Settings, General
Autosave, local API server, and update behavior.
The General tab of the Settings dialog covers app-wide behaviors that are not about how things look or where they live.
Open it from Edit → Settings or Ctrl+,.
Fields
Autosave
Toggle. When on, Beam Bench writes a backup copy of your project at a fixed interval so unsaved work can be recovered after a crash.
When enabled, a second field appears:
- Interval (seconds): number, 30–3600. How often the backup is written.
Default: on, interval 120 seconds.
When to change: lengthy edits to a complex project benefit from a shorter interval; lightweight projects can use a longer one to reduce disk writes.
Recovery happens via the Recovery dialog on next launch after a crash.
Local API
Toggle. When on, Beam Bench runs a local HTTP/WebSocket API server on a configurable port. This is what the CLI and external automation talk to.
When enabled, two extra fields appear:
- API Port: number, 1–65535. The TCP port the server listens on. Default: 5900.
- Allow network devices to connect: toggle. When off, the server only accepts connections from localhost (127.0.0.1). When on, it listens on all interfaces and accepts connections from other machines on your network.
Default: on, port 5900, Allow network devices to connect: on.
Security note: with Allow network devices to connect on (the default in the current build), the API is reachable by any device on the same network and is not authenticated. The API can move the machine and fire the laser. Turn this off to bind to localhost only, or turn Local API off entirely if you are not using automation. See the HTTP API page for the full security model.
See Using the HTTP API for what the API does.
Check for updates on startup
Toggle. When on, Beam Bench checks for a new version each time it launches. When an update is available, the app pushes an in-app notification ("Beam Bench <version> is available.") with a View action. Clicking View opens the Update dialog. The dialog does not auto-open.
Default: on.
When to change: turn off if you are on a metered connection or want to control update timing manually.
Where these settings live
Stored in the user's app preferences:
- macOS:
~/Library/Application Support/Beam Bench/ - Windows:
%AppData%\Beam Bench\ - Linux:
~/.config/Beam Bench/
All fields apply immediately on save.