Configure Tarmac Settings
Configure AWS SQS connection details, external payload rules, local data management, and Tarmac licensing.
Open Settings from the gear at the bottom of the left rail, or with ⌘/Ctrl + ,. Settings takes over the full window. The queue list and workspace are hidden while it's open, and everything (selected queue, filters, a running live tail) is exactly as you left it when you return with the rail's Queues icon or the Back to queues button. The rail's ? icon opens this documentation site. A section nav on the left jumps between License, Connection, Local data, External payloads, and the Danger zone, and the License item carries a live status dot.
Edits don't apply as you make them. A save bar appears at the bottom whenever you have unsaved changes, with the change count and Discard and Save settings actions.
Connection
A read-only view of the active connection. It shows the target (AWS or AWS-compatible), the credential method, and the resolved identity as account-name (account-id). Edit AWS connection reopens the credentials modal. Tarmac validates the new connection, releases messages held with the current identity, and then applies the new credentials. Saving resets the queue list, selection, and workspace state. See Connecting to AWS.
External payloads
These settings control how S3 payloads are detected and retrieved:
| Setting | Default | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Automatically retrieve S3 payloads | Off | When off, pointer detection stays local and Tarmac makes no S3 requests until you click Retrieve. |
| Auto-retrieve max size | 262,144 bytes (256 KiB) | Applies only when automatic retrieval is enabled. Maximum 10 MiB. |
| S3 bucket properties | None | Extra body field names that hold a bucket name. Built-ins (s3BucketName, s3Bucket, bucketName, bucket) always apply. |
| S3 key properties | None | Extra field names for the object key. Built-ins are s3Key, s3ObjectKey, objectKey, and key. |
| S3 full-path properties | None | Field names holding a complete s3://bucket/key or S3 URL. |
Custom property names are matched exactly, case-sensitively, and take precedence over the built-in conventions. Manual retrieval is capped at 10 MiB whatever the threshold says.
Opt in only when automatic retrieval is useful
Leave automatic retrieval off when you want every S3 request to be explicit. Enable it when you routinely inspect offloaded payloads, then tune the threshold to limit which objects Tarmac fetches automatically. Manual retrieval remains available either way.
Local data
Open logs folder opens Tarmac's log directory. Attach those files when you report an issue.
License
The License section shows your current access state, the app version, the recovery actions available to you, and a path to Pro.
Free
Every clean install starts in Free with no license request. Free needs no Tarmac account, email, payment method, or card, and it gets normal application and security updates. It includes queue discovery, fetch, queue details, payload retrieval, Live Tail, search, filters, and inspection. Local cleanup and configuration stay available too.
Free means you don't change the queue. It does not mean Tarmac makes no writes to AWS. Fetch and Live Tail call SQS ReceiveMessage, which hides a message for the visibility timeout you chose and increments its receive count. A large fetch can therefore contribute to the queue's redrive policy moving a message to a DLQ; Live Tail stops itself before it can. Deletes, sends, requeues, redrives, visibility changes, and staged-action creation or execution require Tarmac Pro. Those controls stay visible but disabled, with a Requires Tarmac Pro explanation.
Try Pro or enter a key
Choose Try Pro or enter a key to open the catalog:
| Plan | Annual price | Key and device allocation |
|---|---|---|
| Tarmac Pro (1 device) | $99 | One key for one active device |
| Tarmac Pro (2 devices) | $149 | One person's key for two active devices, not a Team plan |
| Tarmac Team | First nine seats $99 each, then $79 each | One distinct one-device key per claimed member |
Team pricing is graduated. The first nine seats stay $99 each, and only each seat after the ninth costs $79. Checkout is authoritative for quantity, tax, proration, and the annual total. Team owners and members use Manage license for invitations, claims, assignments, quantity, billing, keys, and devices. Tarmac has no Team account or member list.
Only checkout starts a Pro trial. Opening the app, browsing, or pasting a key does not.
Checkout confirms the exact terms
Payment method required. No charge today for an eligible 14-day trial. Then $99/year for one device, $149/year for two devices, or the Team annual total shown at checkout. The first nine Team seats are $99/year each and every additional seat is $79/year. Cancel before the date shown at checkout to avoid the first charge. Prior trial users may be charged today. Checkout shows the exact charge, tax, and date before you confirm.
After checkout, paste the key you receive. Tarmac asks for only the key, with no purchase email and no Team identity. An individual key and a claimed Team member key unlock the same Pro capabilities.
When the license service is unreachable
Pro keeps working for up to 7 days when Tarmac cannot reach the license service. A real denial, a confirmed deactivation, Forget locally, or the end of that 7-day window returns you to Free. Choose Retry validation to make Tarmac check again.
If a payment fails, the license service can keep Pro granted for up to 21 days. After that, Tarmac returns to Free on the next denial. The license service being unreachable is not the same as your subscription ending.
If macOS Keychain or Windows Credential Manager is unavailable, Tarmac stays Free until you restore it, and explains how.
Danger zone
Destructive actions live together at the bottom of the page, each behind a native confirmation dialog.
- Deactivate this device releases this device slot after the license service confirms it. If the service is unreachable, Tarmac tells you, and you can retry later or reconcile the device from Manage license.
- Forget locally is for recovery. It removes the local record after a strong warning, and it does not release the device slot. Reconcile or remove the device in the license portal first, or the slot stays occupied.
- Delete all local data wipes cached messages, search indexes, queue metadata, staged actions and their history, and saved preferences including the stored connection, then reloads the app. Your license and your policy acceptance survive. This is the start-fresh button, and it doubles as a data-hygiene control. If you've been inspecting queues with sensitive payloads on a shared machine, this removes every local copy.
Remember the scope of local operations. Clear Cache, Delete all local data, and unstaging actions never delete, send, or move anything in SQS. Tarmac has no queue-purge operation. Messages are deleted and sent only when you publish staged actions, and Queue Redrive starts or cancels an AWS message-move task directly.
Visibility is the one exception. Clearing a cache, deleting all local data, quitting, restarting after an update, changing credentials, and switching regions all release messages that Tarmac still holds invisible. Tarmac sets their visibility timeout to 0 before it leaves the current process or AWS identity. That undoes Tarmac's own receive, so it works on Free. Visibility changes you ask for stay Pro.
Tarmac asks for confirmation when leaving would keep messages invisible. The dialog shows staged actions, warns that publishing them needs a fresh fetch, and reports release progress.