Settings Overview
A guide to the general settings and preferences available in Shortcut Bar.
The Settings panel is where you configure how Shortcut Bar behaves. To open it, right-click the Shortcut Bar icon in your menu bar and select Settings, or press Cmd + , while the dropdown is open.

General Settings
Start at Login
Toggle this on to have Shortcut Bar launch automatically when you start your Mac. This ensures your shortcuts are always available.
Show Icon in Dock
When enabled, the Shortcut Bar app icon appears in your Dock. Clicking it opens the dropdown menu from the menu bar icon.
Hide Window on App Launch
Controls whether the Shortcut Bar dropdown is visible immediately when the app launches, or waits until you click the menu bar icon.
Menu Click Action
Determines what happens when you click a file or folder shortcut in the dropdown:
- Show in Finder -- reveals the item in a Finder window.
- Open File/Folder -- opens the file directly in its default application, or opens the folder to show its contents in Finder.
Manage Shortcuts
The Manage Shortcuts tab is where you add, remove, and organize your shortcut groups and items. See the Getting Started and Groups articles for details.
Other Settings
For information on specific settings, see the following articles:
- Keyboard Shortcuts -- configuring hotkeys
- Appearance and Themes -- themes, dark mode, compact mode
- Auto-Paste -- automatic pasting for text snippets
If you have questions about any setting, contact us.