Settings & Configuration

Learn how to customize InboxZebra for your workflow.

Opening Settings

Keyboard shortcut: Cmd+, (Command + Comma)
Or: Click “InboxZebra” menu → “Preferences”

Settings are organized into tabs:

  • Accounts
  • Categories
  • LLM (AI settings)
  • Data
  • Subscription

Accounts Tab

View Connected Accounts

See all your connected email accounts:

  • Email address
  • Provider (Office 365 or Gmail)
  • Display name
  • Connection status

Account Actions

Click an account to expand it and access:

  • Custom Instructions (Pro) - Account-specific context
  • Shared Mailbox Settings (Business) - For support@, sales@, etc.
  • Remove Account - Disconnect this account

Per-Account Custom Instructions (Pro)

Give InboxZebra context about each account:

Example for work:

Company: TechStartup (SaaS platform). Role: Founder/CEO.  
Key areas: fundraising, B2B partnerships, product development, hiring.
Clients: fintech and healthcare companies.

Why this helps:

  • AI understands your company/role and industry
  • Better categorization of domain-specific emails
  • Industry jargon recognized correctly
  • Distinguishes client emails from investor emails

Free tier: Cannot add custom instructions
Pro tier: Up to 500 characters per account

Categories Tab

Manage Your Categories

See all categories (default + custom):

  • Edit category descriptions
  • Change category colors
  • Delete custom categories
  • Add new categories

Category Limits

Free: 3 custom categories (+ 9 defaults = 12 total)
Pro: Unlimited custom categories

See: Categories Guide for details

LLM Tab (AI Settings)

Ollama Configuration

Ollama Model:

  • Choose which AI model to use
  • Default: qwen2.5:7b (recommended)
  • Options: phi3:mini (faster), mistral:7b, gemma2:9b

Ollama Base URL:

  • Usually: http://localhost:11434
  • Change if running Ollama on different port
  • Or use remote Ollama server (Business tier)

Test Connection:

  • Click “Check Ollama Status”
  • Verifies Ollama is running and accessible

Global Custom Rules (Pro)

Add general categorization rules that apply to all accounts:

Examples:

  • “Emails from Upwork or Fiverr should go to Freelance Platform”
  • “Emails mentioning ‘term sheet’ or ‘investment’ should go to Investor Relations”
  • “Stripe payment notifications go to Financial, not Notifications”
  • “Client emails with ‘proposal’ or ‘contract’ go to Client Projects”

How to add:

  1. Type rule in text field
  2. Click “Add”
  3. Rule applies to all future categorizations

Free tier: Cannot add global custom rules
Pro tier: Unlimited rules

Email Fetch Settings

Max Emails to Fetch:

  • Default: 500
  • Increase for large date ranges
  • Recommended for bulk processing: 2,000-10,000

Data Tab

Export Data

Save a backup of your settings:

  1. Click “Export Data”
  2. Choose save location
  3. Saves JSON file with:
    • Categories
    • Learning examples
    • Account metadata (no passwords)
    • Custom labels
    • Preferred senders

Does NOT include:

  • OAuth tokens (must re-authenticate)
  • Actual email content

Use for:

  • Backing up before major changes
  • Transferring settings to new Mac
  • Sharing category setup with team

Import Data

Restore from backup:

  1. Click “Import Data”
  2. Select JSON file
  3. Categories and settings restore
  4. Must reconnect accounts (OAuth)

Clear Data

Reset InboxZebra:

  • Clear processed email IDs
  • Clear email cache
  • Reset categories to defaults
  • Remove all accounts

Warning: This cannot be undone!

Subscription Tab

View Your Plan

See current subscription status:

  • Tier (Free, Pro, or Business)
  • Trial days remaining (if in trial)
  • Usage stats (Free tier)

Activate License

After purchasing:

  1. Enter license key from email
  2. Enter your email address
  3. Click “Activate License”
  4. Features unlock immediately

Manage License

Deactivate license:

  • Removes license from this device
  • Use on different Mac
  • Returns to Free tier

View usage:

  • See emails processed this month (Free tier)
  • Progress bar shows quota

See: Subscription Guide for details

Advanced Settings

Custom LLM Endpoints (Business)

Use your own AI:

  1. Set up Ollama on another server
  2. Or use OpenAI, Claude, or custom API
  3. Enter API endpoint URL
  4. Enter API key (if needed)
  5. Test connection

Why you’d want this:

  • Running InboxZebra on Mac with <8GB RAM
  • Want to use different AI model
  • Need faster processing (powerful server)
  • Company policy requires specific AI

Privacy Settings

InboxZebra is privacy-first by default:

What’s stored:

  • ✅ Categories, learning examples, settings (UserDefaults)
  • ✅ Email metadata and encrypted bodies (Core Data)
  • ✅ OAuth tokens (Keychain, encrypted)

What’s NOT stored:

  • ❌ Email content sent to cloud
  • ❌ AI processing done on external servers
  • ❌ Analytics or tracking data

All AI processing happens on your Mac!

Troubleshooting Settings

Settings Not Saving

Symptom: Changes don’t persist after restart

Solution:

  • Check you clicked “Save” (where applicable)
  • Restart InboxZebra
  • Check file permissions on UserDefaults

Ollama Not Responding

Check:

  1. Click “Check Ollama Status” in LLM tab
  2. If “Not responding”:
    • Open Terminal
    • Run: ollama serve
    • Or restart Ollama

Can’t Access Settings

If Settings won’t open:

  • Try keyboard shortcut: Cmd+,
  • Restart InboxZebra
  • Check logs for errors

For New Users

  • Model: qwen2.5:7b (best balance)
  • Max Emails: 500 (start small)
  • Categories: Use defaults first
  • Custom Rules: Start without, add as needed

For Power Users (Pro)

  • Model: qwen2.5:7b or gemma2:9b
  • Max Emails: 5,000-10,000
  • Custom Rules: 5-10 specific rules
  • Per-Account Instructions: Detailed context
  • Custom Labels: 10-20 for projects/clients

For Teams (Business)

  • Model: Custom LLM endpoint (company AI)
  • Shared Mailboxes: Multiple team inboxes
  • Global Rules: Company-wide categorization
  • Custom Analytics: Track team metrics

Resetting Settings

Soft Reset

In Settings → Data:

  • Clear processed IDs (forces re-categorization)
  • Clear email cache
  • Keeps categories and learning

Hard Reset

Complete reset:

defaults delete com.inboxzebra.app

Warning: Deletes everything, including categories, learning, and accounts!

Next Steps