Settings

Settings is the dialog where you turn providers on, set the limits a relay works under, pair relays and choose how a device notifies you. This page is the lookup table: one row per control. How a feature works is explained on the page each row links to.

Opening it #

Open the ⋯ menu in the chat header and choose ⚙️ Settings. You do not need an open conversation. On a fresh install the empty screen has an Open Settings button, and New Chat shows Open Settings → Providers while no provider is ready, so you can turn a provider on before the first chat.

The dialog has seven tabs, in this order: General, Providers, Relays, Previews, Sharing Added in 0.9.11, Notifications and Features. It reopens on the tab you used last, and Providers on the sub-tab you used last. Both are remembered by the browser. The read-only view of a shared conversation has no Settings.

Where a setting is kept #

Stored	Meaning
Relay	Saved in the relay's database. It applies to every browser that connects to this relay.
This browser	Saved in the browser you are using. Another browser or device keeps its own value.
Relay, per device	Saved on the relay, but separately for each device that subscribed to notifications.

Only five controls are kept in the browser: Theme, Text scaling, Show Suspend host action, Jump to the end when I send a message and Messages kept per conversation for switching back. Everything else is a relay setting.

How a change is saved #

Switches, sliders, selects and options on General, Relays, Sharing, Notifications and Features save the moment you change them. A short notice or a line under the control confirms it.
Text fields on General (Relay name, Default CWD for new sessions) and Public address on Relays save when you leave the field.
On the Providers sub-tabs, text fields and selects need the sub-tab's own Save … button. The enable switches there save at once.

General #

Control	Kind, stored	Default	Range or options	What it does
Theme	Select, this browser	Dark	Dark, Light	Colors of the web UI (Appearance). Also sets the installed app's icon and toolbar color.
Text scaling	Select, this browser	100%	50% to 150% in 10% steps	Scales all text. Ctrl (or Cmd) with the mouse wheel, or a two-finger pinch, change it too, in the same 50% to 150% range; then the select shows the in-between value.
Show Suspend host action	Switch, this browser	On		Shows or hides 💤 Suspend host (Suspending the host) in the `⋯` menu. The entry is shown by default whatever the relay runs on, and nothing hides it for you: the action works only when the relay runs on Windows, and on another system its window says "Host suspend is only available when the relay runs on Windows." with only a Close button. Switch this off on such a relay.
Jump to the end when I send a message	Switch, this browser	On		Added in 0.9.11 Sending a message takes you to the end of the conversation. Off, you stay where you are reading. The transcript never moves by itself while you read further up; see Scrolling.
Messages kept per conversation for switching back	Slider, this browser	200 messages	100 to 1,000 in steps of 100, then No limit	Added in 0.9.12 How many loaded messages each of the last eight conversations keeps around the place you were reading, so that switching back returns there with the older messages you had loaded. No limit keeps them all, at the cost of the page's memory.
Max turn duration	Slider, relay	60 min	0 to 600 min, steps of 5; 0 shows No limit	The longest one turn may run before the relay puts it back in the queue. See Turns and the queue.
Background task timeout	Slider, relay	4 h	0 to 600 min, steps of 5; 0 shows No limit	How long background work alone may keep a session alive after its reply. Then the tasks are stopped. See Turns and the queue.
Mark a background task as quiet after	Slider, relay	10 min	1 to 120 min, steps of 1	Added in 0.9.12 A running shell command or monitor that has written nothing for this long gets an amber `no output for N min` on its row and in its console. See Quiet tasks.
After a relay restart, tell interrupted sessions to carry on	Switch, relay	Off		Added in 0.9.13 A session whose turn a relay restart cut off for good gets one note from the relay once it is back, asking the agent to check what it was doing and carry on. Your message is never sent again; idle, archived and paused sessions get nothing. See Telling an interrupted session to carry on.
Ask after a queued relay restart has waited	Select, relay	30 min	5 min, 10 min, 15 min, 30 min, 1 h, 2 h, 4 h, No limit	Added in 0.9.13 A queued relay restart waits for the running turns and holds new messages meanwhile. After this long the banner asks whether to restart now, keep waiting or cancel; it never restarts while turns run, and still restarts as soon as they end. No limit waits until the turns end. See When the wait is long.
Keep sub-agent tool output	Select, relay	90 days	7 days, 14 days, 30 days, 90 days, Always	After this many days the relay removes the tool inputs and results from finished sub-agents' records, once a day. Thoughts, replies, notes and the one-line summary of each call stay.
Autostart (Windows)	Three options, relay	Off	Off; At sign-in — visible terminal after you log on; At system startup — headless, no logon needed	Starts the relay by itself. Shown only when the relay runs on Windows (a radio group; it is hidden on other systems). Switching to or from At system startup asks for one admin confirmation on the PC itself; a declined one changes nothing. Added in 0.9.15 The same rules as `oar autostart`: an entry OAR did not make (a boot task or launcher edited by hand, a task someone else made, a hand-made Startup entry) is never deleted or replaced, and a switch it stands in is refused with the reason; `oar autostart <mode> --replace` replaces it, keeping a copy. See Autostart.
Relay name	Text, relay	empty (shown as `OAR`)	up to 60 characters	The installed app's name on every device, and the name paired relays know this relay by; while it is empty they see the machine's host name. Reset by emptying it.
Check for updates automatically	Switch, relay	Off		When on, the relay asks oar.sh for the latest version about twice a day. With it off, OAR sends nothing. Locked when `OAR_NO_UPDATE_CHECK` is set in the relay's environment.
Check for updates	Button			Checks now, whatever the switch says. The line next to it shows when the last check ran. Disabled when `OAR_NO_UPDATE_CHECK` is set.
Update	Button			Appears when a newer version is found, with a release notes link. Installs it with npm and restarts the relay once no turn is running (Updating OAR). Shown only for a global npm install; a git checkout shows a hint to pull and restart instead.
Dismiss	Button			Hides the found version until a newer one appears. Not offered for a critical update.
Cancel update	Button			Appears while an update installs. Stops it. An Update log folds out below.
Default CWD for new sessions	Text, relay	empty (the relay's workspace root)	a folder path on the relay's machine	The working directory new sessions start in when you pick none. See Starting a conversation.

After an update, a line says Updated to <version>. or that the update did not apply; Dismiss clears it. The terminal twin of the update buttons is oar update.

The auto-compact window is not here. It belongs to each conversation; see Compacting.

Providers #

One sub-tab per provider, in this order: Copilot, OpenAI, Claude, Claude API Added in 0.9.18, Claude Cloud, Grok, Cursor, DeepSeek Added in 0.9.17. Each provider's page explains its controls in depth. Providers shows how to switch them on.

All controls on these sub-tabs are stored on the relay.

Copilot #

Control	Kind	Default	Range or options	What it does
GitHub Copilot CLI	Status row			Shows whether the CLI is found, its version and where it is. It has no buttons: you install and update it with npm on the relay's machine.
Copilot engine	Select	SDK — default	Extension; SDK — default	Which engine runs new Copilot conversations. A relay that cannot run the SDK engine uses Extension.
Save Copilot settings	Button			Saves the engine.

See GitHub Copilot.

OpenAI #

Control	Kind	Default	Range or options	What it does
OpenAI API key	Password field	empty		Your key. Leave it empty to keep the saved key.
Enable OpenAI API key for New Chat model selection	Switch	on after the first save	unavailable until a key is saved	Offers OpenAI and OpenAI Image in New Chat.
OpenAI model ID	Text	`gpt-4o`		The default model.
Base URL	Text	`https://api.openai.com/v1`	optional	Another OpenAI-compatible endpoint.
Save OpenAI settings	Button			Saves the fields and reads the endpoint's model list.
Remove saved key	Button			After a confirmation, deletes the key and switches OpenAI off. Refused while an OpenAI conversation has a message.

See OpenAI.

Claude #

Control	Kind	Default	Range or options	What it does
Claude Code CLI	Status row			Shows the CLI's state. Buttons Install, Update, Switch to native installer, Cancel and Dismiss appear as the state needs; an Install log folds out.
Relogin	Button			Starts a login to a Claude account from the browser: open the login page, paste the code into the field Paste the code from claude.ai, Submit code. Copy link and Cancel are in the same area.
Logout	Button			After a confirmation, logs the relay host out of Claude.
Enable Claude for New Chat model selection	Switch	Off		Offers Claude in New Chat. Applies at once.
Claude model ID	Text	`claude-sonnet-5`		The model a Claude conversation starts with.
Commit attribution	Select	OAR	OAR — Co-authored-by: Open Agent Relay (model); Vanilla — Claude Code's own attribution; Off — no attribution	What commits and pull requests made by Claude say about their author.
Claude background command limit Added in 0.9.12	Slider	2 h	30 min to 8 h, in 30-minute steps	How long a command Claude runs in the background may take before Claude Code stops it, when Claude gives it no timeout of its own. Added in 0.9.17 It applies to DeepSeek chats too, which run Claude Code as well, and Added in 0.9.18 to Claude API chats. See Background command limit.
Save Claude settings	Button			Saves the model ID, the attribution and the background command limit.

See Claude and its CLI row.

Claude API Added in 0.9.18 #

Control	Kind	Default	Range or options	What it does
Enable Claude API for New Chat and the billing switch	Switch	on after the first save	unavailable until a key is saved	Offers Claude API in New Chat and the billing toggle in Claude chats. Applies at once.
The key field under Claude API (Claude Console API key…)	Password field	empty		Your key. Stored on the relay and never sent to browsers. Once a key is saved the field reads Saved API key (enter to replace); leave it empty to keep the saved key.
Default model	Select	the Claude tab's model if the key offers it, else the first Sonnet	the models the key may use	The model a Claude API conversation starts with. See Models.
Monthly cap in US dollars (optional)	Number	empty (No cap)	0.01 to 1,000,000	Refuses new turns on the key once this month's estimated spend reaches it. See Monthly cap.
Save Claude API settings	Button			Saves the fields. A new key reads the models the key may use.
Refresh models	Button			Asks Anthropic again which models the key may use.
Remove saved key	Button			After a confirmation, deletes the key and switches Claude API off. Refused while a Claude API conversation has a message or a queued one.
Claude tab	Button			Opens the Claude sub-tab. Commit attribution, the background command limit, the effort levels and the compaction window are shared with Claude and set there.

See Claude API.

Claude Cloud #

Control	Kind	Default	Range or options	What it does
Enable Claude Cloud for New Chat	Switch	Off	refused while the host has no Claude login	Offers Claude Cloud in New Chat and turns on the live account figures in Check Usage.
Claude login	Button			Jumps to the Claude sub-tab, where the login is changed. Shown, with the account line, once the settings loaded.
Cloud environment	Select	the account's first active environment, stored when you switch Claude Cloud on	the account's environments, shown as name and id	The environment new cloud sessions run in.
Default model	Select	`claude-sonnet-5-5`	the Claude provider's models without their `[1m]` variants, plus the default	The model a new cloud chat starts with.
Save Claude Cloud settings	Button			Saves the environment and the model.
Open claude.ai/code	Link			Opens claude.ai/code in a new tab.

See Claude Cloud.

Grok #

Control	Kind	Default	Range or options	What it does
Grok CLI	Status row			Shows the CLI's state, with Install, Update, Switch to native installer, Cancel and Dismiss as the state needs.
Sign in	Button			Starts a device-code sign-in on the relay host. The area shows a link, Copy link, the code to confirm and Cancel.
Sign out	Button			After a confirmation, signs the relay host out of Grok.
Enable Grok for New Chat model selection	Switch	Off		Offers Grok in New Chat. Applies at once.
Grok model ID	Text	`grok-4.5`		The model a Grok conversation starts with.
Save Grok settings	Button			Saves the model ID.
Monthly allowance (USD)	Number	empty	0 or more, cents	Your monthly budget, for the estimated remaining meter in Check Usage.
Billing resets on day of month	Number	1	1 to 31	The day the billing cycle starts.
Save allowances	Button			Saves both fields.
Reset tracked spend	Button			After a confirmation, clears the spend counted for the cycle. Use it after a change of plan or account.

See Grok and its allowance.

Cursor #

Control	Kind	Default	Range or options	What it does
Cursor API key	Password field	empty		Your key. Stored on the relay and never sent to browsers. Leave it empty to keep the saved key.
Enable Cursor for New Chat model selection	Switch	on after the first save	unavailable until a key is saved	Offers Cursor in New Chat.
Cursor model ID	Text	`composer-2.5`		The model a Cursor conversation starts with.
Save Cursor settings	Button			Saves the key and the model, and reads the models the key can use.
Remove saved key	Button			After a confirmation, deletes the key and switches Cursor off. Refused while a Cursor conversation has a message.
Cursor Models pool (USD)	Number	empty	0 or more, cents	Monthly allowance of the Cursor Models pool.
Other Models pool (USD)	Number	empty	0 or more, cents	Monthly allowance of the Other Models pool.
Billing resets on day of month	Number	1	1 to 31	The day the billing cycle starts.
Save allowances	Button			Saves the three fields.
Reset tracked spend	Button			After a confirmation, re-baselines the tracking. Use it after a change of plan or account.
Dashboard session token (live plan bars)	Password field	empty, or found on the host		The `WorkosCursorSessionToken` cookie value. Unlocks the live Included in plan bars in Check Usage.
Save token / Remove	Buttons			Save the token, or delete it after a confirmation.

See Cursor and its usage.

DeepSeek Added in 0.9.17 #

Control	Kind	Default	Range or options	What it does
Enable DeepSeek for New Chat model selection	Switch	on after the first save	unavailable until a key is saved	Offers DeepSeek in New Chat. Applies at once.
The key field under DeepSeek (DeepSeek API key…)	Password field	empty		Your key. Stored on the relay and never sent to browsers. Once a key is saved the field reads Saved API key (enter to replace); leave it empty to keep that key. See API key.
Default model	Select	`deepseek-flash`	the models DeepSeek lists; `deepseek-flash` and `deepseek-v4-pro` before the first list	The model a DeepSeek conversation starts with. See Models.
Commit attribution	Select	OAR	OAR: Co-authored-by: Open Agent Relay (DeepSeek …); Off: no attribution	What commits made in DeepSeek chats say about their author.
Monthly budget (optional)	Number	empty	0 or more, cents; empty or 0 for no budget	The budget the Check Usage card measures this calendar month's estimated spend (UTC) against. See Monthly budget.
Budget currency	Select	USD ($) for a new budget	USD ($); CNY (¥); The balance's currency (may change)	The currency of the monthly budget.
Starting balance (optional)	Number	empty	0 or more, cents; empty or 0 to measure from the balance after the last top-up the relay has seen	The amount, in the balance's currency, the card's balance bar measures from, for example your first top-up. Saving it reads the balance. A later top-up replaces it; the tab then says it is no longer used until you type an amount in again. See Starting balance.
Advanced → Base URL	URL	empty: `https://api.deepseek.com`	`https://`, or `http://` on this machine only; no user name, password, query or fragment	Another address for DeepSeek's API, for example a proxy. The key is sent there and nowhere else.
Save DeepSeek settings	Button			Saves the fields. A new key or base URL reads the models DeepSeek lists.
Remove saved key	Button			After a confirmation, deletes the key and switches DeepSeek off. Refused while a DeepSeek conversation has a message or a queued one.
Import usage export	Two file fields (Amount file, Cost file) and a button		the two CSV files of DeepSeek's usage export	Imports DeepSeek's own figures for the usage card's days they cover. The line under it says what was imported. See Import usage export.

See DeepSeek.

Relays #

Pairing with other OAR relays, and what agents may do across relays. All controls are stored on the relay.

Control	Kind	Default	Range or options	What it does
This relay	Display			Shows the relay name. Change it under General → Relay name.
Public address	Text	empty; the field's placeholder shows the address of the page you have open, unless it is `localhost`	an `https://` address (plain `http://` only on loopback and private networks)	How other relays reach this one. Saved when you leave the field. Needed for Also add this relay there; if it is still empty when you add a relay, the address of the page you pair from is stored. See Remote relays.
Accept prompts from other relays' agents	Switch	On		When off, agents on paired relays can still read sessions here but cannot send prompts, start sessions, answer questions or stop turns. See Remote relays.
Agents may start and use sessions on this relay	Switch	Off		Lets agents start and use other sessions on this relay with the `relay_tool` tool. The first one in a conversation asks for your approval. Shown once the relay answers with its settings. See Agent sessions.
Longest wait per tool call	Slider	10 min	2 to 60 min, steps of 1 min	How long an agent may wait for a session in one call, on this relay or a paired one. Works whether or not the switch above is on. A note beside the switch states how many sessions may work at once per conversation.
Remote relays	List	empty		The paired relays. Each row has an Agents may menu (Read only, Read and prompt, Full) and the buttons Check and Remove, plus an Open link when the relay has a usable address. See Remote relays.
Add a relay	Text	empty		The other relay's web address. Press Enter or Add.
Token of the other relay	Password field	hidden		Shown after Use a different token. Only needed when the other relay's token differs from this relay's.
Use a different token	Button			Shows the token field.
Also add this relay there	Checkbox	Checked		Pairs both ways: the other relay gets this relay's public address and, if it differs, its token.
Add	Button			Pairs the relay.

Previews #

Control	Kind	Default	Range or options	What it does
Live previews	List	empty		Every preview published on this relay, across all conversations. Each row has Open, Copy link and Close, and Added in 0.9.11 says when the preview was published and last opened. A preview the relay could not check at its start is listed as not served. Previews do not expire by themselves and survive a relay restart; they live until you close them or delete their conversation. Every link is public.

Your shared conversations and what their links show. All controls are stored on the relay and apply to every link.

Control	Kind	Default	Range or options	What it does
Shared conversations	List	empty		Every conversation that has a link, with when it was shared and last opened, how often and by how many viewers. Per row: Copy link, Renew link, Stop sharing and Access log. See Your shared links.
Store viewer IP addresses	Switch	On		Whether new access log entries keep the viewer's IP address. Switching it off offers to remove the addresses already stored.
Paths and file names	Three options	Hide the path, show the file name	Show every path and file name; Hide the path, show the file name; Hide paths and file names	What shared links show of the relay host's paths. See Paths and file names.

Previews need setup on the relay first; see preview.

Notifications #

Push notifications are set per device. The page must be opened over HTTPS (or localhost) and the browser must support Web Push, or the section says why it cannot be used. Notifications are sent only while no device has the app in the foreground. All controls are stored on the relay, separately for each device.

Control	Kind	Default	Range or options	What it does
Enable push notifications on this device	Switch	Off		Asks the browser for permission and subscribes this device. Switching it off keeps the subscription and stops sending.
Include conversation title	Switch	Off		Adds the conversation's title to the notification.
Message preview	Select	None (generic text)	None (generic text); Truncated; Full text	How much of the message the notification shows.
Preview length (characters)	Number	80	20 to 500	Length of a truncated preview. Active only with Truncated.
Questions from the agent	Switch	On		Notify when an agent asks you a question. Short choices (up to three) become buttons on the notification.
Turn completed	Switch	On		Notify when a turn finishes. Not sent for a turn that another relay's agent started, or for a turn that answers a relay event.
Turn failed	Switch	On		Notify when a turn fails. Same exceptions as Turn completed.
Boards (plan reviews)	Switch	On		Notify when a plan board waits for review.
CLI went offline	Switch	Off		Notify when the relay loses its connection to the CLI host. Always generic text.
Host suspend fired or was dropped	Switch	On		Notify when a queued host suspend fires or is dropped. Its text is shown whatever Message preview says.
Queued relay restart waited its maximum time	Switch	On		Added in 0.9.13 Notify when a queued relay restart has waited Ask after a queued relay restart has waited and asks what to do. Its text is shown whatever Message preview says.
Devices	List	empty		Every subscribed device with its last delivery. Per row: Rename and Revoke.

The event switches and the content controls are disabled until this device is enabled.

Features #

Feature flags are read once, when the relay starts. A change is saved at once but takes effect only after a relay restart. When a saved value differs from the running relay, a notice appears with a Restart relay button; the restart waits until the running turns finish. Added in 0.9.11 It works from any signed-in browser, and shows the relay's reason when the restart is refused.

A flag can also be pinned by an environment variable of the relay, COPILOT_REMOTE_<NAME>, for example COPILOT_REMOTE_SESSION_WORKER_ROUTING_ENABLED=0. The row then says so and its switch is locked while the variable is set. All flags are stored on the relay.

Label	Kind	Default	Name	With it off
Session worker routing	Switch	On	`SESSION_WORKER_ROUTING_ENABLED`	Conversations no longer get a worker process each; all share the older polling pipeline. A stuck conversation can then stall the others. The Copilot SDK engine cannot be used.
Continuation answer routing	Switch	On	`SESSION_WORKER_CONTINUATION_ROUTING_ENABLED`	Answers to a question are no longer checked strictly against the question's conversation, continuation and owning worker, so a stale or cross-wired answer is not rejected.
Worker fallback restart (reserved)	Switch	Off	`SESSION_WORKER_FALLBACK_RESTART_ENABLED`	Reserved. It changes nothing either way.
Generated-image continuity	Switch	On	`IMAGE_CONVERSATION_CONTINUITY_ENABLED`	Follow-ups on generated images lose the link to the image you mean, and Edit this image disappears. See OpenAI.

What needs a restart #

Change	Takes effect
Any flag on Features	After a relay restart.
Copilot engine	For conversations started afterwards. A running session keeps its engine until its worker restarts.
Relogin, Logout, Sign in, Sign out	For new sessions. Running Claude or Grok sessions keep the previous account until their workers restart.
Max turn duration, Background task timeout	At once, without a restart. A running worker picks the new timeout up with its next message.
Commit attribution	With the next message of a running Claude, Claude API or DeepSeek session.
A new DeepSeek API key Added in 0.9.17	Running DeepSeek workers are stopped, also in the middle of a turn, and their next message starts them with the new key.
A new Claude API key Added in 0.9.18	Running Claude API workers are stopped, also in the middle of a turn, and their next message starts them with the new key.
Enable … for New Chat, model IDs, keys	For new conversations. What happens to conversations that have not sent a message yet is on each provider's page.
Update	The relay restarts itself once no turn is running.
Everything else	At once.