# Resetting Audacity

## Resetting from within Audacity

You can reset Audacity by going to the following menus:&#x20;

* To reset the toolbars only: **View -> Toolbars -> Reset Toolbars**
* To reset everything: **Tools -> Reset Configuration**

## Purging the settings folder

If you cannot open Audacity or want a more thorough cleanup, you can also delete the configuration files manually. They can be found in the following locations:

* Windows: `C:\Users\<yourname>\AppData\Roaming\audacity\`
* macOS: `~/Library/Application Support/audacity/`
* Linux: `~/.config/audacity/`\
  Additionally, the XDG folders `~/.cache/audacity`, `~/.local/share/audacity` and `~/.local/state/audacity` are used on Linux.

{% hint style="info" %}
**Hint:** These folders usually are hidden by default. You may need to show hidden files, or access their path directly, to access them.
{% endhint %}

You can delete all contents of the folder to get Audacity back to "factory settings". Alternatively, you can also only delete certain elements of it:&#x20;

* **audacity.cfg** is responsible for all preferences
* **pluginregistry.cfg** contains a registry of all plugins and whether they can be used.&#x20;
* **pluginsettings.cfg** contains last used settings of effects as well as user presets.

Additionally, you may find some other files and folders there, eg. for macros, custom themes or plugins. These can also be deleted though, typically deleting the audacity.cfg and pluginregistry.cfg is enough in most troubleshooting scenarios.


---

# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://support.audacityteam.org/troubleshooting/resetting-audacity.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.
