Configure Desktop App Settings

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The Rocket.Chat desktop client includes a centralized settings panel to configure application behavior, manage certificate exceptions, set up telephony and calling workflows, and adjust diagnostic logging.

To open the settings panel:

  • Open the Application menu by clicking the three-dot icon in the top bar or at the bottom of the left sidebar, depending on your workspace layout.

  • Select App Settings.

Alternatively, on macOS, you can use the Cmd + , keyboard shortcut to access these settings.

The settings panel contains six tabs:

  • General: Configure launch behavior, notifications, window persistence, default browsers, and workspace layout controls.

  • Appearance: Adjust color themes, window transparency, and workspace switcher layouts.

  • Certificates: Review, trust, or revoke domain-level SSL/TLS exceptions.

  • Telephony: Manage system-level protocol handlers (tel:, callto:) and global call shortcuts.

  • Video Calls: Define in-app window behavior and position retention for video conferences.

  • Advanced: Configure hardware acceleration, crash telemetry, and developer-level debug logging.

General settings

The General tab controls the desktop app's core behavior. Available settings vary by operating system.

Setting

Description

Check for updates on start

Checks for newer desktop app releases automatically each time the app launches. Use the inline Check for updates now button to run an immediate manual check.

Menu bar extra

Displays the Rocket.Chat icon in the macOS menu bar.

Bounce dock icon

Bounce the app icon in the dock to draw your attention when new notifications arrive.

Download percentage

Display file download progress as a percentage in the tab bar.

Default Browser

Sets the default external browser used to open web links from the app. The available options are:

  • System Default: Uses your device’s default browser setting.

  • Google Chrome

  • Safari

Outlook Calender Sync Interval

Set how frequently (in minutes) Outlook syncs calendar events.

PDF preview size limit in encrypted rooms (MB)

Set the maximum file size (in MB) for generating previews of encrypted PDF files. PDF files larger than this limit will be downloaded directly instead of previewed.

Setting

Description

Enable Flash Frame

Flash the window to attract the user's attention when new alerts arrive.

Fallback Screen Capture for Video Calls

Disable Windows Graphics Capture to enable screen sharing in Remote Desktop sessions. The app restarts when you change this option.

Open Video Chat in Application Window

Enable this option to open video chats directly within the desktop app window.

Remember video call window position

Save and restore the size and position of video call windows between sessions, so they reopen exactly as you left them.

Tray Icon

Keeps the application running in the Windows system tray when closed rather than exiting completely. On Windows, the tray icon is located in the notification area at the bottom-right corner of your taskbar. Right-click the Rocket.Chat icon to show, hide, or quit the application.

Minimize on close

Minimizes the app window to the taskbar or tray instead of terminating the process when the close button (X) is clicked. Enabled by

When the Tray Icon setting is enabled, this setting is enabled by default.

Sidebar

Display the sidebar on the left side of the desktop app window to access your list of workspaces.

Menu bar

Display the menu bar at the top of the desktop application to access key controls.

Note that both the Sidebar and the Menu bar cannot be disabled at the same time. At least one option must be enabled.

NTLM Credentials

Allow NTLM credentials to be used when connecting to a server. When this option is enabled, you can enter the domains (as comma-separated values) that will use the credentials. Use * to match all domains.

Default Browser

Choose which browser opens external links from the app. The available options can include:

  • System Default: Uses your device’s default browser setting.

  • Google Chrome

  • Firefox

  • Internet Explorer

  • Microsoft Edge

Outlook Calender Sync Interval

Set how frequently (in minutes) Outlook syncs calendar events. By default, the value is 60.

PDF preview size limits in encrypted rooms (MB)

Set the maximum size of encrypted PDF files that can be previewed. Files larger than this limit are downloaded directly instead of being previewed.

Clear Screen Capture Permissions

Removes all screen capture permissions previously granted to workspaces. After clearing, the app prompts for permission again the next time a workspace requests screen capture access.

Appearance settings

The Appearance tab controls the app's theme and workspace switcher.

Setting

Description

Theme

Choose the color theme for your desktop app. The available options are:

  • Match system: Automatically matches your app’s theme to your device’s system settings.

  • Light: Uses a light color scheme.

  • Dark: Uses a dark color scheme.

Workspace switcher

Choose how connected workspaces are displayed.

The options are:

  • Tabs: Display your workspaces in a horizontal tab bar, similar to tabs in a web browser.

  • Sidebar: Display your workspaces in a vertical sidebar on the left side of your window using icon-only buttons.

  • Titlebar: Keep the interface minimal by displaying your workspaces in a compact switcher in the top title bar.

Transparent window effect

Enable the native vibrancy and transparency effect for the desktop app window.

Certificate settings

The Certificates tab logs how the app manages untrusted or invalid SSL/TLS certificates (such as self-signed or expired certificates). When an invalid certificate is encountered while connecting to a server or loading workspace content, the app asks whether you want to trust or reject it. Your decision is saved here for future reference.

To clear a manual override and force the client to prompt you on the next connection attempt, search for the domain in the filter field and select Remove.

  • Trusted Certificates: Domains with invalid certificates that you chose to trust. The app will connect to these domains without further warnings.

  • Not Trusted Certificates: Domains with invalid certificates that you chose not to trust. The app will block connections to these domains.

Valid certificates are accepted automatically and do not appear here. This tab only tracks decisions made for certificates flagged as invalid.

Telephony

Use the telephony settings to control how Rocket.Chat handles phone-call shortcuts and links.

Setting

Description

Telephony

Allow Rocket.Chat to handle phone-call shortcuts and tel: or callto: links from your browser or other app. Turn off this setting to disable the shortcut, ignore phone-link clicks, and hide the global shortcut settings below.

Phone-link handler diagnostics

Use this diagnostic to verify that tel: and callto: links open in Rocket.Chat. It checks your system’s default handlers and shows whether Rocket.Chat is configured to handle each link type.

Click Refresh to check the configuration again after making changes.

Click Copy diagnostics to copy the diagnostic results to your clipboard.

Global call shortcut

Define a keyboard shortcut that brings Rocket.Chat to the front and opens the dial pad from any application. If a phone number is on your clipboard, Rocket.Chat pre-fills it in the dial pad.

Telephony workspace

Choose the workspace that handles incoming phone calls from tel: and callto: links. You can choose to be prompted to select a workspace or specify one of your connected workspaces.

Video calls

Manage dedicated calling window behaviors.

Setting

Description

Video calls inside app

Open video calls directly inside the Rocket.Chat desktop app. This setting is disabled for installations from the Mac App Store. For security reasons, video calls from Mac App Store installations open in the browser by default.

Retain video call window position

Save and restore the size and position of video call windows between sessions, so they reopen exactly as you left them.

Advanced settings

The Advanced tab provides settings for logging and troubleshooting.

Setting

Description

Hardware Acceleration

Enables hardware acceleration when available. The app will reload when it detects a change.

Report errors to Rocket.Chat

Send error reports to the developers to help improve the app. If you installed the app from the Mac App store, this option is disabled and errors are reported through the Mac App Store report process.

Developer mode

Additional diagnostic settings are available when Developer mode is enabled.

To enable Developer mode:

  • Open the Help menu in the top menu bar.

  • Select Developer mode.

After Developer mode is enabled, the following settings become available:

Setting

Description

Verbose Logging

When this option is enabled, all console outputs are written to the log file.

When this option is disabled, only errors and important messages are saved, keeping logs smaller and focused.

Verbose Outlook Calendar Logging

Enable detailed Exchange/NTLM debug logs for troubleshooting Outlook Calendar integration issues.

Detailed Events Logging

Enable this option to log full event data exchanged between Outlook and Rocket.Chat during calendar sync. This is useful for diagnosing sync issues.