Positron Pro Settings

The extent of changeable settings makes Positron Pro highly customizable. Settings in Positron Pro allow you to modify almost all aspects, including the editor’s appearance, code formatting, and other behaviors.

This page covers some of the types of settings in Positron Pro and how to edit them. For setting recommendations please refer to Recommended Settings and Extensions.

Note

Your Workbench Administrator may have preset user settings for Positron Pro sessions. See the Administrator Guide on Positron Pro User Settings for more information.

Types of settings

There are two different scopes for settings:

  • User settings: Apply to all your Positron Pro sessions.
  • Workspace settings: Settings are stored inside a workspace (folder) and are only active when the Workspace is open.

User settings

Users can modify settings from the Settings editor or by editing settings.json files.

Settings editor

You can open the Settings editor by using the Manage gear icon or the File menu.

To modify the settings using the Settings editor, click the Manage gear icon and select Settings.

Access Settings editor via Manage icon

Access Settings editor from the Manage icon

To modify the settings using the File menu, click menu > File > Preferences > Settings.

Settings editor file menu

Access Settings editor from the File menu

When utilizing the Settings editor, either of the first two tabs can change User settings:

  • User

  • Remote [SERVER_ADDRESS:PORT]

    SERVER_ADDRESS:PORT is your actual Posit Workbench server address and the port it is using.

    Setting editor tab UI

    Setting editor tabs

Editing the JSON file

All user settings are specified in a settings.json file. You can customize these settings by editing the settings.json file directly.

To edit settings.json, utilize the Command Palette:

  • macOS: Cmd + Shift + P
  • Windows: Ctrl + Shift + P

Then, type and select: “Preferences: Open User Settings (JSON)” and press ENTER.

Example of <code>settings.json</code> contents in the file pane

Example of settings.json contents

Workspace settings

Workspace settings are specified in .vscode/settings.json within the workspace folder.

Workspace settings mirror User settings but take precedence when you open a Workspace. You can change the settings by:

  • Editing the JSON file or
  • Using the Settings editor and selecting the Workspace tab.

Settings import

You can import your existing custom settings from VS Code sessions into Positron Pro sessions.

When you first launch Positron Pro, a notification appears asking if you want to import these VS Code settings.

You can choose to import these VS Code settings by clicking Compare settings. Then, Positron Pro opens your user settings file.

Screenshot of the VS Code Settings import prompt with the Compare settubgs option outlined

A VS Code settings compare prompt

Or, you can ignore them by either clicking Later or Don’t show again.

If your Workbench Administrator has preset your Positron Pro user settings, these existing settings merge with the incoming VS Code settings. If conflicts exist between these two, Positron Pro highlights any conflicts for you to compare and resolve.

Screenshot showing an example of a Settings compare merge editor with conflicts

An example of a Settings compare merge editor with conflicts
Back to top