Settings, Shortcuts, and Updates

Appearance and language, keyboard shortcuts and the command palette, a reference for the rest of Settings, plus license activation and updates. Use the search box at the top of Settings to jump to any option by name.

Appearance and Themes

Open Settings → Additional Settings → Appearance to change Critiq's theme. The UI Theme controls the app chrome, sidebars, panels, and navigation, while the Editor Theme controls Monaco syntax highlighting in code and diff views. You can keep them matched or set them independently.

Display Language

Open Settings → Additional Settings → Appearance and use the Language dropdown to choose Critiq's interface language. Critiq supports English, Spanish, and French.

Editor Zoom

Hold Ctrl/Cmd and scroll in the editor or a Markdown preview to zoom. The current level shows in the status bar; click it to reset to 100%.

Keyboard Shortcuts

• Ctrl/Cmd + P - Toggle quick file search
• Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + F - Open text search
• Ctrl/Cmd + H - Previous file (navigate file history in working changes)
• Ctrl/Cmd + L - Next file (navigate file history in working changes)
• Ctrl/Cmd + J - Next hunk
• Ctrl/Cmd + K - Previous hunk
• Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + J - Next file (changes list, or file explorer when viewing a file)
• Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + K - Previous file (changes list, or file explorer when viewing a file)
• Ctrl/Cmd + S - Stage/unstage current hunk (or save file in edit mode)
• Alt + S - Stage/unstage current line
• Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + S - Stage/unstage entire file
• Ctrl/Cmd + E - Toggle edit mode
• Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + R - Toggle file reviewed status (PR mode)
• Ctrl/Cmd + M - Cycle image diff mode (single, side-by-side, onion skin)
• Ctrl/Cmd + B - Blink overlay in onion-skin mode
• Arrow Left / Arrow Right - Decrease/increase onion-skin opacity (Shift for larger steps)
• Ctrl/Cmd + F - Search in the Markdown preview
• Ctrl/Cmd + scroll - Zoom the editor or Markdown preview

Note: All keyboard shortcuts can be customized in Settings.

Command Palette Modes

Open the command palette with Ctrl/Cmd + P. You can search normally, or use a mode prefix to narrow behavior.

• Default (no prefix): Search changed files, all files, and symbols.
• : Line jump mode. Type a line number and press Enter to jump in the currently open file.
• c: Class/type symbol filter.
• m: Method/function symbol filter.
• v: Variable/property/field symbol filter.
• > Command mode. Use it for Git actions (stage, unstage, discard, commit, push, pull, fetch, stash) and guided commands such as >mode and >open. Use >settings or >set to open Settings.
• >settings / >set Open Settings.
• >mode Guided mode switcher for working, branch compare, and pull request review modes.
• >open Open a previously accessed repository (including saved workspaces) by name.

Enter these by typing the prefix or command directly in the palette input.

Repository and Git

In Settings → Additional Settings:

• Default Clone Location - The folder repositories are cloned into from a Git provider. You can still change it for each clone.
• Auto-fetch from remote every N minute(s) - Fetches in the background so ahead and behind counts stay current.
• Auto-prune stale branches - During fetch, removes remote-tracking branches that no longer exist on the remote.
• Git Executable Path - Use a specific git binary. Leave it empty to use the one on your PATH.
• Default Branch Prefix - Pre-fills the name when you create a branch, for example feature/.
• History graph lane cap - See Graph Lane Cap.
• Worktree base directory - See Worktrees.

Diff and Review

• Show diff stats in headers - Shows added and removed line counts in the Changes header and the diff header.
• Split diff filler - How empty space in split view is drawn: Solid (Dark), Solid (Light), Transparent, or This Is Fine (a small repeating ASCII pattern).
• Auto-scroll to first change - Opening a changed file scrolls to its first hunk, unless you navigated to a specific line.
• Endless scroll to next file - Scrolling past the end of a file opens the next file in the changes list, stopping at the last one.
• In Settings → Features → Code Review: Auto-triage files (see Auto-triage files), Hunk-level change tracking in PRs (see Hunk-level change tracking), and Allow commit-level hunk review sync in PRs (see Commit-level Hunk Review Sync).
• In Settings → Features → Security: secret scanning and the hidden Unicode scanner (see Security).

Editor and File Tree

• External Editor - Editor Executable Path and Editor Arguments control how files open in your own editor. Use {file} in the arguments where the file path goes, for example --goto {file} for VS Code.
• Font Size and Font Family - For the code editor (default 14px; the family uses CSS font-family syntax). Changes apply immediately.
• File Tree Font Size - For file trees (default 14px).
• Compact directories - Collapses chains of single-child folders. Compact (path style) shows src/components/ui; Compact (package notation) keeps source roots such as src/test/java and shows the package with dots, such as com.example.project.
• Icon theme - Seti or VS Code-style file icons, with an option to use VS Code folder icons.
• Themes and interface language: see Appearance and Themes and Display Language.

License and Activation

On first launch Critiq asks for a license key, or you can choose Start 14-day trial. Each license allows two activations, for example a work machine and a home machine.

• Settings → License & Support shows your status, activation ID, and the days left on a trial.
• Deactivate on this device frees the activation so you can use it on another machine. Do this before replacing or wiping a computer.
• The same tab restarts the Interactive Tour, and Clear All Local Storage resets cached data if Critiq behaves unexpectedly.
• Activation problems: contact support@getcritiq.dev.

Updates

Settings → Updates shows your version and the recent changes, and checks for new releases. On macOS and Linux, Critiq downloads the update for you; choose Install and Restart when it is ready. On Windows, download the new version from the download page. On Linux, an AppImage stored in a system location that your user cannot write to also has to be updated manually. The full history is in the changelog.