macOS

Where Does Kaleidoscope Store Settings?

Kaleidoscope keeps preferences in versioned plist files in ~/Library/Preferences, plus its ksdiff helper for integrations.

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Kaleidoscope stores its settings the standard Mac way, in plist files under ~/Library/Preferences. The exact filename carries the major version, so Kaleidoscope 6 and 7 keep separate files and your settings survive side by side installs.

The companion command line tool ksdiff is what connects Kaleidoscope to git and other version control clients. Install it from inside the app under the Integration menu. Without it, difftool and mergetool configs point at nothing.

Where Kaleidoscope stores this, by platform

macOS
~/Library/Preferences/app.kaleidoscope.v<major>.plist

Versioned preferences, for example app.kaleidoscope.v6.plist. Older installs used com.blackpixel.kaleidoscope.plist. Quit Kaleidoscope before copying or deleting. Use Go > Go to Folder in Finder since Library is hidden.

Frequently asked questions

How do I reset Kaleidoscope settings?

Quit Kaleidoscope, move its plist out of ~/Library/Preferences, and relaunch. Defaults return. Your saved integrations may need reinstalling through the Integration window, since ksdiff registration is separate from preferences.

How do I move Kaleidoscope settings to a new Mac?

Copy the versioned plist to the same folder on the new machine with Kaleidoscope closed. Then open the Integration window and reinstall ksdiff so git and other clients find the helper at its expected path.

Notice an outdated path? Let us know.