Documentation
Settings

Settings

This guide explains how to customize your Jan application settings. To access Settings, click icon in the bottom left corner of Jan.

Settings are stored in a cortex.db file in Jan Data Folder, ensuring they persist across sessions.

My models

Here's at Settings () > My Models you can manage all your installed AI models:

Manage Downloaded Models

1. Import Models: You can import model here as how you can do in Hub


Import from HF


2. Remove Models: Use the same instructions in Delete Local Models


Remove Model


3. Start Models

  1. Choose the model you want to start
  2. Click three dots icon next to the model
  3. Select Start Model

Start Model


Manage Cloud Models

  1. To install cloud models, click the Add () icon next your preferred providers (e.g., Anthropic, OpenAI, Groq), and add API Key to use. See detailed instructions for each provider.
  2. Once a provider is installed, you can use its models & manage its settings by clicking on the Settings () icon next to it.

Manage Cloud Provider


Preferences

At Settings () > Preferences, you can customize how Jan looks.

Appearance & Theme

Control the visual theme of Jan's interface.

  • Joi Light: Clean, bright theme for daytime use
  • Joi Dark: Dark theme with high contrast
  • Dark Dimmed: Softer dark theme to reduce eye strain
  • Night Blue: Dark theme with blue accents

To change:

  1. Choose your preferred Appearance from the dropdown
  2. With Joi Dark & Joi Light, you can choose additional options:
  • Solid: Traditional opaque background
  • Translucent: Semi-transparent interface
  1. Changes apply immediately

Appearance


Chat Width

Adjust how chat content is displayed.

  1. In Chat Width section, select either
  • Full Width: Maximizes the chat area to use the full width of the window. This is ideal for viewing longer messages or when working with code snippets that benefit from more horizontal space.
  • Compact Width: Creates a more focused chat experience with a narrower conversation view. This setting is useful for reading conversations more comfortably, especially on larger screens.
  1. Changes apply immediately to your conversation view

Chat Width


Spell Check

Jan includes a built-in spell check feature to help catch typing errors in your messages.

  1. Switch the toggle on to enable spell checking, or off to disable it
  2. Changes apply immediately for all new messages you type

Spell Check


Keyboard Shortcuts

At Settings () > Keyboard shortcuts, you can see Jan's shortcuts list:

1. Thread Management

  • ⌘ N - Create a new thread
  • ⌘ Shift Backspace - Delete current active thread
  • ⌘ Shift C - Clean current active thread

2. Navigation

  • ⌘ B - Toggle left panel
  • ⌘ Shift B - Toggle right panel
  • ⌘ , - Navigate to settings

3. Message Input

  • Enter - Send a message (in input field)
  • Shift Enter - Insert a new line (in input field)

Note: On Windows and Linux, use Ctrl (Control) instead of (Command)

Hardware

At Settings () > Hardware, you can monitor and manage your system resources when running local models.

CPU & RAM

See detailed minimum system requirements to run local models on Mac, Windows & Linux.

  • CPU: important for model processing speed. With CPU only, 20-90% usage during model running is normal.

  • RAM:

    • Different models require different amounts of RAM.
    • When running local models, please keep at least 4GB free.
    • If usage is near max, try closing other applications or use smaller models.

GPU Acceleration

Ensure you have installed all required dependencies and drivers before enabling GPU acceleration. See GPU Setup Guide on Windows & Linux for detailed instructions.

Turn on GPU acceleration to improve performance:

  1. Select and enable your prefered GPU(s)
  2. App reload is required after the selection

Hardware


GPU Performance Optimization

  • Monitor VRAM usage - should not exceed 90%. Higher VRAM capacity typically enables better performance for larger language models.
  • Adjust ngl (number of GPU Layers) in Model settings:
    • Higher NGL = more VRAM used with faster performance
    • Lower NGL = Less VRAM used with slower performance
    • Start with 35 layers for 8GB VRAM. Increase if you have more VRAM available & decrease if you see out-of-memory errors.

Privacy

At Settings () > Privacy, you can control analytics & logs in Jan:

Analytics

Jan is built with privacy at its core. By default, no data is collected. Everything stays local on your device. You can help improve Jan by sharing anonymous usage data:

  1. Toggle on Analytics to share anonymous data
  2. You can change this setting at any time

Read more about that we collect with opt-in users at Privacy.


Analytics


Log Management

1. View Logs

  • Logs are stored at:
    • App log: ~/Library/Application\ Support/jan/data/logs/app.log
    • Cortex log: ~/Library/Application\ Support/jan/data/logs/cortex.log
  • To open logs from Jan's interface: at Logs, click icon to open App Logs & Cortex Logs:

View Logs


2. Clear Logs

Jan retains your logs for only 24 hours. To remove all logs from Jan, at Clear Logs, click the Clear button:

⚠️

This action cannot be undone.


Clear Logs


Advanced Settings

At Settings () > Advanced Settings, Jan stores settings for advanced use cases.

Experimental Mode

⚠️

Experimental features are unstable and are recommended only for testing purposes. Please turn on with caution!

Current experimental features:

FeatureDescription
ToolsAdvanced tooling capabilities including web search, file operations, and code interpretation
Vulkan SettingsGPU acceleration using Vulkan API for improved model performance
Jan Quick AskStreamlined interface for rapid AI queries and responses

To try out these beta features, turn on Experimental Mode setting:


Experimental Mode


Jan Data Folder

Jan stores your data locally in your own filesystem in a universal file format. See detailed Jan Folder Structure.

1. Open Jan Data Folder

At Jan Data Folder, click icon to open Jan application's folder:


Open Jan Data Folder


2. Edit Jan Data Folder

  1. At Jan Data Folder, click icon to edit Jan application's folder
  2. Choose a new directory & click Select, make sure the new folder is empty
  3. Confirmation pop-up shows up:

Are you sure you want to relocate Jan Data Folder to new directory? Jan Data Folder will be duplicated into the new location while the original folder remains intact. An app restart will be required afterward.

  1. Click Yes, Proceed

Edit Jan Data Folder


HTTPs Proxy

HTTPS Proxy encrypts data between your browser and the internet, making it hard for outsiders to intercept or read. It also helps you maintain your privacy and security while bypassing regional restrictions on the internet.

  • Model download speeds may be affected due to the encryption/decryption process and your cloud service provider's networking
  • HTTPS Proxy does not affect the remote model usage.
  1. Enable the proxy toggle
  2. Enter your proxy server details in the following format:

http://<user>:<password>@<domain or IP>:<port>

Where:

  • <user>: Your proxy username (if authentication is required)
  • <password>: Your proxy password (if authentication is required)
  • <domain or IP>: Your proxy server's domain name or IP address
  • <port>: The port number for the proxy server

HTTPs Proxy


Ignore SSL Certificates

This setting allows Jan to accept self-signed or unverified SSL certificates. This may be necessary when:

  • Working with corporate proxies using internal certificates
  • Testing in development environments
  • Connecting through specialized network security setups

Only enable this option if you trust your network environment.


Ignore SSL Certificates


Jan Quick Ask

Jan Quick Ask provides a faster way to interact with Jan without opening the full application window. It's designed for quick queries and responses when you need immediate assistance.

⚠️

This feature is currently experimental and must be enabled through Experimental Mode in Advanced Settings.

  1. Once you've turned on Experimental Mode, toggle on Jan Quick Ask
  2. App restart is required upon selection

Jan Quick Ask


  1. Once enabled, you can open Quick Ask overlay with default shortcut: CMD/Ctr + J

Jan Quick Ask


Factory Reset

Reset to Factory Settings restores Jan to its initial state by erasing all user data, including downloaded models and chat history. This action is irreversible and should only be used as a last resort when experiencing serious application issues.

⚠️

This action cannot be undone. All data will be permanently deleted.

Only use factory reset if:

  • The application is corrupted
  • You're experiencing persistent technical issues that other solutions haven't fixed
  • You want to completely start fresh with a clean installation

To begin the process:

  1. At Reset to Factory Settings, click Reset button

Jan Quick Ask


  1. In the confirmation dialog:
  • Type the word RESET to confirm
  • Optionally check Keep the current app data location to maintain the same data folder
  • Click Reset Now
  1. App restart is required upon confirmation

Jan Quick Ask