Preferences
Open Preferences via Ctrl+, or File > Preferences to customize Paint Forge's behavior. Settings are persisted to your browser's local storage.
General Settings
| Setting | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Auto-Save Interval | 10 seconds | How often the editor auto-saves to local storage (1-30 seconds) |
| Max Undo Steps | 50 | Maximum number of undo/redo history entries |
| Default Canvas Width | 1200 px | Width used when creating a new project |
| Default Canvas Height | 800 px | Height used when creating a new project |
| Scroll Wheel Behavior | Zoom | Whether the scroll wheel zooms (Ctrl+scroll always zooms) or pans |
Export Defaults
Set default values used when opening the Export dialog:
| Setting | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Default Export Format | PNG | Initial format selected in the Export dialog (PNG, JPEG, WebP, AVIF, SVG) |
| Default Export Quality | 92 | Initial quality slider value (0-100) for lossy formats |
| Default Export Scale | 1× | Initial export scale (0.5×, 1×, 2×, 4×) |
New Project Defaults
Configure defaults applied when creating a new project:
| Setting | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Default Composition Guide | None | Composition guide shown by default on new canvases (Rule of Thirds, Golden Ratio, etc.) |
| Default Grid Size | 20 px | Grid cell size used on new canvases |
Display
| Setting | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Theme | Auto | UI color scheme: Auto (follows the OS setting), Light, or Dark |
| Painting Frame Rate | 60 fps | Target frame rate for raster painting tools (brush, eraser, etc.). Lower values reduce CPU usage on weak hardware. |
Tool Behavior
| Setting | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Remember Last Tool | Off | When enabled, restores the last active tool when re-opening the editor |
Safety
| Setting | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Auto-Snapshot Before Destructive Operations | On | Creates a named history snapshot before Flatten, Merge Visible, Merge Down, and Rasterize operations. Allows recovery if the operation produces unexpected results. |
Snapshots are accessible from the Snapshots dropdown in the top bar or via Ctrl+Alt+S. Up to 20 snapshots per project can be saved. For signed-in users, snapshots are stored in the cloud database (Supabase) and persist across devices.
Keyboard Shortcut Customization
Tool keyboard shortcuts can be remapped via the Shortcut Remap dialog. Access it from Help > Keyboard Shortcuts, then click "Remap Shortcuts". The dialog uses a recording mode — press any key to assign it. Conflicts with existing shortcuts are detected and shown as warnings. Custom shortcuts persist to local storage.
See the Keyboard Shortcuts page for the complete reference.
Data & Storage
Paint Forge stores the following data in your browser's local storage:
| Data | Description |
|---|---|
| Auto-save state | Current project canvas state for crash recovery |
| Color history | Recently used colors (up to 8) |
| Color palettes | Custom color palettes (up to 8) |
| Brush presets | Saved brush configurations (up to 8) |
| Effect presets | Saved object effect configurations (up to 8) |
| Filter presets | Saved filter configurations (up to 10) |
| Export presets | Saved export configurations (up to 5) |
| Canvas presets | Saved canvas size presets (up to 8) |
| Guide presets | Saved guide configurations (up to 8) |
| Gradient presets | Saved gradient configurations (up to 8) |
| Curve presets | Saved curve configurations (up to 8) |
| Text style presets | Saved text style configurations (up to 8) |
| Blend mode presets | Saved blend mode + opacity configurations (up to 8) |
| Tool presets | Per-tool saved settings (up to 8 per tool) |
| Layer comps | Named layer state snapshots (up to 10) |
| Custom brush tips | Imported stamp brush tip images (up to the configured limit) |
| Custom tool presets | Saved custom tool configurations for the mobile hotbar (up to the configured limit) |
| Adjustment presets | Saved adjustment layer configurations (up to the configured limit) |
| Layout presets | Saved layout templates (canvas size + guides + composition guide, up to 8) |
| Mobile hotbar slots | Configured tool shortcuts for the mobile hotbar |
| Custom shortcuts | Remapped tool keyboard shortcuts |
| Preferences | All settings from this Preferences dialog |
| Recent tools | Recently used tools list (up to 5) |
| Recent projects | Recently opened projects (up to 5) |
| Favorite blend modes | Starred blend modes (up to 10) |
Cloud-saved data (requires sign-in, stored in Supabase): project canvas state, project metadata, named snapshots (up to 20 per project), and session backup snapshots created automatically on project load.