Nib provides two layers for persisting data across app launches: the high-level Settings class with instant cache + async persistence, and the low-level UserDefaults class for direct key-value access.

Settings Class¶

Settings is the recommended way to manage application preferences. It provides instant reads from an in-memory cache and automatic background writes to macOS UserDefaults.

Defining settings¶

Create a Settings object with a dictionary of defaults, then register it with the app:

import nib

def main(app: nib.App):
    settings = nib.Settings({
        "dark_mode": False,
        "font_size": 14,
        "username": "",
        "volume": 50,
    })

    app.register_settings(settings)

    # Read immediately -- returns cached value
    print(f"Dark mode: {settings.dark_mode}")
    print(f"Font size: {settings.font_size}")

    # Write -- updates cache instantly, persists in background
    settings.dark_mode = True
    settings.volume = 75

    app.build(nib.Text("Settings loaded", padding=24))

nib.run(main)

How it works¶

1. On register_settings(), Nib loads any previously saved values from UserDefaults into the cache.
2. Reading a setting (e.g., settings.dark_mode) returns the cached value instantly -- no blocking I/O.
3. Writing a setting (e.g., settings.dark_mode = True) updates the cache and sends a fire-and-forget write to UserDefaults.

on_load callback¶

If you need to run code after settings have loaded from UserDefaults, use the on_load callback:

def on_settings_loaded():
    print("Settings loaded from disk")
    theme_label.content = settings.theme

settings = nib.Settings(
    {"theme": "light", "auto_save": True},
    on_load=on_settings_loaded,
)
app.register_settings(settings)

Reset to defaults¶

# Reset a single setting
settings.reset("font_size")

# Reset all settings
settings.reset()

Get all settings as a dict¶

all_settings = settings.to_dict()
# {"dark_mode": True, "font_size": 14, "username": "", "volume": 75}

Settings-Driven UI¶

Use settings to drive your UI. When a control changes, update the setting. When the app loads, read the setting to set the initial state.

import nib

def main(app: nib.App):
    settings = nib.Settings({
        "dark_mode": False,
        "font_size": 14,
        "notifications": True,
    })
    app.register_settings(settings)

    # Build UI driven by settings
    dark_toggle = nib.Toggle(
        "Dark Mode",
        is_on=settings.dark_mode,
        on_change=lambda is_on: setattr(settings, "dark_mode", is_on),
    )

    font_slider = nib.Slider(
        "Font Size",
        value=settings.font_size,
        min_value=10,
        max_value=24,
        on_change=lambda val: setattr(settings, "font_size", int(val)),
    )

    notify_toggle = nib.Toggle(
        "Notifications",
        is_on=settings.notifications,
        on_change=lambda is_on: setattr(settings, "notifications", is_on),
    )

    app.build(
        nib.Form(
            controls=[
                nib.Section(
                    controls=[dark_toggle, font_slider],
                    header="Appearance",
                ),
                nib.Section(
                    controls=[notify_toggle],
                    header="Alerts",
                ),
            ],
            style=nib.FormStyle.GROUPED,
            padding=16,
        )
    )

nib.run(main)

Settings Page with Tabs¶

For a native macOS preferences window, create a SettingsPage with one or more SettingsTab items and assign it to app.settings.

import nib

def main(app: nib.App):
    app.title = "Preferences App"
    app.icon = nib.SFSymbol("gear")
    app.width = 300
    app.height = 200

    settings = nib.Settings({
        "dark_mode": False,
        "font_size": 14,
        "auto_update": True,
    })
    app.register_settings(settings)

    app.settings = nib.SettingsPage(
        width=500,
        height=400,
        title="Preferences",
        tabs=[
            nib.SettingsTab(
                "General",
                icon="gear",
                content=nib.Form(
                    controls=[
                        nib.Toggle("Dark Mode", is_on=settings.dark_mode,
                                   on_change=lambda v: setattr(settings, "dark_mode", v)),
                        nib.Slider("Font Size", value=settings.font_size,
                                   min_value=10, max_value=24,
                                   on_change=lambda v: setattr(settings, "font_size", int(v))),
                    ],
                    style=nib.FormStyle.GROUPED,
                ),
            ),
            nib.SettingsTab(
                "Updates",
                icon="arrow.triangle.2.circlepath",
                content=nib.Form(
                    controls=[
                        nib.Toggle("Auto-Update", is_on=settings.auto_update,
                                   on_change=lambda v: setattr(settings, "auto_update", v)),
                    ],
                    style=nib.FormStyle.GROUPED,
                ),
            ),
        ],
    )

    # Open settings from a button
    app.build(
        nib.VStack(
            controls=[
                nib.Text("Preferences App", font=nib.Font.HEADLINE),
                nib.Button("Open Settings", action=app.settings.open),
            ],
            spacing=12,
            padding=24,
        )
    )

nib.run(main)

Opening the settings window¶

• Programmatically: call app.settings.open()
• Keyboard shortcut: Cmd+, (automatically wired when app.settings is set)
• From a menu item: nib.MenuItem("Settings", action=app.settings.open, icon="gear", shortcut="cmd,,")

SettingsTab parameters¶

SettingsPage parameters¶

UserDefaults -- Low-Level Access¶

For direct key-value persistence without the Settings wrapper, use UserDefaults. All reads are blocking with a configurable timeout.

import nib

def main(app: nib.App):
    app.title = "UserDefaults Demo"
    app.icon = nib.SFSymbol("cylinder.split.1x2")
    app.width = 300
    app.height = 200

    defaults = nib.UserDefaults()

    # Write values (fire-and-forget)
    defaults.set("username", "john_doe")
    defaults.set("login_count", 42)
    defaults.set("dark_mode", True)
    defaults.set("tags", ["python", "swift"])

    # Read values (blocking, up to 5s timeout)
    username = defaults.get("username", default="guest")
    count = defaults.get("login_count", default=0)

    # Check existence
    if defaults.contains_key("api_token"):
        token = defaults.get("api_token")

    # Get all keys with a prefix
    settings_keys = defaults.get_keys("settings.")

    # Remove a key
    defaults.remove("old_key")

    # Clear all keys
    # defaults.clear()

    app.build(
        nib.VStack(
            controls=[
                nib.Text(f"User: {username}", font=nib.Font.HEADLINE),
                nib.Text(f"Logins: {count}"),
            ],
            spacing=8,
            padding=24,
        )
    )

nib.run(main)

Supported value types¶