DataMind Oda keeps one settings file for each of its profiles on this computer, applied on top of the built-in defaults. This page is the reference for how Oda applies that file, how it normalises it, and when an edit takes effect. The file as you meet it in the app is on The profile settings file.
It carries only what is different. Everything else comes from Oda's built-in setup; the file adds to it. You rarely need to open it: edit it only when DataMind support asks you to.
Its body is a list of changes. A current file starts with two header lines and an empty list:
yaml
# DataMind Oda settings for this computer, applied on top of the built-in defaults.
# DataMind Oda keeps this file up to date; edit it only when DataMind support asks you to.
[]
Oda writes its own names. Oda's plugins appear in the file as @datamind/<name>. Leave that spelling as it is.
How Oda applies the file
It is applied over the shipped setup. Where the file and the built-in setup both set the same value, the file's value wins.
A row replaces the whole setting it targets. A row that targets an entry replaces that entry's whole setting, not only the values the row names.
Changes saved in the app land here. A plugin switched on the Plugins page, or a value saved in a settings form, is written into this file. Live plugin settings covers those forms.
Oda checks the whole result before it writes. A change saved from the app is validated in full first, so the file never ends up in a state Oda cannot apply. Oda adds a row, changes one or removes one, and never adds a second row with a name the file already uses.
A refused change writes nothing. If the change cannot be applied, or a higher-priority setting already owns the value, the file keeps its previous content and the settings already in effect stay.
Edit the file when support asks
Open the file DataMind support points you to. Keep the two header lines and keep the body a list of changes.
Make exactly the change support describes, with the names they give you.
Save. Oda watches the file by its exact path and applies a valid change while it runs; a change saved while Oda is still starting waits until it is ready.
If a change cannot be applied, Oda reports the problem, and the settings already in effect stay until you correct the file. Fix the file and save again.
How Oda normalises the file
Oda normalises the file when it updates it:
The header is refreshed. A file written by an older version of Oda gets the current header, the one shown above.
Names are rewritten. Oda's own plugin names are brought to the @datamind/<name> form; leave that spelling as it is.
Preset rows become additive. A row that carries instructions for one of your presets is adjusted so what it says adds to Oda's base behaviour instead of replacing it.
Your text is kept. Comments and expressions outside the values Oda replaces stay as they are, and the file's line endings are kept.
One copy is kept. The first rewrite leaves the file's earlier content beside it, with .before-update.bak added to its name; later rewrites never overwrite that copy.
All or nothing. Oda replaces the file in one step. If it cannot do it safely, the file is left as it is, and Oda reports Profile settings file <path> was left unchanged: <error>.
Turning the file's changes off
Keep the header lines and replace the list below them with an empty one: []. The file stays valid and Oda starts normally, with nothing added on top of the built-in setup.
Warning
Never empty the file or leave only comments in it: a file with no list fails the next start. To turn off what the file adds, keep the header lines and write [].
When a change takes effect
While Oda runs. With hot reload on, a valid edit is applied without a restart, once Oda is ready and the file has stopped changing, so a save that is still in progress is never read half-finished. Hot reload: what changes live covers the rules.
At the next start. With hot reload off, a change is applied the next time Oda starts. The desktop app runs with hot reload on; the automation, SDK and headless runs start with it off, and a profile can switch it back on in this file.
A recorded replay takes a snapshot. A recorded diagnostics replay reads a saved snapshot of the configuration rather than the current one.
Questions, answered
Is there one settings file or several?
One per profile. Each profile keeps its own file in its folder under the Oda home folder, and the ways Oda runs use their own profiles; Oda profiles and launchers covers them.
Does the file replace Oda's built-in setup?
No. It carries only what is different on this computer and is applied on top of the built-in defaults; where it sets a value, its value wins over the default.
Which parts of the file does Oda rewrite by itself?
An older header is replaced with the current one, Oda's own plugin names are brought to the @datamind/<name> form, and a row for one of your presets is adjusted so its instructions add to Oda's base behaviour. Comments and expressions outside those values stay as they are.
Will Oda keep the comments I add to the file?
Yes, for comments and expressions outside the values Oda replaces: they stay as they are when Oda updates the file, and when a change is saved from the app. Keep edits to what support describes.
What does Oda check before it saves a change into the file?
The whole result. Oda validates the complete change before anything is written, so the file never ends up in a state Oda cannot apply; a change it cannot apply, or one a higher-priority setting already owns, writes nothing.
Is the copy beside the file kept up to date?
No. The first rewrite leaves a copy of the file's earlier content beside it, with .before-update.bak added to its name, and later rewrites never overwrite that copy. Leave it in place.
Does editing the file need a restart?
Not while Oda runs with hot reload on: a valid edit is applied without a restart, once Oda is ready. With hot reload off, it is applied at the next start; nothing else about the file needs a restart.
What does it mean when Oda reports the file was left unchanged?
A rewrite could not be done safely, so the file was not touched and the settings already in effect stay. The report names the file and the reason: Profile settings file <path> was left unchanged: <error>. Correct the file and save again, or ask DataMind support.