Configuration

Configuration files, settings locations, and format reference

CineWindows stores configuration in multiple locations depending on the installation type and the data being persisted.

QSettings JSON key bindings mpv.conf

Settings Location

./portable/
  └── settings.ini          # QSettings (INI format, all preferences)

When run from a portable ZIP, CineWindows creates a portable/ directory next to the executable and stores all settings in portable/settings.ini.

%APPDATA%\gyrolet\
  └── CineWindows\
        ├── settings.ini    # QSettings (INI format, all preferences)
        ├── session.json    # Session state (playlist + position)
        └── library.db      # Media library SQLite database

For installed versions, the config root is %APPDATA%/gyrolet/CineWindows/.

%APPDATA%\mpv\
  ├── mpv.conf              # Runtime mpv options (loaded via "include")
  ├── input.conf            # Additional key bindings (via "keybind" command)
  └── scripts\              # Lua/JS scripts (via "load-script" command)

CineWindows reads the standard mpv config directory at startup through the MpvConfig loader. This is separate from the application settings — it applies mpv-native options to the embedded libmpv instance.

Settings Reference

All application preferences are backed by QSettings and exposed through the SettingsManager QML singleton. Changes are persisted immediately.

General

Key	Type	Default	Description
`ui/openNewWindow`	bool	`true`	Open media in a new window
`ui/thumbnailPreview`	bool	`true`	Seek-bar thumbnail previews
`ui/showRemaining`	bool	`false`	Show remaining time
`ui/themeMode`	string	`"dark"`	`"dark"` or `"light"`
`ui/accentColor`	string	`"#10c7d1"`	Accent colour hex ARGB
`ui/reduceMotion`	bool	`false`	Reduce non-essential motion
`ui/locale`	string	(system)	UI language code
`input/leftClick`	int	`0`	Left-click action ID
`input/rightClick`	int	`1`	Right-click action ID

Playback

Key	Type	Default	Description
`playback/volume`	int	`100`	Volume (0–200)
`playback/muted`	bool	`false`	Mute state
`playback/hwdec`	string	`"auto-safe"`	Hardware decoding backend
`playback/normalizeVolume`	bool	`false`	Volume normalisation
`playback/savePosition`	bool	`false`	Save video position
`playback/saveSession`	bool	`false`	Save/restore session
`playback/equalizerEnabled`	bool	`false`	Equalizer toggle
`playback/visualization`	string	`"off"`	Audio visualisation mode
`playback/stereoInput`	string	`"off"`	Stereo upmix input
`playback/stereoOutput`	string	`"arcd"`	Stereo downmix layout
`playback/toneMapping`	string	`"auto"`	HDR tone mapping
`playback/targetPeak`	int	`203`	HDR peak brightness

Audio

Key	Type	Default	Description
`playback/audioLanguages`	string	(empty)	Preferred audio languages

Subtitles

Key	Type	Default	Description
`subtitles/font`	string	`"Adwaita Sans SemiBold"`	Subtitle font family
`subtitles/scale`	double	`1.0`	Subtitle scale (0.1–3.0)
`subtitles/color`	string	`"#ebebeb"`	Subtitle text colour
`subtitles/background`	bool	`false`	Subtitle background
`subtitles/backgroundColor`	string	`"#97000000"`	Subtitle background colour
`subtitles/languages`	string	(empty)	Preferred subtitle languages

Advanced

Key	Type	Default	Description
`updates/autoCheck`	bool	`true`	Auto-update check
`input/keyBindings`	string	(defaults)	Serialised key bindings JSON

Key Bindings Format

Key bindings are serialised as a JSON string stored in the input/keyBindings setting. The format is an object mapping normalized key sequence strings to action identifiers:

mpv.conf Support

CineWindows loads the user’s mpv.conf from %APPDATA%/mpv/mpv.conf at runtime via the MpvConfig loader. Since libmpv defaults to config=no and MpvQt initialises mpv immediately, the config is applied after startup using mpv’s include option.

Only runtime-settable options in mpv.conf will apply. Options that must be set before mpv initialisation (e.g. vo, ao, gpu-context) are ignored when loaded via include.

input.conf Support

CineWindows reads %APPDATA%/mpv/input.conf and registers each binding using mpv’s keybind command. These bindings take priority over the application defaults for keys that are forwarded into libmpv.

The MpvConfig class exposes isOverridden(qtSequence) and commandFor(qtSequence) to QML so the Shortcuts settings panel can display collision warnings when a key is also bound in input.conf.

Session Persistence

Session state (playlist items, current index, playback position) is saved to session.json in the config directory when the user selects Save Session and Close (Shift+Q). If saveSession is enabled, the session is restored automatically on the next launch.