Where Is the Rio Terminal Config File?
Where the Rio terminal reads config.toml and themes on macOS, Linux, and Windows, plus overrides.
Last updated
Rio reads one TOML file from a platform specific folder: ~/.config/rio/config.toml on macOS and Linux, %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\rio\config.toml on Windows. The $RIO_CONFIG_HOME variable relocates the whole root when set.
Two details stand out. Rio creates nothing for you, so the folder appears only after you make it. And edits apply live, which means a typo renders wrong immediately rather than on next launch. Keep a known good copy while experimenting. The man page mirrors these paths, so docs and terminal never disagree.
Where Rio stores this, by platform
~/.config/rio/config.toml
config.toml plus themes/ beside it. Unusually for macOS, Rio uses ~/.config instead of Application Support. The man page documents the same paths, so terminal and docs agree.
~/.config/rio/config.toml
Honors $XDG_CONFIG_HOME and $RIO_CONFIG_HOME, falling back to ~/.config/rio. Live reload watches the file, so saves apply instantly. A broken TOML falls back to defaults with a log note.
%USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\rio\config.toml
Same TOML syntax as Unix, so dotfiles share contents directly. Paste the path into Explorer. PowerShell users reference it as $env:USERPROFILE\AppData\Local\rio\config.toml in scripts.
Frequently asked questions
where is the rio config file
Create ~/.config/rio/config.toml on macOS and Linux (%USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\rio\config.toml on Windows). Rio never creates it for you, so a missing file just means defaults. Edits apply live without restarting the terminal.
where do rio themes go
In a themes/ folder beside config.toml (or wherever $RIO_CONFIG_HOME points). Reference the theme by name in the config. The live reload applies theme edits instantly, which makes tweaking colors pleasant.
can i move the rio config folder
Set RIO_CONFIG_HOME to the directory you want before launching. It replaces the ~/.config/rio root for configs and themes. Handy for testing a new setup without touching the working one.
Notice an outdated path? Let us know.