---
title: "Settings reference"
description: "All the Éclair settings explained: the 8 tabs of Settings, then My profile, Users, Security, Menus, Redirects and Categories, field by field."
url: "https://eclair.academy/en/docs/settings"
lang: "en"
author: "Thierry Gustin"
published: "2026-11-02"
updated: "2026-11-02"
---

# Settings reference

> **Key takeaways** — The Éclair settings live in Settings, in 8 tabs: General, Appearance, Shop, SEO, AI & GEO, AI assistant, Contact and Advanced. Everything else is set in My profile, Users, Security, Menus, Redirects and Categories. Each save clears the cache, so the public site is up to date straight away.

The Éclair settings come preset for a fast, search-friendly site: you only adjust what you need. This reference describes each field with its exact label and its effect on the site, tab by tab. Settings, Users and Security are reserved for administrators: an editor doesn't see them in the menu.

## How are the Éclair settings organized?

The **Settings** menu groups the Éclair settings into 8 tabs. Each tab is saved with the **Save** button at the bottom of the page; the site cache is then cleared and the message “Settings saved. The site is already up to date ⚡” confirms it.

| Tab | What it controls | Lesson |
| --- | --- | --- |
| General | Name, URL, language, time zone, home page, blog, search | [Essential settings](https://eclair.academy/en/paths/beginner/essential-settings) |
| Appearance | Art direction or theme, logo, icon, footer, CSS | [Themes and appearance](https://eclair.academy/en/paths/intermediate/themes-appearance) |
| Shop | Opening, currency, shipping, returns, required pages | [Shop](https://eclair.academy/en/paths/intermediate/shop) |
| SEO | Indexing, titles, identity, social profiles, Search Console, IndexNow | [SEO](https://eclair.academy/en/paths/intermediate/seo) |
| AI & GEO | AI bots, llms.txt, Markdown versions | [GEO](https://eclair.academy/en/paths/intermediate/geo-ai-search) |
| AI assistant | Provider, keys, images, editorial profile, budget, MCP | [AI assistant](https://eclair.academy/en/paths/ai-mcp/ai-assistant) |
| Contact | Receiving address, message storage, confirmation | [Contact form](https://eclair.academy/en/paths/beginner/contact-form) |
| Advanced | Admin URL, HTTPS, cache, proxy | [Maintenance](https://eclair.academy/en/paths/expert/advanced-security) |

## General tab

This is the first tab to check before launch: it holds the Éclair settings that affect the whole site, from its name to its official URL.

![Settings, General tab: name, tagline, official URL, language and home page](https://eclair.academy/media/2026/11/eclair-academy-settings-general-en.webp)

| Field | Effect |
| --- | --- |
| **Site name** | Shown in the header, used in SEO titles (`{site}`), emails and `llms.txt`. 100 characters at most. |
| **Tagline** | One sentence that says what you do; it appears in the home page title and, if there's no other text, in the footer. |
| **Homepage description (meta description)** | The text under the home page title in Google, also used at the top of `llms.txt` and the RSS feed. |
| **Official site URL** | The base for canonical URLs, the sitemap and shares. Choose the version with or without `www` once and for all. Any new URL is verified by the server before it's used for redirects. |
| **Site language** | The default language for content and for the words in URLs: `search`, `page`, `author`, `shop` in English (`recherche`, `page`, `auteur`, `boutique` in French). |
| **Time zone** | The site's time, used for scheduled posts. |
| **Homepage** | One of your pages, or **Latest blog posts**. |
| **Blog enabled** | Posts, categories, RSS feed and author pages. |
| **Blog URL** | `/blog` by default; if you change it, the old URLs are redirected. |
| **Posts per page** | From 1 to 48, 9 by default. |
| **Blog title**, **Blog description** | The header of the page that lists the posts. |
| **Site search** | Adds a magnifying glass to the menu and a results page. |

## Appearance tab

The first choice, **Site style**, shapes the whole tab: **Art direction** (a complete visual world: colors, heading font, layouts) or **Classic theme** (understated, system fonts, nothing to download). Switching from one to the other loses nothing: the other style's settings are kept.

![Settings, Appearance: the choice between art direction and classic theme, then the cards of the 12 directions](https://eclair.academy/media/2026/11/eclair-academy-directions-en-2.webp)

### With an art direction

| Field | Choices and effect |
| --- | --- |
| **Art direction** | 12 cards: Nocturne, Gallery, Clay, Botanical, Poster, Riviera, Chambers, Neon, Gentle, Worksite, Playtime, Press. |
| **Imagine my direction with AI** | Describe your business, then click **Suggest 3 directions** (≈ $0.03 with Claude Sonnet 5.5, taken from the assistant's budget). Visible when the AI assistant is turned on. |
| **Adjust the direction**: colors | **Background**, **Bands and cards**, **Text**, **Secondary text**, **Accent**. Contrast is corrected automatically: 7:1 for text, 4.5:1 for the rest. |
| **Heading font** | 18 typefaces, downloaded once by your server, or a system font. |
| **Body font** | 6 system fonts, nothing to download. |
| **Heading case** | **Normal** or **Capitals**. |
| **Heading size** | **Balanced**, **Subtle** or **Dramatic**. |
| **Corners** | **Softened**, **Square** or **Round**. |
| **Spacing** | **Normal**, **Compact** or **Airy**. |
| **Cards** | **Thin border**, **Flat color** or **Drop shadow**. |
| **Home banner** | **Text and image side by side**, **Poster: very large title**, **Full-bleed image**, **Editorial: portrait image** or **Centered**. |
| **“Features” block** | **Cards**, **Rows** or **Ruled columns**. |
| **Sections** | **Plain background** or **Color bands**. |
| **Feature icons** | **Line icons**, **No icon** or **Emoji**. |

### With the classic theme

| Field | Choices and effect |
| --- | --- |
| **Theme** | Éclair, Editorial, Atelier, Studio, Shop or Contrast. Choosing a theme applies its recommended color and fonts. |
| **Main color** | A color picker and 8 swatches; text contrast is adjusted automatically (WCAG standards). |
| **Heading font**, **Body font** | 8 system fonts: System (modern), Neo-grotesque, Humanist, Geometric, Rounded, Modern serif, Elegant serif, Typewriter. |
| **Dark mode** | **Automatic (based on the visitor’s device)** or **Always light**. |

### Settings shared by both styles

| Field | Effect |
| --- | --- |
| **Live preview** | Choose the page to display, then **Desktop** or **Mobile**. Nothing is published until you save. |
| **Header** | **Logo on the left, menu on the right** or **Centered: logo above the menu**. |
| **Post and product lists** | **Card grid** or **List: image on the left**. |
| **Logo** | PNG or WebP on a transparent background, about 400 px wide. |
| **Site icon (favicon)** | A square image of at least 512 px. Without an icon, a lightning bolt in your color is generated. |
| **Footer text** | Shown under the site name at the bottom of every page; if it's empty, the tagline is shown instead. |
| **Show “Powered by ⚡ Éclair”** | A footer credit that you can turn off. |
| **Custom CSS** | Added after the theme on every page and kept during updates (it's stored in `data/`). 64 KB at most; the `<` character and `@import` rules are removed. See [Custom CSS](https://eclair.academy/en/paths/intermediate/custom-css). |

## Shop tab

![Settings, Shop tab: opening, currency, shipping, returns and required pages](https://eclair.academy/media/2026/11/eclair-academy-settings-shop-en.webp)

| Field | Effect |
| --- | --- |
| **Shop open** | Puts the catalog, the product pages and the Google Shopping feed online. Until the legal notice and the terms of sale are published, the help text says “Publish these first: …”. |
| **Shop URL** | `/shop` on an English-language site (`/boutique` on a French one); if you change it, the old URLs are redirected. |
| **Products per page** | From 1 to 48, 12 by default. |
| **Shop title**, **Shop description** | The catalog header; the description also serves as its meta description. |
| **Currency** | EUR (€), USD ($), GBP (£), CHF or CAD (CA$). |
| **Buy button text** | “Buy now” by default on an English-language site. |
| **Shipping cost** | Empty: not shown. 0: free shipping. Ignored for digital products. |
| **Free shipping over** | An optional amount. |
| **Delivery time (days)** | Minimum and maximum, 2 to 5 days by default. |
| **Shipping countries** | Two-letter codes separated by commas (FR, BE, CH…). |
| **Return window (days)** | 14 by default. In the EU, distance selling requires a withdrawal period of at least 14 days, with some exceptions (digital content, personalized products…). |
| **Free returns** | Shows that returning an item costs the customer nothing. |
| **Legal notice**, **Terms of sale** | Required to open the shop. Have them reviewed: as the seller, you're legally responsible for them. |
| **Shipping and returns** | A link under the buy button, also used in the return policy sent to Google. |
| **Thank-you page** | The page Stripe can send customers back to after payment. The **Create the thank-you page** button prepares it. |
| **URL to paste into Stripe (“After the payment”)** | Shown once the thank-you page is chosen. |
| **Product feed (Google Merchant Center)** | The `/products.xml` URL to add in Merchant Center, shown when the shop is open. |

The tab also recaps the **Stripe in 4 steps** procedure and how to create a PayPal or Revolut Business link.

## SEO tab

![Settings, SEO tab: Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools verification](https://eclair.academy/media/2026/11/eclair-academy-settings-seo-en.webp)

| Field | Effect |
| --- | --- |
| **Visible to search engines** | Uncheck it while you build the site: everything switches to `noindex` and the sitemap no longer lists any page. |
| **Title format** | `{title} · {site}` by default; `{title}` is the content's title, `{site}` the site name. |
| **Default share image** | Used on social media when a piece of content has no image. |
| **Type** | **Business / organization**, **Person (freelancer, author)** or **Local business (physical address)**: the type of structured data that describes who is behind the site. |
| **Official name**, **Public email**, **Phone** | Used in the structured data; the public email also appears in `llms.txt`. |
| **Address and opening hours (local business)** | **Street**, **City**, **Postal code**, **Region**, **Country (code, e.g. FR)**, **Price range**, **Opening hours** (format `Mo-Fr 09:00-18:00`). |
| **Social profiles** | LinkedIn, X (Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, GitHub and **Other**: they connect your site to your online identity (`sameAs`). |
| **X account for share cards** | In the form `@youraccount`. |
| **Google Search Console**, **Bing Webmaster Tools** | Paste the code or the complete `<meta>` tag: Éclair extracts the code. |
| **IndexNow** | Notifies Bing, Yandex and compatible engines of every publication; the key in use is shown. |

## AI & GEO tab

![Settings, AI & GEO: choosing the policy for artificial intelligence bots](https://eclair.academy/media/2026/11/eclair-academy-geo-en-2.webp)

| Field | Effect |
| --- | --- |
| **AI bots** | **Open** (recommended), **Citations only** (answer engines cite you without training their models on your content) or **Closed**. Éclair writes the rules for 30 AI bots in `robots.txt`. |
| **Publish /llms.txt** | Your site map for AI, in the format proposed by llmstxt.org. |
| **Publish /llms-full.txt** | All your content in Markdown in a single file; also requires `/llms.txt`. |
| **Markdown version of every page** | Add `.md` to any URL to get clean text. |
| **Add the Content-Signal directive to robots.txt** | A Cloudflare proposal for stating your AI usage preferences. Non-standard: Lighthouse flags it as unknown. |
| **Your business intro for AI** | Inserted at the top of `llms.txt`: verifiable facts, figures, your strengths. |

## AI assistant tab

![Settings, AI assistant: provider, API key, model and budget](https://eclair.academy/media/2026/11/eclair-academy-settings-ai-en.webp)

### Artificial intelligence and images

| Field | Effect |
| --- | --- |
| **Provider** | **Off**, **Claude** (recommended) or **ChatGPT**. This is the default AI; with both keys saved, you choose for each conversation. |
| **Claude (Anthropic) API key**, **ChatGPT (OpenAI) API key** | Encrypted on your server and never shown in full; the **Delete the saved key** checkbox erases it. |
| **Model** | Claude Opus 5.5, Sonnet 5.5 or Haiku 5.5; GPT-6 Astra, GPT-6.1 Sol, GPT-6.1 Terra or GPT-6 Luna, with the estimated cost per post. |
| **Test the connection** | Checks the key without generating any text, so it costs nothing. |
| **Image generator** | **None**, **GPT Image 2.5**, **FLUX 3** or **Ideogram 3**, each with its own key; the indicative cost per image ($0.05 to $0.06) is shown under each choice. |

### Editorial profile, limits and privacy

| Field | Effect |
| --- | --- |
| **Draft my profile from my site** | The AI fills in the profile's six fields; you review and adjust them. |
| **Who you are and what you offer**, **Who you write for**, **Tone and style**, **Values**, **Rules to follow**, **Image style** | What the AI needs to know to write like you, 2,000 characters at most per field. |
| **Maximum monthly budget (dollars)** | 10 by default, 0 = no limit. The month's spending is shown below it. |
| **Requests per person per day** | 60 by default, 0 = no limit. |
| **Editors can use the assistant** | Checked by default; administrators always have access. Also applies to the MCP connector. |

### MCP connector

![Settings, AI assistant: the MCP connector section and the connected apps](https://eclair.academy/media/2026/11/eclair-academy-settings-mcp-en.webp)

| Field | Effect |
| --- | --- |
| **Allow MCP connections** | Off by default. As long as it's off, none of the connector's URLs respond. |
| **Connector URL** | `https://example.com/_eclair/mcp`, with a **Copy** button. |
| **Connected apps** | The app, the person and when it was last used; the **Revoke access** button cuts off an app. |

The full workings are explained in [Understanding the MCP connector](https://eclair.academy/en/paths/ai-mcp/understanding-mcp).

## Contact tab

![Settings, Contact tab: the address that receives messages and the confirmation message](https://eclair.academy/media/2026/11/eclair-academy-settings-contact-en.webp)

| Field | Effect |
| --- | --- |
| **Receive messages at** | Empty: the first administrator's email. |
| **Also keep messages in the admin** | Recommended: no message is lost, even if the email never arrives. The **Messages** inbox keeps 500 messages at most. |
| **Confirmation message** | The text shown to visitors after they send a message; by default, “Thank you! Your message has been sent.” |

## Advanced tab

The tab opens with a warning: “Technical settings: only change them if you know why.” It asks for your password if you logged in more than 15 minutes ago.

| Field | Effect |
| --- | --- |
| **Admin URL** | From 3 to 40 characters: lowercase letters, numbers and hyphens. A custom URL keeps bots away; make a careful note of it. |
| **Force HTTPS** | Redirects all `http://` visits to `https://`. Refused as long as you aren't logged in over `https://` yourself. |
| **Redirect to the official URL** | A single version of the site (with or without `www`, `http` or `https`). Active as soon as the address is verified on the Security page. |
| **HSTS** | Browsers never use `http://` for your site again, for one year. Turn it on once HTTPS works perfectly. |
| **Static page cache** | Pages served in a few milliseconds; the cache clears itself on every change. |
| **Log out after inactivity (minutes)** | From 15 to 1,440, 240 by default. |
| **Site behind a proxy / CDN** | **No (recommended)**, **Cloudflare**, **X-Forwarded-For** or **X-Real-IP**: tells Éclair how to find visitors' real IP address, which it needs to limit login attempts. |

Below the form, the **Maintenance** section offers **Clear cache** and a **Backup and security** link.

## My profile

**My profile** gathers the Éclair settings that belong to each person, administrator or editor: author identity, language, password and two-factor authentication. You open it by clicking your name at the bottom of the menu.

![My profile: turning on two-factor authentication with the QR code](https://eclair.academy/media/2026/11/eclair-academy-profile-2fa-en.webp)

| Field | Effect |
| --- | --- |
| **Display name**, **Login email** | Changing the email requires your password. |
| **Job title / expertise**, **Bio**, **Photo**, **Your online profiles (one link per line)** | Shown under your posts and on your author page: they strengthen your credibility (E-E-A-T). |
| **Admin language** | Français, English, Español, Deutsch, Italiano, Português or 简体中文, chosen by each person. |
| **Password** | **Current password**, then **New password**, 10 characters minimum. |
| **Two-factor authentication (2FA)** | **Enable two-factor authentication**, scan the QR code (or enter the key), then confirm with the 6-digit code; 8 backup codes are shown only once. After that: **New backup codes** or **Disable**. |
| **Log out my other devices** | Closes all your other sessions. |

## Users

![Users: the list of accounts with their role, two-factor authentication and last login](https://eclair.academy/media/2026/11/eclair-academy-users-en.webp)

- **Invite someone**: **Name**, **Email** and **Role** (**Editor** or **Administrator**), then **Create account**. A temporary password is generated: pass it on in person or through a secure channel. It must be replaced at first login.
- **Account page**: **Name**, **Email**, **Role**, then **Reset password**, **Disable 2FA** (lost phone) and **Delete account**; the account's content stays online.
- **Roles**: the administrator manages everything. The editor manages content, media, categories, menus, messages and redirects.

## Security

![Security page: protection level, file integrity and backup](https://eclair.academy/media/2026/11/eclair-academy-security-en.webp)

- **Protection level**: a percentage calculated from 7 points (HTTPS enforced, site address verified, two-factor authentication for every administrator, custom admin URL, supported PHP version, Argon2id passwords, HSTS). The **Verify the site address** button appears as long as the address isn't verified.
- **Folder protection test**: your browser tries to open internal files, which must stay inaccessible.
- **File integrity**: **Scan now** lists modified, missing, unknown and suspicious files.
- **Backup**: **Download a backup** creates a ZIP of `data/` and `media/`; your password is asked for again if you logged in more than 15 minutes ago.
- **Sessions and blocks**: **Unblock** a blocked address, **Log everyone out** except you.
- **Security log**: logins, failures, 2FA codes, changed settings, backups, accounts created or deleted.
- **Recent technical errors**: shown only after an error, with the **Rebuild the index and clear the cache** button.

## Menus

![Menus screen: the main menu and the footer menu, arranged with drag and drop](https://eclair.academy/media/2026/11/eclair-academy-menus-en.webp)

- Two menus: **Main menu (header)** and **Footer menu**.
- **+ Add a page, a post, a category…** suggests your pages, posts, products and categories, the blog and the shop; **Custom link** adds any URL you like.
- **Label (optional)** replaces the displayed title. Use **Move up**, **Move down**, **Remove** or drag and drop, then **Save menus**.

## Redirects

![Redirects: the add form and the list showing each redirect's type and number of hits](https://eclair.academy/media/2026/11/eclair-academy-redirects-en.webp)

- **Old URL**, **New URL** and **Type**: 301 (permanent, recommended) or 302 (temporary), then **Add**.
- For each redirect, the table shows **From**, **To**, the **Type** (with an **auto** badge for the ones Éclair created) and the **Hits**.
- Changing the URL of published content creates a 301 automatically. When you delete content, Éclair suggests a URL to redirect the old one to.

## Categories

- **It contains**: **Posts (blog)** or **Products (shop)**, a choice offered when you create the category while the shop is open.
- **Name**, **Slug (URL)** (automatic if empty), **Description** (2 to 4 sentences shown at the top of the category page) and **SEO title (optional)**.
- Each category is a pillar page, at `/blog/my-category` or `/shop/my-category`. Deleting a category leaves its posts published, without a category.
- The **Categories** menu entry only appears if the blog is turned on.

## Frequently asked questions about settings

### Can an editor change the Éclair settings?

No. Settings, Users and Security are reserved for administrators; an editor takes care of content and everything around it: media, categories, menus, messages and redirects.

### Why does Éclair ask for my password again?

For sensitive actions (Advanced tab, backup, account management, email change) when you logged in more than 15 minutes ago. If someone uses a session you left open, they can't go any further.

### Where do I change the admin language?

In **My profile** › **Admin language**: each person chooses their own from 7 languages. The public site's language is set in **Settings › General**, and the language of each piece of content in the editor ([multilingual site](https://eclair.academy/en/paths/intermediate/multilingual-site)).

To go further, the [official Éclair guide](https://github.com/Jacckisback/eclair-cms/blob/main/docs/GUIDE.en.md) describes these same Éclair settings throughout its sections, and the [files reference](https://eclair.academy/en/docs/files) shows where each one is stored.