Settings, Power User Mode & Notifications
Configure Fewer via the Settings dialog: theme, minimap, node dimensions, power user mode, notifications, and the About/Help tabs.
The gear icon in the top navbar opens Settings, a dialog with four tabs: About, Appearance, Advanced, and Help.
About
- App icon, version badge, and tagline
- Privacy blurb: all processing happens locally in your browser; no data is uploaded
- GitHub link: opens the repository
- Website link: opens the project site
- Sponsor button: opens GitHub Sponsors
- Tech + license footer (Next.js, React Flow, shadcn/ui · AGPLv3)
Appearance
- Theme mode selector: Light / Dark / Custom (Custom is only shown in Power User mode and opens the theme editor)
- Show Files toggle: show or hide file-level nodes on the canvas (folders only)
- Connection Motion: Animate Selected Connections Only toggle — when on, the connections along the selected nodes' path to the root animate in the chosen Selected Edge Pattern (dashed or dotted). The sidebar's Motion and Pattern controls then apply to all _other_ (non-selected) edges. When off, sidebar controls apply globally. The all-connections motion toggle lives in the sidebar (Power User mode), not in this dialog. Connection motion is a signed-in (Power User) feature — it's hidden for signed-out users, and non-auth graphs render with static connections.
Advanced
Advanced settings are gated behind Power User mode: a toggle in this tab (also reflected in the sidebar). Advanced users get:
- Custom theme mode visible in Appearance
- File/URL import buttons in the sidebar
- Extra layout directions (Bottom→Top, Right→Left)
- Sidebar sections: Minmax/Metrics sliders
Settings in Advanced:
| Setting | Description |
| Show Files | Show/hide file nodes (also in Appearance) |
| Minimap | Toggle the minimap on/off |
| Minimap Position | Top-left, Top-right, Bottom-left, Bottom-right |
| Minimap Size | Slider, 80–300px |
| Node Width | Card width slider, 120–400px |
| Node Height | Card height slider, 40–300px |
| Crown Shyness | Branch-spacing intensity, 0–3 — gaps between sibling subtrees scale with their depth and size. Click the value to type a custom intensity; it applies as soon as you release the slider (or commit a typed value — changing it clears the active view's manual card positions, which were spaced for the old intensity). The slider responds on a curve: 0 is flat, 1 (the default) keeps the usual spacing, 2 is clearly looser, and 3 opens the tree right up — the top of the range is capped there, so 3 is as loose as it gets |
Help
- Keyboard Shortcuts: open the shortcuts dialog
- Bug Report: open the bug report dialog with auto-collected diagnostics
- Restart Tutorial: replay the interactive walkthrough
- GitHub Issues link
- Website link
Accounts & Saved Graphs
Fewer works fully without an account. Signing in (optional) unlocks saving and sharing your directories across devices. See Accounts & Saved Graphs for the full guide.
Sign in
Click the Sign in button in the top navbar to open the auth dialog. You can:
- Create an account with email + password
- Sign in to an existing account
- Reset your password via email
Save a graph
- Sign in
- Click Save Current Graph in the Your Directories sidebar section
- Name the graph and click Save
Saved graphs capture the graph itself — nodes, connections, and their positions. Your app settings (layout direction, connection style, theme, minimap, display filters) are separate account-level preferences that follow you, so restoring a saved graph never overwrites your current settings.
Manage saved graphs
The Your Directories section lists your saved graphs. Each row lets you:
- Load the graph (click the name)
- Rename (pencil icon)
- Share (link icon): anyone-with-the-link or invite-only
- Delete (trash icon)
Saving is always user-initiated. Fewer never auto-uploads your graph.
Notifications
The bell icon in the navbar opens the notification history panel. Every major action posts a toast:
- Delete, copy, cut, duplicate, paste, unparent, connect, organize
- Show/hide nodes, open file, refresh from disk
- Auto-hide notifications on import
A badge on the bell shows unread notifications; it clears when you open the panel. Up to 5 toasts stack at the right edge of the screen.
Resetting
Disabling Power User mode resets all settings to defaults, including the theme mode.
Next Steps
- Theming: custom colors, presets, and the theme editor
- Graph Features: minimap, layout, and canvas behavior
- Editing Cards: add, rename, delete, and connect nodes