Last updated: November 2026
Use this page to find where a setting lives in GitKraken Desktop Preferences and what each Preferences section controls, before you change your workflow or environment.
Requirements and limits
- Scope: Preferences overview for app-wide, profile-specific, and repository-specific settings
- Access point: Gear icon in the top-right corner of GitKraken Desktop
- Profile behavior: Preferences are stored per profile, so switching profiles changes integrations and UI configuration
- Repo-specific settings: Some settings apply only to the currently open repository
- Plan-gated sections: Organization settings, GitKraken AI, and some notification controls depend on plan level
- Detailed workflows: Follow the linked feature pages for the steps and limits of each feature
Quick Start
- General: Set auto-fetch intervals, conflict detection behavior, Commit Graph limits, and tab retention.
- Profiles: Create and switch between profiles to separate Git identities, integrations, and tab sets.
- SSH and Integrations: Connect to GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Azure DevOps, Jira, Trello, and more.
- GitKraken AI: Enable AI-assisted commit messages and PR descriptions (Pro plan and above).
- External Tools: Set your preferred editor, diff tool, merge tool, external terminal, and custom coding agent commands.
- UI Customization: Change themes, date formats, avatar display, and Commit Graph metadata.
- Commit Signing: Enable GPG signing for verified commits.
- Experimental: Try preview features such as Git Executable and Cloud Patches.
- Repo-Specific Preferences: Configure encoding, Gitflow, hooks, LFS, issues, Team View, and agent setup commands per repository.
Each profile has its own preferences, so switching profiles switches integrations and UI options to that profile’s configuration.
How organization settings work
This section is labeled with your organization’s name and shows its members and teams. Owners and Admins can:
- Manage member roles
- Invite users and assign licenses
- Create and manage teams
Note: Organization settings are available on the Pro plan and above.
How General preferences work
Configure app-wide behavior such as auto-fetch, conflict detection, and Commit Graph settings.
| Setting | What it controls |
|---|---|
| Auto-Fetch Interval | Sets how often GitKraken Desktop fetches, from 0 to 60 minutes. 0 turns off auto-fetch. |
| Auto-Prune | Removes stale remote-tracking references. |
| Enable proactive conflict detection with target branch | GitKraken Desktop checks for conflicts with the base branch. |
| Keep submodules up to date | Updates submodules automatically after Git actions. |
| Default Branch Name | Sets the branch name for new repositories (default is main). |
| Delete “.orig” files after merging | Controls cleanup of merge backup files. |
| Show All Commits in Graph | Shows every commit in the graph. This can slow GitKraken Desktop down on large repositories. |
| Initial Commits in Graph | Sets the number of commits the graph shows at first (minimum 500). |
| Lazy Load Commits in Graph | Loads more commits only as needed. |
| Remember tabs | Saves open tabs and profile context between sessions. |
| Longpaths and AutoCRLF | Windows-only settings tied to your global .gitconfig. |
| Use extended logging in activity log | Records more detailed activity logs, which you can get from Help > Support Logs. |
| Forget all Usernames and Passwords | Clears stored usernames and passwords. |
| Share my current branch status with my team | Shares your work in progress with teammates in Team View. |
On Windows, if your global .gitconfig has no core.autocrlf value, GitKraken Desktop’s bundled Git uses the line-ending setting of your installed Git for Windows. If Git for Windows is not installed, it uses core.autocrlf=true. The Activity Log shows which setting applies. To override it, change AutoCRLF: this sets the global value, which takes precedence.
How profile preferences work
Each profile keeps its own settings, tabs, and integrations, so you can keep separate setups when you work with more than one account.
See how to create and switch profiles.
How SSH and integration preferences work
Control access and connections to remote repositories:
- SSH settings
- Git hosting integrations such as GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, and Azure DevOps
- Issue tracker integrations such as Jira and Trello
How GitKraken AI preferences work
This feature is available for Pro plans or higher.
Use GitKraken AI to automate repetitive Git tasks.
The Usage Details card shows how many AI credits you have used this week and when your credits reset. Below it, the Shared Organization Pool meter shows your organization’s credits this week, split into Your usage, Rest of organization, and Remaining.
When you reach your weekly credit limit, the card shows You’ve reached your weekly credit limit. GitKraken AI then draws from your organization’s shared credit pool, so you can keep working. Every member of the organization can use the shared pool, and it resets weekly along with your personal limit.
- Organization Owners and Admins on a paid plan can click Get more AI credits to add credits.
- Users on a trial can click Upgrade to get more credits.
See the GitKraken AI FAQ for common questions.
How external tool preferences work
Configure your preferred editors, terminals, coding agent commands, and diff/merge tools.
- External Merge Tool: View supported tools
- External Diff Tool: View supported tools
- External Editor: Choose from VS Code, Atom, Sublime, IntelliJ, or custom path
- External Terminal: The terminal that opens from File > Open External Terminal or Alt/Option + T. For a custom terminal, set Terminal Executable and Terminal Arguments
- Coding Agent: Configure custom commands or arguments used when GitKraken Desktop starts a coding agent session. GitKraken Desktop detects the supported coding agent CLIs installed on your machine, such as Claude Code, Codex CLI, Copilot CLI, Cursor CLI, Gemini CLI, and OpenCode. You choose the coding agent for a session in the Start an Agent Session modal. In on-premises environments, available options depend on what your organization allows and can reach. See Coding Agents in GitKraken Desktop.
- Agent Status Integrations: Install, reinstall, or uninstall the plugins that let Claude Code, Codex CLI, Copilot CLI, and OpenCode report live session status in the Agents view. See How to manage agent status plugins and hooks.
macOS Note: Use the executable file, not the .app, when selecting a custom editor.
How notification preferences work
Control product and marketing messages:
- Enable Desktop Notifications
- Receive Marketing Notifications
Note: Only Pro, Advanced, Business, and Enterprise users can turn off marketing notifications.
How UI customization preferences work
Change the theme and how the Commit Graph looks:
- Themes
- Notification location
- Date/time locale and formatting
- Author initials or avatars
- Graph metadata, such as branches, tags, author, commit message, and SHA
- Hide Launchpad in status bar
- Show Agents view in left panel. See Coding Agents in GitKraken Desktop.
- Automatically group worktree tabs together: On by default. Groups the tabs of a repository and its worktrees in the tab bar. See Worktree tab groups.
To switch between the standard Left Panel and the Agents view, go to Preferences > UI Customization and enable Show Agents view in left panel.
Show Agents view in left panel to display the List | Agents toggleHow commit signing preferences work
Enable and configure GPG signing for commit verification.
How editor preferences work
Customize the code editor and diff viewer:
- Font, size, tab spacing
- EOL characters
- Syntax highlighting
- Line numbers and word wrap
How in-app terminal preferences work
Adjust the appearance and behavior of the in-app terminal:
- Font, size, line height, cursor
- Dim terminal when unfocused: On by default. Fades the terminal output while you work elsewhere in the app
- Autocomplete behavior
- Default In-App Terminal on Windows
For worktree-specific terminal sessions and manual coding agent workflows, see GitKraken Terminal Guide.
How experimental preferences work
Preview Experimental Features:
- Use Git Executable: Run Git operations with a Git executable instead of the NodeGit library
- Cloud Patches
How repo-specific preferences work
These settings apply only to the open repository, so you can configure each repository differently:
- Encoding
- Gitflow
- Git Hooks
- LFS
- Commit settings
- Issues
- Team View
- Submodules
- Agents:
- Show worktree WIP nodes in the graph (on by default) shows a WIP row in the Commit Graph for every other worktree with uncommitted changes or an active agent session
- Setup commands, such as install scripts or build steps, run when a new agent session starts in a worktree
