To run Zwift with minimal on-screen “heads up display” elements, add this line to the <config> section of your Zwift preferences file located at Documents/Zwift/prefs.xml:
<MINIMAL_UI>1</MINIMAL_UI>
This turns off the rider list, leaderboards, speed/rider timer, and more. Here’s a screenshot of the result:
Here is my prefs.xml file with the line added. If you’ve never edited an XML file before, it is as easy as opening the file in a text editor (Notepad works great on a PC), editing the file and saving your changes. Saving a backup copy of the original file is always a good idea!
<ZWIFT>
<DEVICES>
<LASTCADENCEDEVICE>720996</LASTCADENCEDEVICE>
<LASTPOWERDEVICE>720996</LASTPOWERDEVICE>
<CTF>12543</CTF>
<LASTHRMDEVICE>7891038</LASTHRMDEVICE>
<LASTSPEEDDEVICE>9716</LASTSPEEDDEVICE>
<LASTTRAINERDEVICE>2837993477</LASTTRAINERDEVICE>
</DEVICES>
<CONFIG>
<MINIMAL_UI>1</MINIMAL_UI>
<RICHMOND_BRANCH_PREFERENCE>0</RICHMOND_BRANCH_PREFERENCE>
<BRANCH_PREFERENCE>3</BRANCH_PREFERENCE>
<BATTPREFS>20</BATTPREFS>
<PREFERRED_MONITOR>2147516416</PREFERRED_MONITOR>
<TRAINER_EFFECT>0.5</TRAINER_EFFECT>
<IMGPREFS>0</IMGPREFS>
<USER_RESOLUTION_PREF>1920x1080</USER_RESOLUTION_PREF>
<AMBIENT_VOL>0</AMBIENT_VOL>
<SFX_VOL>0</SFX_VOL>
</CONFIG>
<WORKOUTS>
<LAST_WORKOUT>4035902721</LAST_WORKOUT>
<EDIT_IN_WATTS>1</EDIT_IN_WATTS>
<USE_ERG>1</USE_ERG>
</WORKOUTS>
</ZWIFT>
Can this be done so that it only turns off portions (leaderboards/nearby riders) rather than the whole HUD?
Unfortunately no. It’s all or nothing!
I tried this today for the Haute Route ven-top ride and while I certainly enjoyed riding without all the screen clutter, I am pretty certain it is not possible to get powerups with this hack enabled?
No powerups, and no spinner at the top of the alpe either! I almost always use the minimal UI now since I mostly do solo free-rides but missing out on bonus xp is kind of annoying. Also no good if one is doing laps for XP on the TT bike, there goes a good chunk of XP too!
Where is this file located on an Android phone? I’m not finding it.
It is on a PC. Are you running Zwift on a phone ?????
If seriously, on Android you can just swipe many of the elements of the user interface off the screen. This may require a little experimenting where to touch the screen to move UI elements off the screen, but it works for me with the running version of Zwift.
You can only move 2 of the elements the rest stay
Hi there,
With a Workout running in parallel, will the workout still trigger ERG mode and can i use the companion app to check the Watts while riding? Or will this setup also kill the companion app control for workouts?