# General settings

How to open Settings, and every option in the General section, from your profile and language to quiet hours, Simple mode, updates, diagnostics, and your account.

Canonical page: https://themachine.myapps.ai/docs/desktop/settings/general

## Open Settings

![Settings open on the General section](/images/docs/desktop/settings-general.webp)

| Where | How |
|---|---|
| Everywhere | Click your name at the bottom of the sidebar, then **Settings**. |
| Sidebar collapsed to avatars | Click your avatar at the bottom. |
| Mac | Press **⌘,**, or choose **Machine Desktop → Preferences…**. |

Settings has five sections on the left:

| Section | What's in it |
|---|---|
| **General** | Everything on this page. |
| **Appearance** | Skins, mascots, threads, and tool calls. See [Appearance](/docs/desktop/settings/appearance). |
| **Experimental** | Newer features you can switch on or off. See [below](#experimental). |
| **Usage** | Your balance and what your bots have cost. See [Usage and billing](/docs/desktop/settings/usage-and-billing). |
| **People** | Who's on your team. See [People](/docs/desktop/settings/people). |

Type in **Search** to find a setting by name. Press **Esc** or click **Close
settings** to close.

**App settings like these are saved on this computer**, so each computer can
be set up its own way. Your bots, threads, account, and most bot settings are
the same everywhere. See [Bot settings](/docs/desktop/bots/bot-settings#what-follows-you-to-other-devices).

## Profile

Your **name** and **email**, shown at the bottom of the sidebar. Changes save
when you click away from the field. If you leave the name empty, your
sign-in email is shown.

## Language

Choose the language of the app. **System** follows your computer's language.
See [Languages](/docs/desktop/settings/languages).

## Usage analytics

When on, Machine Desktop sends **anonymous** product events, like the app
being opened and which features get used, to help improve it. It **never**
sends your conversations, prompts, file contents, or anything your bots
write. Your email is only attached if you shared it during setup. On by
default. Turn it off if you prefer.

## Reply sound

A soft pop when a bot finishes replying, in any thread. Click **Play** to hear
it, and use the switch to turn it on or off. See
[Notifications](/docs/desktop/settings/notifications).

## Dictation engine

How your speech is turned into text when you dictate in the message box:

| Choice | How it works |
|---|---|
| **On this PC (Windows Speech)** or **On this Mac (Apple Speech)** | Words appear as you speak, recognized on your computer. The default. |
| **Whisper on Machine (cloud)** | Records a clip and sends it to Machine to turn into text. Better with technical words and noisy rooms. |

Good to know:

- Your computer's speech recognition always listens to the **system default
  microphone**. If you pick a different microphone below, dictation uses
  **Whisper** instead.
- If your computer has no built-in dictation, the setting says so and
  **Whisper** is used.

See [Voice](/docs/desktop/chat/voice).

## Microphone

Choose which microphone dictation listens to, or **System default**. Click
**Test** and speak: the bar moves when the microphone hears you. Click
**Stop** to finish.

## Welcome tour

- **Replay welcome tour**: the setup screens you saw the first time.
- **Replay app tour**: the guided tour of the main buttons.

See [The welcome tour](/docs/desktop/get-started/welcome-tour).

## Quiet hours

![Settings, General: Quiet hours and Simple mode](/images/docs/desktop/settings-quiet-simple.webp)

Bots keep working, but **no notification pop-ups** during these hours.
Everything waits in the app for when you look.

1. Switch **Quiet hours** on.
2. Set the start and end times, for example **22:00** to **08:00**. A window
   that crosses midnight works as you'd expect.

Quiet hours apply to this computer only. Your phone has its own notification
settings. See [Notifications](/docs/desktop/settings/notifications#quiet-hours).

## Simple mode

**Simple mode** is for people who just want to talk to their bots. It hides
the technical parts:

- the **steps** a bot takes (tool calls) in the chat,
- the **model chip** in the chat header,
- **Deployments** and **Marketplace** in the **Tools** menu.

Your chats, bots, **Today**, **Responsibilities**, **Automations**, and
**Connected apps** all stay. Your bots work exactly the same: only what you
see changes. Simple mode is saved on this computer. Switch it off any time to
get everything back.

## Updates

Shows whether you have the latest version, with a button that changes as you
go:

| You see | Button |
|---|---|
| *You're on the latest version we know of.* | **Check for updates** |
| *1.4.0 available* | **Download** |
| *Downloading 45%* | (wait) |
| *1.4.0 ready — restart to apply* | **Restart and install** |

If you installed Machine Desktop from the Microsoft Store, the Store keeps it
up to date instead. See [Updates](/docs/desktop/get-started/updates).

## Diagnostics

**Export Diagnostics…** saves a small file that support may ask for. You
choose where to save it. It's named *machinebot-diagnostics.json* and goes to
your **Downloads** folder unless you pick another place.

The file holds only:

- the app's name and version,
- your operating system (Windows, macOS, or Linux),
- the version of Electron, the framework the app is built on,
- the date and time you exported it.

No conversations, files, keys, or logs. You can open it in any text editor to
check before you send it.

## Account

**Delete account**: removes every bot, thread, credential, and subscription
tied to your account. This can't be undone. Click **Continue on the web** to
open your profile on the Machine web app, where you confirm the deletion.

To sign out, click your name at the bottom of the sidebar and choose **Sign
out**.

## Experimental

Settings for newer features. Each one says whether it starts on or off.

**Bots may draft skills for your review**: lets bots turn work that went well
into a reusable skill. On by default. With it on:

- the **run card** after a multi-step task has **Save as skill**, and
- the `/learn` command appears in the **/** menu.

Turn it off and both disappear. Skills you've already turned on stay under
your control in each bot's **Skills** section. See [Questions, runs, and
replays](/docs/desktop/models/questions-and-runs#save-a-run-as-a-skill) and
[Skills and memory](/docs/desktop/bots/skills-and-memory).