Where Does Spyder Store Settings?
Spyder keeps its config in a .spyder-py3 folder in your home directory. Paths for all three systems and how to reset safely.
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Spyder keeps everything in one versioned folder in your home directory. The main settings file is spyder.ini in the config subfolder, alongside transient state, history and project data.
Linux follows the XDG standard instead of the home dotfolder, which is the one real platform difference. Before any reset, copy the whole folder elsewhere. The reset command wipes preferences, shortcuts and highlighting schemes in one go.
Where Spyder stores this, by platform
%USERPROFILE%\.spyder-py3
Main config is config\spyder.ini inside. Run spyder --reset from the Anaconda prompt to restore defaults. Beta builds use a separate .spyder-py3-dev folder.
~/.spyder-py3
Same layout as Windows, reached in Finder with Go then Go to Folder since dotfolders stay hidden. Copy the folder before resetting if you care about custom shortcuts.
~/.config/spyder-py3
Follows XDG_CONFIG_HOME rather than the home dotfolder used on other systems. The config subfolder and spyder.ini inside work exactly the same.
Frequently asked questions
how do i reset Spyder settings to defaults?
Run spyder --reset from a terminal or the Anaconda prompt. It clears preferences, keyboard shortcuts and syntax schemes at once, so copy the .spyder-py3 folder somewhere safe first.
where does the Spyder beta store its config?
In a separate dev folder, .spyder-py3-dev on Windows and macOS or the matching XDG path on Linux. Stable and beta installs never share settings, which keeps experiments from wrecking your working setup.
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