Settings file
INTERSECT persists user-wide preferences (the ones that aren’t part of a saved session) to a single file: settings.yaml. This includes the active theme, UI scale, NRPN settings, sample browser bookmarks, and the stem separation model folder.
Where it lives
| OS | Settings file |
|---|---|
| Windows | %APPDATA%\Roaming\INTERSECT\settings.yaml |
| macOS | ~/Library/Application Support/INTERSECT/settings.yaml |
| Linux | ~/.config/INTERSECT/settings.yaml |
The folder is created on first launch. themes/, downloaded ONNX Runtime bundles, and downloaded stem models also live alongside it.
When it’s written
settings.yaml is rewritten whenever you change any of the persisted preferences from inside the plugin:
- Adjust UI scale in SET
- Pick a different theme in SET → Themes
- Change middle-C octave in SET
- Toggle the sample browser (
FILES) or change browser bookmarks - Change any NRPN setting in SET → NRPN Settings
- Select a stem model folder or compute device in SET → Stem Separation
If the settings folder can’t be created (sandboxed plugin host, read-only home), the save is skipped silently — INTERSECT still runs with the in-memory defaults.
Format
The file is a simple line-oriented key: value format with one minor structure: bookmarks are written as a nested list.
uiScale: 1.50
theme: oc
nrpnEnabled: false
nrpnChannel: 0
nrpnBlockCc: true
middleC: 4
sampleBrowserVisible: true
sampleBrowserBookmarks:
- /home/you/samples/breaks
- /home/you/samples/oneshots
stemModelFolder: /home/you/.config/INTERSECT/stem-models
stemComputeDevice: cuda
Key reference
| Key | Type | Values | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
uiScale | float | 0.5 to 3.0 (in 0.25 steps) | Editor scale factor. Mirrors the uiScale APVTS parameter on load. |
theme | string | filename stem of a theme in your themes/ folder | Active theme. Falls back to dark if the named file isn’t present. |
nrpnEnabled | bool | true / false | Master toggle for NRPN slice editing. |
nrpnChannel | int | 0 to 16 (0 = omni) | MIDI channel filter for NRPN editing. |
nrpnBlockCc | bool | true / false | If true, NRPN edit CCs are stripped from MIDI output instead of passing through. |
middleC | int | 3, 4, or 5 | Which octave the note name display calls middle C. Doesn’t change stored MIDI data. |
sampleBrowserVisible | bool | true / false | Whether the FILES browser side panel is open. |
sampleBrowserBookmarks | list | YAML-style nested list of paths | Pinned folders shown in the sample browser. |
stemModelFolder | string | filesystem path | Folder INTERSECT scans for ONNX stem models. |
stemComputeDevice | string | cpu, cuda, migraphx, directml, coreml (depends on platform) | Active stem-separation device. |
Legacy keys
| Old key | Behaviour |
|---|---|
stemModelPath | Single-file path (pre-folder builds). If present and valid, INTERSECT migrates it by treating the file’s parent directory as the new stemModelFolder and rewriting the file on next save. |
Old keys you no longer need can be left in the file safely — unknown keys are ignored.
Recipes
Reset to defaults
Quit your DAW (or the standalone), delete settings.yaml, then start INTERSECT again. The file is recreated the next time you change a setting.
Move your setup to a new machine
Copy the entire INTERSECT settings folder (the parent of settings.yaml) to the same path on the new machine. You’ll get your themes, scale, NRPN config, bookmarks, downloaded models, and downloaded ONNX Runtime bundle in one move.
Share a theme without copying settings
Only copy the file from inside themes/. The theme: line in someone else’s settings.yaml is irrelevant to you — INTERSECT looks up the file by name.
Related
- Themes — what the
theme:value points at. - NRPN MIDI routing — what the
nrpn*keys control. - Installation → Stem separation setup — what the
stem*keys point at. - Parameter reference — for in-session parameters (those live in the saved project, not in
settings.yaml).