dropdown Default: SF Mono

Available fonts:

  • SF Mono - Apple's modern monospaced font (default)
  • Menlo - Classic developer font, based on DejaVu Sans Mono
  • Monaco - Traditional Mac monospaced font, compact and clean
  • Courier New - Classic typewriter-style font
  • System Font - macOS default sans-serif font (variable-width)

Font Size

Controls the size of text in the note editor. Larger sizes improve readability on high-resolution displays or when sitting farther from the screen.

Type: Slider Range: 10pt - 24pt Default: 17pt

Background Color

Customizes the background color of the text editor. Use this to create a personalized look or reduce eye strain.

Type: Color Picker Default: System text background (white in light mode, dark gray in dark mode)

Tips:

  • Light backgrounds (white, cream, light gray) work best in well-lit environments
  • Dark backgrounds reduce eye strain in low-light conditions
  • The default adapts automatically to your macOS appearance (light/dark mode)

History Settings

Keep History For X Days

Controls how long Notelet retains historical note snapshots. Notes older than this period are automatically deleted to save disk space.

Type: Stepper Range: 1-365 days Default: 30 days

Storage considerations:

  • 1-7 days: Minimal storage (~100KB-1MB), suitable for quick scratch notes
  • 30 days: Balanced storage (~1-5MB), recommended for most users
  • 90-365 days: Longer history (~5-20MB), useful if you reference old notes frequently

Note: Historical notes are stored in ~/Documents/Notelet/history.json. You can manually back up this file for longer-term archival.

Hidden Settings (Advanced)

These settings are stored internally but not currently exposed in the Settings UI. They may become configurable in future releases.

Font Weight

The weight (thickness) of the text. Currently hardcoded to "Light" for optimal readability with monospaced fonts.

Type: Fixed Current Value: Light

Popover Size

The dimensions of the note editing popover.

Type: Fixed Current Value: 400px × 300px

Auto-Save Delay

Time (in seconds) between the last keystroke and when the note is automatically saved.

Type: Fixed Current Value: 1 second

Accessing Settings Files

Notelet stores settings using macOS UserDefaults under the com.patrickmast.notelet suite. You can view or manually edit settings using the defaults command:

View All Settings

defaults read com.patrickmast.notelet

Change a Setting Manually

Example: Set font size to 20pt

defaults write com.patrickmast.notelet fontSize -int 20

Reset All Settings to Defaults

defaults delete com.patrickmast.notelet

Warning: This will delete all your preferences. Your notes in ~/Documents/Notelet/ will not be affected.