Comprehensive guide to Bridge settings

You may need to change Bridge settings to ensure everything is working correctly — or to adapt Bridge to better serve your specific needs. 

In this article, you will learn what settings can change and why.

General Settings

Automatic updates

Enables or disables the feature to automatically update Bridge to the latest version. We recommend keeping it enabled at all times, unless you need to stay on a specific version of the Bridge to ensure compatibility.

Open on startup

Toggles whether Bridge starts when your device boots up. If this option is disabled, you will need to launch Bridge manually before opening your email client.

Beta access

Beta versions are intended to help us test Bridge features and fixes before being released to the stable channel. This option allows you to opt into receiving beta updates that include newer versions of Bridge.

Advanced settings

Alternative routing

Alternative routing is an anti-censorship system that can help you access our website and servers if your government, ISP, or network administrator has blocked Proton services. This option allows you to enable this feature. 

Learn more about alternative routing

Dark and light mode

This option allows you to toggle between dark mode and light mode depending on your preference.

Show All Mail

The All Mail folder in Proton Mail shows all messages in your account. In some cases, you might want to disable this to have a better experience, and this option allows you to do that. Keep in mind that this hides the All Mail folder from the email client, but it will still be available in other apps.

For example, you might use this when using Outlook on Mac OS, as it recognizes the All Mail folder as Archive.

Collect usage diagnostics

To improve our services, we collect usage statistics, which are completely anonymized. If you don’t want to send us usage statistics, you can disable this option

Default ports

Bridge uses ports on your device to set up IMAP and SMTP servers. As these ports can also be used by other applications, this setting allows you to change the default  ports used. Learn more about how to resolve port errors

Connection mode

When connecting to your email client, the Bridge uses a secure connection.  This option allows you to change the protocol between STARTTLS and SSL.

Local cache

To ensure reliable and fast communication with your email client, Proton Mail Bridge stores your account messages in a local cache that is encrypted, and only readable to Bridge itself. This option allows you to move the cache to a different location.

Learn more about how Proton Bridge keeps your emails secure

Export TLS certificates

In some cases, you might need to manually trust the Bridge certificate which is used for the IMAP and SMTP server. This option allows you to export the TLS certificate and private key to a desired location.

Repair Bridge

The Repair feature is designed to help you resolve issues or potential conflicts with your email accounts by reloading all accounts, refreshing cached data, and downloading all emails.

When the Repair feature is activated, you may notice your emails temporarily disappear from your email client. This is expected, and all emails will be gradually reloaded.

Note: For logged-out accounts, the repair process will automatically start as soon as you log in, provided the Repair feature had previously been executed.

Reset Bridge

If you want to simply start from scratch, this easy option gives you the ability to remove all accounts and related data from the Bridge, effectively resetting it to default settings.