Managed settings reference

This page lists the exact names and locations the Dew desktop app reads, for writing scripts or configuring a tool the guides don’t cover. For step-by-step setup, start at the overview.

Settings

The setting names are the same on every platform.

Setting	Name	Type	Values
Server address	`ServerURL`	Text	An `https://` address, for example `https://files.example.com`
Verify server certificates	`VerifySSL`	On/off	On connects only to servers whose certificate the computer trusts, and people can’t trust an unrecognized certificate. Off turns checks off.
Start Dew at sign-in	`AutoStartOnBoot`	On/off	On opens Dew at sign-in. Off stops it opening then.

Where Dew reads them

Platform	Location	Text setting	On/off setting
macOS	Managed preferences for `dk.trinode.dew`, from an MDM profile	`string`	`<true/>` / `<false/>`
Windows	`HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Trinode\Dew`	`REG_SZ`	`REG_DWORD` `1` / `0`
Linux	`/etc/dew/policy.json`, readable by everyone (mode `644`)	JSON string	JSON `true` / `false`, not in quotes

Only administrators can write to these locations. On macOS, values set with defaults write aren’t managed and Dew ignores them.

Rules

Dew reads managed settings when it starts. Until someone signs in, it also reads them again each time its window opens, so settings that arrive after Dew is installed still fill in the sign-in screen.
Once someone is signed in, changes apply the next time Dew starts.
A setting with the wrong type is ignored, and people keep control of it.
On Linux, if the file isn’t valid JSON, Dew ignores the whole file.
Removing a setting gives control back to people the next time Dew starts.

Install and set up with a script

Windows. Run in an elevated Command Prompt, in the folder with the .msi. Use the name of the file you downloaded: Dew_<version>_x64_en-US.msi, or Dew_<version>_arm64_en-US.msi for computers with Arm processors. The .msi installs without any prompts with /qn:

msiexec /i Dew_1.4.295_x64_en-US.msi /qn
reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Trinode\Dew" /v ServerURL /t REG_SZ /d "https://files.example.com" /f
reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Trinode\Dew" /v VerifySSL /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f
reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Trinode\Dew" /v AutoStartOnBoot /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f

Linux. Run in the folder with the package. On Fedora and RHEL, use sudo dnf install ./Dew-*.x86_64.rpm instead of the first line. On Arm computers, the files end in _arm64.deb and .aarch64.rpm:

sudo apt install ./Dew_*_amd64.deb
sudo mkdir -p /etc/dew
sudo tee /etc/dew/policy.json > /dev/null <<'EOF'
{
  "ServerURL": "https://files.example.com",
  "VerifySSL": true,
  "AutoStartOnBoot": true
}
EOF
sudo chmod 644 /etc/dew/policy.json

macOS. A script can install the app from the installer package, which puts Dew in /Applications and opens it for the person signed in to the Mac:

sudo installer -pkg ./Dew_*_macos_universal.pkg -target /

Managed settings on a Mac must come from an MDM profile. Use the example profile, which puts the values in a com.apple.ManagedClient.preferences payload.

See what a computer received

Platform	Command
macOS	`defaults read "/Library/Managed Preferences/dk.trinode.dew"`
Windows	`reg query "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Trinode\Dew"`
Linux	`cat /etc/dew/policy.json`

Dew’s log also lists the settings that applied, in a line starting with Managed settings from. To save the log, open Dew’s Settings and select Collect next to Enable debug logs.