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Asyar Docs

Host Settings

11. Host Settings Reference

Asyar provides several system-level settings to customize behavior and application discovery.

Asyar automatically indexes applications from standard OS locations. If you have applications in non-standard folders or standalone binaries you'd like to reach via global search, use Additional Scan Paths.

Default Scan Paths

Platform Locations
macOS /Applications, /System/Applications, ~/Applications
Windows Start Menu (C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs, ~\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs)
Linux /usr/share/applications, ~/.local/share/applications

Additional Scan Paths

You can add custom directories to the application scanner in Settings > Extensions > Applications -> Additional Scan Paths.

  • Recursive Search: Asyar will recursively scan these directories for executable bundles (like .app on macOS) or .desktop files (on Linux).
  • Standalone Binaries: On Windows, it will also index .exe files found in these paths.
  • Index Sync: Changes to these paths trigger an immediate background re-index of the application store.

[!TIP] Use this feature for dedicated development folders, toolchains, or portable apps stored on external drives.

Asyar indexes filenames across your home folder in the background (Settings > File Search). The index is a compact in-memory structure rebuilt on demand, backed by a snapshot on disk so restarts don't require a full rescan.

Default exclusions

Applied by both the initial scan and the live filesystem watcher (a single shared pattern list, so a file the scanner skips can never wake the watcher either):

node_modules, .git, .cache, Library (macOS app support/caches), .Trash, .cargo/registry, .rustup, AppData/Local, target, __pycache__, dist, build, .venv, .next, .terraform, vendor, bower_components, .gradle, Pods, DerivedData, coverage, .pytest_cache, Virtual Machines.localized, VirtualBox VMs.

App bundles (.app, .framework, .photoslibrary) and VM disk images (.pvm, .vmwarevm) are indexed as a single entry each — their contents are never scanned or watched individually.

[!TIP] A running VM writes to its virtual disk continuously. If a custom VM location isn't covered by the default exclusions above, add its parent folder under Exclude Patterns — otherwise the watcher reacts to every write the guest OS makes, for as long as the VM is running.

Size cap

The index stops growing at 1,000,000 files and shows a "cap reached" warning in Settings. If you hit it, narrow Search Roots or add more Exclude Patterns.

Custom roots and exclusions

  • Search Roots — empty means your whole home folder; add specific directories to narrow the scope instead.
  • Exclude Patterns — glob patterns layered on top of the built-in list above (never replacing it).

Changing either triggers a background rebuild — the app stays responsive while it runs, and the Settings status card shows progress.