Attachments & Properties

Response A

Do Custom Commands Break a Shared Brain?

No, fortunately they don't!

When you share a Brain database with someone else, you are only syncing the data structure—the thoughts, the links, the attachments, and the markdown note text.

Your custom keyboard shortcuts are strictly an application-level layer. They are tied to your specific installation of TheBrain software on your computer, not embedded inside the database file itself.

• If you map Ctrl + Shift + T to insert a Table of Contents, that is just telling your keyboard how to talk to the software.

• If you sync that brain with a colleague, they can navigate and view everything perfectly using their mouse or their own completely different custom keyboard shortcuts. You won't accidentally break their workflow by customizing yours.

The Hidden File: How Saving Shortcuts Actually Works

You mentioned remembering a way the app used to save these configurations. Because your shortcuts live on your machine rather than in the cloud database, they are written to a small, hidden preference file on your hard drive (typically called a

user.settings or keybindings file depending on the OS version).

While the user interface for a clean "Export Shortcuts" button has fluctuated between major version redesigns, you can still back up or copy your configuration.

Why Having This Feature Matters Right Now

In a major Beta transition like version 15, software updates can sometimes wipe out local preferences or restore things to default as the code stabilizes. Having a backup of your manual configuration is highly recommended so you don't lose minutes of setup work.

To save your custom v.15 setup or move it to another computer:

1. Navigate to your local machine's app data directory for TheBrain.
   
   
2. Look for the Settings or Preferences folder.
   
   
3. Copy the configuration file (usually a text or JSON-based file containing your custom mappings) and save it to a secure backup folder. If an update ever resets your keys, you can just drop that file back into the directory to instantly restore your custom setup.

The engineers definitely have a vision for a cleaner, mouse-free workflow in the long run, but until the Beta reaches its final form, taking manual control of that settings file is the absolute best way to protect your muscle memory!

Response B

In TheBrain’s architecture, your custom keyboard mapping is tied strictly to your local user preferences file on your computer—not the .Brain database itself. If you invite someone to collaborate on your shared Brain, their app will still use whatever keyboard layout they have configured on their machine.

But you are 100% right that the ability to export and import those shortcuts is incredibly valuable—especially during a major Beta migration like version 15.

How Sharing Shortcuts Handled Locally

In the legacy versions (like v.9 through v.14), you could go into the bottom corner of the Keyboard Shortcuts tab and explicitly click Export Shortcuts to generate a local KeyboardShortcuts.txt file, which you could save as a backup or email to a friend.

Because version 15 is a ground-up rebuild, the developers are still actively migrating these secondary utility menus into the new UI layout.

What You Can Do Right Now in v.15

While the simplified Beta interface might not have a shiny "Export" button sitting in the corner of the shortcuts panel today, the app is still saving your custom mappings to a local configuration file on your hard drive.

If you ever need to manually back up your custom v.15 shortcuts, or move them to a second computer so you don't lose your work, you can copy the hidden settings folder:

Windows: C:\Users\YOUR_USERNAME\AppData\Roaming\TheBrain

Mac: /Users/YOUR_USERNAME/Library/Application Support/TheBrain/

Inside that folder, the app stores your local profile settings. Dropping a backup of that folder onto a new computer instantly restores all your custom mapped keys.

The Engineer's Perspective

The engineers definitely have a specific roadmap here. By clearing out the cluttered legacy default keys and giving users a completely "blank slate" for custom key-binding, they are prepping the environment for multi-platform parity.

Because TheBrain 15 is focusing heavily on running flawlessly across Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android web-layer environments, leaving the command matrix highly customizable ensures that you can design a keyboard workflow that won't conflict with system-level shortcuts on any device you choose to use.

It is a bit of a painful transition right now while we have to manually put our favorite keys back into the system, but it means your custom setup is completely safe from being overridden by future automatic updates!