Preferences file (`preferences.yaml`)

preferences.yaml holds per-machine operator preferences — where each window was last placed, the Launcher’s recent-files list, the live log-preview options, and the EEG Annotator’s per-machine state (recent labels, last-used folders, rater id, quick-mark palette). It is the machine layer, kept separate from a portable SMACC file (which a researcher shares between rigs) and from a per-run session log.

It lives in the SMACC directory ($SMACC_DIRECTORY, else ~/SMACC/preferences.yaml), is loaded at startup, and is written on quit. It must never break the app: a missing or corrupt file falls back to the built-in defaults, and saving swallows errors.

Example

kind: smacc/preferences
schema_version: 1
preferences:
  windows:
    launcher: {x: 100, y: 100, w: 340, h: 360}
    main: {x: 120, y: 80, w: 900, h: 700}
  recent_settings:
    - C:\Users\you\SMACC\peter.smacc
    - C:\Users\you\SMACC\paul.smacc
  last_settings: C:\Users\you\SMACC\peter.smacc
  log_preview_max_lines: 1000
  log_preview_clock: 24h
  eeg_palette_labels: [LRLR, LRLRx2, LRLRx3, IEIE]

Fields

Key	Type	Meaning
`kind`	string	Always `smacc/preferences`; a file with a different `kind` is ignored (defaults are used).
`schema_version`	integer	The preferences schema version (currently 1).
`preferences`	mapping	The preferences themselves (below).

`preferences`

Key	Type	Meaning
`windows`	mapping	Per-window geometry, keyed by a stable window id → `{x, y, w, h}`. Ids include `launcher`, `main` (the Session window), `analyze` (the Analyzer), `eeg-annotator` (the EEG Annotator), and one entry per tool window (keyed by its panel key). An absent/`null` `x`/`y` means “no saved position — open at a default”.
`recent_settings`	list of paths	Recently opened `.smacc` files, most-recent first, de-duplicated and capped at 8.
`last_settings`	path or `null`	The last `.smacc` opened, used to preselect it in the Session…/Editor… file picker.
`log_preview_max_lines`	integer	How many lines the Session window’s live log preview keeps (default 1000); the oldest lines are dropped first. The log file always records everything, so nothing is lost. Very large values cost GUI memory and repaint time over an overnight session.
`log_preview_clock`	string	How the live preview renders the time of day: `24h` (default, e.g. `22:14:01`) or `12h` (`10:14:01 PM`). Presentation only — the log file always keeps 24-hour timestamps with a UTC offset. Toggle it from the Session window’s File → 12-hour clock; an unknown value falls back to `24h`.

Partial files are fine

Loading merges a file’s keys over the defaults, so a file missing some keys still yields every key. There is no cross-version migration; only schema_version: 1 is current.

EEG Annotator keys

The EEG Annotator runs as its own process but writes its per-machine state into the same preferences.yaml:

Key	Type	Meaning
`eeg_recent_labels`	list	Recent annotation labels, seeding the label dialog.
`eeg_rater_id`	string or `null`	The active rater id for per-rater sidecars.
`eeg_palette_labels`	list	Quick-mark palette (default `[LRLR, LRLRx2, LRLRx3, IEIE]`).
`eeg_last_dir`	path or `null`	Last folder a recording was opened from.
`eeg_last_profile_dir`	path or `null`	Last view-profile folder.
`eeg_last_export_dir`	path or `null`	Last figure-export folder.
`eeg_last_blind_dir`	path or `null`	Last blind-config folder.

Version history

Version	Changes
1	First (and current) stable schema, covering window geometry, recents/last-used, the log-preview options, and the EEG Annotator keys. (The pre-release `association_prompted` key was dropped along with the first-run association prompt — the installer owns the association now; a leftover key in an old file is ignored.)