# Settings and first launch

> The introduction on Buff Code’s first launch, language and theme, font size, tabs, keyboard shortcuts, proxy and the organisation certificate, notifications.

Settings open with **Ctrl+,** (on macOS — ⌘,) or from the column on the left. Pressing Ctrl+, again or Esc
closes them; next time they open on the same tab.

## First launch

On first launch the window gives a three-step introduction. Any step can be skipped, but
every choice changes something:

1. **What do you do?** — which [mode](/en/docs/buff-code/work/session#permission-modes)
   new sessions start in: “Development” → “Edit on its own”; “Questions and code review” → “Ask”
   and [“Plan”](/en/docs/buff-code/work/plan-goal#plan); “Documents and knowledge” → “Ask”.
2. **Theme and text size** — as in the system, light or dark, and the text size; it changes immediately.
3. **What to turn on?** — the project memory (`AGENTS.md`) and checking project hooks and commands (see
   [trust](/en/docs/buff-code/work/extensions#trust-in-project-hooks-and-commands)).

At the end — “Sign in to Buff” if you are not signed in yet; “Later” leaves the window without a model, and above the input field
there will be a reminder “No model — sign in to Buff”. To go through the introduction again — “Settings →
General → Go through again” or Ctrl+Shift+H. How to sign in and choose a project — [Sign-in and working
context](/en/docs/buff-code/sign-in).

_Illustration: The first step of the introduction: your line of work decides how much Buff Code does by itself._

## General

- **Language** — Russian or English. The window switches language immediately; the console and `buff run` take the same
  language and pick up a change on the fly. Russian by default.
- **Where to start sessions**, **Auto-accept permissions**, **follow-ups during a turn**
  (“steer” the current turn or queue up; Ctrl+Enter switches) — the default behaviour.
- **Feed detail** — compact (work grouped, details collapsed) or expanded.
- **Getting to know Buff Code** — “Go through again”; shortcut Ctrl+Shift+H.
- **Network** (in the window only):
  - **Proxy server**, login and password (the password is stored encrypted by the system’s means);
  - **No proxy** — addresses and patterns, comma-separated; your own machine is always direct;
  - **Organization certificate** — a `.pem` file, if the company proxy substitutes certificates.

  The proxy applies to the whole app and takes effect after a restart — after saving, the window
  offers “Restart now”. Empty — the system proxy.

## Appearance

- **Color scheme** — as in the system, light, dark.
- **Fonts** — for the interface, code and the terminal.
- **Font size** — interface (12–20) and code (10–24: files, changes, code blocks in answers,
  the terminal), with a live sample; “Default sizes” returns everything as it was.
- **Tabs** — vertical (a column on the left with the session list, the default) or horizontal
  at the top.

## Keyboard shortcuts

A list of all window commands with their shortcuts.

- Click a shortcut and press a new one. A shortcut without Ctrl, Alt or Shift is not accepted — the reason
  is written right in the row (the F1–F24 keys work without a modifier too).
- If a shortcut is taken, the window asks: “Keys taken: Ctrl+P already belongs to … Reassign?” —
  it is removed from the other command only after “yes”.
- **“Find by keys”** in the header: press a shortcut — only the commands with it stay in the list.
- **Reset all shortcuts** — after a confirmation.

The most useful defaults:

| Shortcut | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| Ctrl+, | open or close the settings |
| Ctrl+K | the command palette |
| Ctrl+P | open a project file |
| Ctrl+F | search sessions |
| Ctrl+Alt+F | search the conversations |
| Ctrl+T | a new session |
| Ctrl+U | attach images and files |
| Ctrl+B | move the running command to the background |
| Ctrl+Shift+R | show or hide the changes |

On macOS use ⌘ instead of Ctrl (except Ctrl+B). The full list with search is in the section itself.

_Illustration: Keyboard shortcuts: commands by group; duplicates show “also on: …”._

## Phone

**“Phone”** — the Buff app on an iPhone or Android connected to this machine: “Pair a
phone” (a QR code, or a link and a code), “Paired phones” with renaming and disconnecting.
The Buff Code service keeps the connection, so the phone sees the machine even with the window closed. In the console the same —
the `/phone` command. Step by step — [Connecting to Buff Code](/en/docs/mobile/pair-buff-code).

## Providers

“Settings → Providers” — the Buff sign-in and the organisation’s models: the line **Buff · Sign-in through the
connector · your login · organisation** and “Disconnect”. If you have no organisations yet, the window says so
and suggests asking the administrator. In detail — [Sign-in and working
context](/en/docs/buff-code/sign-in), [Models and usage](/en/docs/buff-code/models).

## Extensions

MCP servers, skills, commands, subagents, memory and hooks are on a separate page:
[Extensions](/en/docs/buff-code/work/extensions).

## In the console

| What | How |
| --- | --- |
| settings | `/settings` |
| language | the same as in the window; without the window — Russian by default |
| theme | `/themes`; light or dark — following the terminal, or `theme.mode` in `~/.config/buff/cli.json` |
| keyboard shortcuts | `/help` — the list; your own — `keybinds` in `~/.config/buff/cli.json` |