Open settings with ⌘,, or right-click the menu bar icon and choose Settings…. The search field at the top finds any setting, and you can search in any of the app's 10 languages. Less-used options are under More on each page.
Page
What's there
Overview
Which AIs are being collected, connections, record-reading consent, the library, notifications. Click a card to jump to its setting.
General
App language, Launch at login, how the shelf closes
Capture
How Docnest collects, projects and folders, formats, app outputs, a collection test
Review & summaries
Review layout, summaries, Clear pending reviews
Agent conversations
Show agent conversations, subagent sessions
Display
Where the shelf appears, theme, library layout
Notifications & sounds
Shelf alerts, macOS notifications, sound
Keyboard shortcuts
The full list below
Connections & integrations
Connect AI tools, Save from chat apps
Advanced
Diagnostics, cleanup of old data
About
Version, data and privacy, Uninstall
Display: where the shelf appears
Setting
Options
Capture windows
Top and side (default), Top only, Side only
Screen edge
Left or Right (default)
Vertical position
Top, Center (default), Bottom
Display
Follow the macOS main display, or keep the shelf on one display
Always show the status tab
When it's off, the side tab hides while nothing is happening, and new documents still show a small cue.
Open on hover
How long the pointer rests at the edge before the shelf opens
Theme
Light, Dark or System
The top shelf opens from the menu bar icon. The side shelf opens when you rest the pointer at the screen edge.
General: how the shelf closes
These settings decide when the shelf closes or stays out of the way:
Collapse after pointer leaves
Close with Escape
Close on outside click
Hide in full screen
Reduce auto-expansion while working, which keeps the shelf from expanding for new documents while Codex, Claude or Cursor is in front. It's on by default.
Notifications & sounds
Everything here is off until you turn it on.
Expand for new documents opens the shelf when a document arrives. When it's off, a small cue appears instead and the shelf opens on hover.
Show in Notification Center sends new documents and the session alerts you choose to macOS Notification Center. macOS asks for permission the first time.
Session completion alerts tell you when an agent session finishes. Notify about document updates tells you when a document you already have changes.
Remind me about documents to review reminds you about unread documents at the interval you pick, from 1 minute to 1 hour.
Sound
Keyboard shortcuts
These work while a Docnest window is active. The full list is also in Settings → Keyboard shortcuts (⌘/).
Docnest
Action
Keys
Open library
⌘O
Open shelf
⇧⌘O
Settings…
⌘,
Keyboard shortcuts
⌘/
Toggle navigation panel
⇧⌘F
Close navigation panel
Esc
Library views
Action
Keys
Documents
⌘1
Conversations
⌘2
Review
⌘3
Find a document
⌘K
Search
⌘F
Review
Action
Keys
Open selected document
⌘↩
To read
⇧⌘↩
Skip
⇧⌘⌫
Undo review
⌥⌘Z
Review inbox
Action
Keys
Select all
⇧⌘A
Clear selection
⇧⌘D
View together
⇧⌘C
Previous page / Next page
⌥⌘← / ⌥⌘→
On the shelf
Action
Keys
Documents / Conversations
⌘1 / ⌘2
Move between rows
↑ ↓
Read later
→
Ignore
← or ⌫
Uninstall
Dragging Docnest to the Trash leaves its hooks and data behind, because macOS doesn't tell the app it's being removed. Use Settings → About → Uninstall Docnest Completely… instead. It removes what Docnest added to your AI tools, the login item, the data folder and caches, then moves the app to the Trash. Nothing is permanently deleted, so you can still restore items from the Trash.
Docnest