Session Settings

Session Settings control how the Sessions of a Space look and behave – for example, whether the Session UI shows, whether Participants can open new Tabs, or which Start Page a Session opens. Each Space stores its own Session Settings. You can change them in the Session Editor, or through the REST API by their API key (e.g., hide_session_ui).

This page lists every Session Setting with its API key, the label shown in the Session Editor, its group, its default value, and the settings it depends on or affects.

Change Session Settings

Session Editor

Start a Session of the Space and navigate to Session Editor -> Space Settings. The settings are grouped into the tabs Interface, Permissions, Virtual Session, and Start Page. You find Admission required under Session Editor -> Access Settings instead. Change a setting and click Save Changes.

Only the Host of a Session can save Session Settings, and only if they are also a Space Admin. Saving applies the change to the running Session and stores it in the Space for future Sessions.

REST API

You can read and update the Session Settings of a Space with the Space Settings endpoints of the REST API. Authenticate with a Space Key or Company Key.

• GET /api/spaces/{space_id}/settings/ – Returns all Session Settings of the Space, with defaults filled in for settings that were never set.
• PATCH /api/spaces/{space_id}/settings/ – Updates the settings in the request body and leaves all others unchanged.
• GET /api/spaces/space-settings/ – Lists every available setting with its label, description, type, and group.

curl -X PATCH "https://webfuse.com/api/spaces/<SPACE_ID>/settings/" \
    -H "Authorization: Token rk_your_space_key" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    -d '{"hide_session_ui": true, "keep_tabs_hidden": true}'

The response contains the settings stored on the Space. Compare it with your request to make sure every key was applied.

Caution

The REST API ignores keys it does not know instead of rejecting them. A misspelled key (e.g., hide_ui) returns 200 OK and changes nothing. Check the response, or the list returned by GET /api/spaces/space-settings/, for the exact key names.

Settings Apply to New Sessions

Webfuse copies the Session Settings into a Session when the Session starts. If you change a setting through the REST API, Sessions that are already running keep their previous settings.

Caution

Restart any Sessions that were running before the change to apply it. In a Meeting Space without parallel Sessions, opening the Space URL joins the Session that is already running, so the change seems to have no effect until that Session ends.

The Session Editor is the exception: when the Host saves a setting there, the running Session updates for all Participants immediately.

Session Settings are configured per Space. The options object of the Widget API space.session() method and the IntegrationSettings control how the widget starts a Session – they do not override Session Settings. To run Sessions with different Session Settings, use a separate Space for each configuration.

Interface

Settings in the Interface tab of the Session Editor.

API key	UI label	Default	Behavior
invitations_allowed	Allow invitations	true	Lets Participants invite others to an ongoing Session.
start_with_chat_open	Start with open sidebar	false	Starts Sessions with the right sidebar open. The right sidebar contains the text chat.
hide_session_ui	Hide Session UI	false	Hides the Session UI – top bar, side bar, and notifications. See Hide Session UI.
keep_tabs_hidden	Keep tabs hidden	false	Keeps the Tab bar hidden even when several Tabs are open. Has no effect unless hide_session_ui is true. See Keep Tabs Hidden.
pause_enabled	Enable pause	false	Lets Participants pause their Tabs from synchronization. Others see the paused page grayed out.
sounds_enabled	Enable sounds	true	Plays sounds for in-Session notifications. Solo Spaces are created with false.
notifications_enabled	Enable notifications	true	Shows in-Session notifications. Errors and notifications that ask for an answer show regardless.
hide_cursors	Hide cursor	false	Hides cursors and disables drawing for everyone but the Participant in control.
start_with_invite_modal	Start with invite modal	false	Shows a dialog to invite Participants when a Session starts. Never shows if the IntegrationSettings property block_until_agent_joins is true.
end_of_session_popup_url	End of session modal	""	Opens this URL in a popup window after the Session ends. Only works for Sessions started with the Widget API.
start_with_loading_screen	Start with loading screen	true	Shows a loading screen after a Session starts. Setting it to false requires a plan with a customizable loading page – otherwise, the REST API rejects the change.
automation_feedback_mode	Automation feedback mode	"subtle"	Shows visual feedback while a Session is automated – "none", "subtle" (frame around the automated Tab), or "agentic" (frame and an “agent in control” badge). See Automation.

Permissions

Settings in the Permissions tab of the Session Editor.

API key	UI label	Default	Behavior
new_urls_allowed	Allow new tabs	true	Lets Participants open new Tabs and navigate to new URLs. If false, nobody can open Tabs or change the URL, including the Host.
non_hosts_can_open_tabs	Allow non-hosts to open tabs	true	Lets Participants other than the Host open new Tabs and navigate to new URLs. Has no effect if new_urls_allowed is false.
host_switching_allowed	Host switching	true	Lets any Participant ask for Host rights. The owner of the Space can take Host rights at any time.
participants_can_request_to_interact	Participants interaction request	true	Lets Participants ask for permission to interact with Tabs of other Participants.
anyone_can_deactivate_space	Deactivate space	false	Lets any Participant deactivate the Space.
allow_opening_urls_from_query_parameter	Allow to open URL from query parameter	false	Opens a Tab with the URL given in the url query parameter of the Session link. Solo Spaces are created with true.

Virtual Session

Settings in the Virtual Session tab of the Session Editor.

API key	UI label	Default	Behavior
download_trigger_enabled	Enable download trigger	true	Offers a file that one Participant downloads to the other Participants. If false, downloads stay with the Participant who started them.
follower_drawing_selector	Follower drawing selector	""	Lets Participants draw on the canvas element matching this CSS selector, e.g., for electronic signatures. The Participant needs control of the Tab.
url_mangling	URL mangling	false	Obfuscates in-Session URLs so proxy servers and routers cannot track them. See Space Domain.
verbose_console	Verbose console	false	Logs more messages to the browser console.
native_selects	Native selects	true	Uses the browser’s own <select> elements. If false, Webfuse renders its own implementation.
native_dialogs_enabled	Enable native dialogs	false	Allows native dialogs such as alert(), confirm(), and prompt().
csp_report_uri	CSP report URI	""	Sends Content Security Policy reports to this URI. If empty, Webfuse sends no reports.
max_session_length	Max session duration	7200	Ends Sessions after this many seconds. Accepts 60 to 43200. Trial plans cap the duration further.

Start Page

Settings in the Start Page tab of the Session Editor. See Start Page.

API key	UI label	Default	Behavior
startup_page_action	Startup page	"new_tab_page"	Defines what a Session opens on start – "new_tab_page", "custom_pages" (the URLs in startup_page_list), or "do_nothing".
startup_page_list	Startup page list	[]	Opens these URLs when a Session starts. Only used if startup_page_action is "custom_pages".

Access

Settings under Access Settings in the Session Editor.

API key	UI label	Default	Behavior
admission_enabled	Admission required	false	Keeps users out of a Session until the Host admits them. See Session Access.

Dependencies and Side Effects

Some settings only take effect together with others, or change more than their label suggests.

When you set	Also happens
keep_tabs_hidden: true	No effect unless hide_session_ui is also true.
hide_session_ui: true	Hides the top bar, the side bar (including text chat and video chat), and notifications. The Tab bar still shows once a Session has two or more Tabs, unless keep_tabs_hidden is true.
hide_session_ui: true	Hides join and leave notifications and their sounds, regardless of sounds_enabled. Requests that need an answer, such as admission or control requests, still show.
non_hosts_can_open_tabs	No effect if new_urls_allowed is false.
startup_page_list	Only used if startup_page_action is "custom_pages".
start_with_invite_modal: true	Never shows if the widget starts the Session with block_until_agent_joins: true.
start_with_loading_screen: false	Requires a plan with a customizable loading page.

Hide Session UI

hide_session_ui hides the top bar, the side bar, and notifications, so the Session looks like the website itself. Use it together with Extensions or the Session API to build your own interface.

To bring back the Session UI while in a Session, press Ctrl+Shift+Alt+U. The shortcut works anywhere in the Session, including inside the website.

Caution

When the Host presses Ctrl+Shift+Alt+U, Webfuse turns hide_session_ui off for all Participants and, if the Host is a Space Admin, saves it to the Space. Turn Hide Session UI back on afterwards if new Sessions should start with the Session UI hidden.

Keep Tabs Hidden

With hide_session_ui enabled, Webfuse still shows the Tab bar as soon as a Session has two or more Tabs. Otherwise, a link that opens a new Tab would leave the user without a way back to the previous Tab, and background Tabs would keep running unseen.

Enable keep_tabs_hidden to keep the Tab bar hidden in that case as well. Links that open in a new Tab still open and switch to that Tab. Switch Tabs through an Extension or the Session API instead, e.g., with activateTab().

{
    "hide_session_ui": true,
    "keep_tabs_hidden": true
}