Settings

Review desktop settings for providers, AI, voice, sync, and MCP.

NeuralScio settings matter because the product is desktop-first: local caches, providers, AI backends, voice, and MCP behavior are all configured on the machine where you run the app.

General

Language

  • 19 interface languages are exposed in the desktop settings layer
  • a system-default mode is available

Download folder

Choose where locally downloaded papers are stored.

Search Settings

Use settings to control:

  • which providers are enabled by default
  • request timeout and search breadth
  • how much latency you accept for broader coverage

AI Settings

Use settings to choose:

  • cloud provider keys
  • local model paths
  • preferred text and voice backends
  • privacy-related controls such as disabling cloud AI

This choice is shared by the AI assistant, agents, Writer assistance, RAG actions, and MCP-triggered research workflows. If an external MCP client starts a model-backed research run, it uses the backend selected here.

Practical routes:

  • when managed cloud is enabled after Public Alpha billing, it will use NeuralScio account credits
  • your own API keys use the provider credentials you configure
  • the built-in GGUF worker runs locally and does not require Ollama
  • the Ollama-compatible provider is a separate local path

PDF And Reading

Use settings to control:

  • theme behavior for PDF reading
  • rendering mode
  • thumbnails and reading comfort
  • cache-related behavior for saved content

Appearance And Workspace

Use settings to tune the native desktop workspace itself:

  • built-in Dark, Light, and Black themes
  • a Custom theme mode for colors, panels, buttons, accents, borders, shadows, glow, gradients, and patterns
  • background patterns for the main area and sidebars
  • PNG background choices, including custom main-window and sidebar PNG paths
  • transparency controls for backgrounds and UI controls
  • dock and tab visibility where the surface exposes those controls
  • status-bar comfort controls such as resource monitor, session clock, Pomodoro, and AI token counters where available

See Workspace Customization for the user-facing boundary.

MCP And Automation

The MCP section is one of the most important advanced settings groups.

What you can configure

  • enable or disable MCP
  • network host and port
  • whether a token is required
  • TLS certificate paths for stricter remote setups
  • CORS behavior for browser-based clients
  • stdio transport availability
  • activity logging and timeouts

Important relationship to headless mode

Headless mode uses the same stored MCP settings.

That means:

  • a GUI toggle can affect later headless startup
  • mcp/stdio_enabled can block --mcp-stdio
  • network settings affect HTTP and SSE startup in headless mode

See MCP & Headless for exact launch behavior.

Sync And Cloud Settings

Sync availability depends on the current Public Alpha build and account configuration. It is not tied to active Pro/Team billing yet.

Use account-linked settings only when your Public Alpha build exposes the relevant surface:

  • future managed cloud AI
  • sync surfaces
  • future billing and credits
  • future team administration

The local desktop workflow remains the base layer.

Practical Boundary

Some backup, import, export, or enterprise-style management surfaces can vary by build or deployment. Focus on the settings areas available in your desktop build.