Documentation›Chat, memory, and characters
16 Everyday use

Views, Settings, and Where Everything Lives

Switch between the three views and find any setting by name.

Local Waifu 1.7.3 macOS Windows
plain English first

Follow the bold button names and numbered steps. Technical names are included only when you need to recognize a model or file inside the app.

Local Waifu has three views and one settings drawer. Almost every “where is that option” question is answered by the second half of this chapter.

Switch views

ViewWhat it is
Full viewThe complete interface: sidebar, chat stream, profile panel
Mini viewA compact always-available window with the conversation and composer
Menu bar view (macOS) or tray view (Windows)A small popover opened from the menu bar or system tray

Steps

  1. Use Command/Ctrl+Shift+1 for Full view.
  2. Use Command/Ctrl+Shift+2 for Mini view.
  3. Use Command/Ctrl+Shift+3 for Menu bar/tray view.

Expected result

The window changes shape and keeps the same conversation. Returning to Full view restores the sidebar and profile panel.

If something goes wrong

  • If a shortcut does nothing, an operating-system shortcut may already own it. Check the system keyboard settings for a conflict.
  • If the window seems to have vanished, use the menu bar icon (macOS) or tray icon (Windows) to bring a view back.

Open Settings

Press Command/Ctrl+,, or use the settings control in the interface. The drawer opens over the chat and closes with Escape.

Find a setting by tab

The drawer has twelve tabs. This is the map.

TabWhat it controls
GeneralInterface language, start at login, notifications, hide to tray, blur on background, auto update check, and the Updates row
CharactersCreate, select, export, and delete characters. Portraits, persona override, and character voice choice also start here
GrowthThe relationship dashboard: stage, days known, what she has stored, your writing style, and the story timeline
LorebookKeyword-triggered backstory entries that only enter the prompt when they are relevant
Appearance & ChatBackground theme, text size, Markdown rendering, and whether Enter sends
HardwareCompute device, runtime status, storage, context window, deeper thinking, low power mode, network and proxy
ModelsThree segments in one tab: Chat Models, Image Models, and Voice Model. Model installs, embeddings, image weights, speech recognition, and voices
Cloud AICloud provider keys and connected accounts, one row per provider
TelegramBot token, start and stop, reply mode, pinned owner, and the command list
AdvancedPrivacy toggles, app logs, diagnostics report, reset, backup, and conversation export
LicenseActivation, deactivation, and device count. Absent in the Store/Unlocked edition
AboutVersion, edition clues, licences, and credits

If something goes wrong

  • A tab that exists in this table but not in your app belongs to an edition you are not running. License is the clearest example: it is intentionally missing in the Store/Unlocked build.
  • Two other tabs exist in the code but are not shown in the shipped drawer. They are unfinished and not part of 1.7.3 features.

Choose a background theme

Goal

Change the dashboard background without changing the conversation.

Steps

  1. Open Settings → Appearance & Chat.
  2. Pick one of the eight themes: Plum (default), Ocean, Forest, Sunset, Cyberpunk, Mocha, Midnight OLED, or Snow.
  3. Look at the chat stream: the change is immediate.

Expected result

The background changes and the conversation stays exactly as it was. Midnight OLED is the darkest option, and it is the one to pick on an OLED screen or in a dark room.

If something goes wrong

If the background looks washed out, another display profile or an operating-system accessibility setting may be altering colours. Return to Plum, which is what the screenshots and this guide were written against.

Tune the chat itself

Open Settings → Appearance & Chat and adjust:

  • Text size: small, normal, or large. This affects message text only.
  • Markdown: render formatting in replies, or show the raw characters where you prefer plain text.
  • Send on Enter: on sends with Enter and adds a new line with Shift+Enter; off makes Enter a new line so you send deliberately.

If something goes wrong

If pressing Enter starts a new line instead of sending, Send on Enter is off, or an input-method editor is composing a word. Confirm the composition first, then press Enter again.