Settings

The Settings section controls everything about your device and the desktop application itself — PIN, passphrase, label, signing policies, firmware updates, and the local REST API.

Application settings

Application settings control the desktop application itself:

Theme — light or dark mode
Currency — display fiat value in USD, EUR, or others
Language — interface language
Auto-update — whether the app checks for new releases on startup

Device overview

The device overview page shows:

Model — your KeepKey model
Firmware version — current firmware, with a button to update if a newer version is available
Label — a name you can give your device (useful if you have more than one)
Features enabled — which security features are on

Security

You can change the PIN here. The scrambled-grid entry still applies — see PIN for how it works.

Passphrase

You can enable or disable passphrase protection. Passphrases create separate hidden wallets. Do not enable this unless you understand the risks — a forgotten or mistyped passphrase permanently loses access to the hidden wallet.

Auto-lock delay

How long the device waits (with no activity) before requiring the PIN again. Shorter is more secure, longer is more convenient.

Signing policy

Signing policies let you require extra confirmation for certain operations:

High-value confirmations — require a longer button press for large transactions
Unknown contract warnings — show extra warnings when signing with dapps that haven’t been verified
Experimental chains — gate access to chains that are still in beta

Most users should leave the default policies on.

API servers

The API bridge is the local REST API (on http://localhost:1646) that lets external apps connect to your device. When you enable it, external apps running on the same machine can pair with the desktop application and request addresses, balances, and signatures from your KeepKey.

This is how the browser extension, the mobile app (over QR-code pairing), and any custom app built with the SDK communicate with your device.

Why it’s off by default

Because every app that pairs gets the ability to request signatures from your device. The signature request still has to be approved on the device itself — an external app cannot silently move funds — but leaving the API permanently enabled means:

Any malicious app running on your computer could pair and flood you with signing prompts.
Any process that tricks you into clicking “approve” can steal funds.
The attack surface of your wallet goes from “just the desktop app” to “anything on your computer that can talk to localhost:1646”.

By keeping the API off by default, the desktop application has a single narrow interface: the one you’re looking at. No other process on your computer can reach the device.

When to turn it on

Turn the API on when you want to:

Use the browser extension to connect your KeepKey to dapps like Uniswap or OpenSea.
Pair the mobile app so you can view your portfolio on the go.
Run a custom script or trading bot built with keepkey-vault-sdk.
Test an integration you’re developing against the REST API.

Turn it off when you’re done.

Pairing and bearer tokens

When an app pairs with the API, you approve the pairing in the desktop application (showing you the app name and icon), and the app receives a bearer token. It uses that token on every subsequent request.

You can view, revoke, or re-pair individual apps here. Revoking a token takes effect immediately — the next request from that app will fail.

Danger zone

The danger zone contains irreversible operations:

Wipe device — erases all secrets from the KeepKey. After this, your only way back is the recovery phrase. Do not wipe the device unless you have the phrase written down and verified.
Reset to factory — wipes the device and resets all settings to defaults.

Both of these require physical confirmation on the device. You cannot wipe remotely.

Firmware Updates — update device firmware
BIP85 — derive child seeds
PIN — how scrambled PIN entry works
Passphrase — hidden wallets via passphrase