diff --git a/src/components/Editor/GraphEditor.tsx b/src/components/Editor/GraphEditor.tsx
index 27b1822..8cbde57 100644
--- a/src/components/Editor/GraphEditor.tsx
+++ b/src/components/Editor/GraphEditor.tsx
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ import { useGraphWithHistory } from "../../hooks/useGraphWithHistory";
 import { useDocumentHistory } from "../../hooks/useDocumentHistory";
 import { useEditorStore } from "../../stores/editorStore";
 import { useSearchStore } from "../../stores/searchStore";
+import { useSettingsStore } from "../../stores/settingsStore";
 import { useActiveDocument } from "../../stores/workspace/useActiveDocument";
 import { useWorkspaceStore } from "../../stores/workspaceStore";
 import { useCreateDocument } from "../../hooks/useCreateDocument";
@@ -108,9 +109,11 @@ const GraphEditor = ({ onNodeSelect, onEdgeSelect, onAddNodeRequest, onExportReq
     searchText,
     visibleActorTypes,
     visibleRelationTypes,
-    autoZoomEnabled,
   } = useSearchStore();
 
+  // Settings for auto-zoom
+  const { autoZoomEnabled } = useSettingsStore();
+
   // Track previous document ID to save viewport before switching
   const prevDocumentIdRef = useRef<string | null>(null);
 
diff --git a/src/components/Panels/LeftPanel.tsx b/src/components/Panels/LeftPanel.tsx
index 10a6c57..1c2d996 100644
--- a/src/components/Panels/LeftPanel.tsx
+++ b/src/components/Panels/LeftPanel.tsx
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ import { usePanelStore } from '../../stores/panelStore';
 import { useGraphWithHistory } from '../../hooks/useGraphWithHistory';
 import { useEditorStore } from '../../stores/editorStore';
 import { useSearchStore } from '../../stores/searchStore';
+import { useSettingsStore } from '../../stores/settingsStore';
 import { createNode } from '../../utils/nodeUtils';
 import { getIconComponent } from '../../utils/iconUtils';
 import { getContrastColor } from '../../utils/colorUtils';
@@ -87,12 +88,13 @@ const LeftPanel = forwardRef<LeftPanelRef, LeftPanelProps>(({ onDeselectAll, onA
     setActorTypeVisible,
     visibleRelationTypes,
     setRelationTypeVisible,
-    autoZoomEnabled,
-    setAutoZoomEnabled,
     clearFilters,
     hasActiveFilters,
   } = useSearchStore();
 
+  // Settings
+  const { autoZoomEnabled, setAutoZoomEnabled } = useSettingsStore();
+
   // Initialize filter state when node/edge types change
   useEffect(() => {
     nodeTypes.forEach((nodeType) => {
diff --git a/src/stores/searchStore.ts b/src/stores/searchStore.ts
index 4d53ae2..7211843 100644
--- a/src/stores/searchStore.ts
+++ b/src/stores/searchStore.ts
@@ -7,7 +7,6 @@ import { create } from 'zustand';
  * - Search text for filtering both actors (by label, description, or type) and relations (by label or type)
  * - Filter by actor types (show/hide specific node types)
  * - Filter by relation types (show/hide specific edge types)
- * - Auto-zoom to filtered results (optional, enabled by default)
  * - Results tracking
  */
 
@@ -28,10 +27,6 @@ interface SearchStore {
   toggleRelationType: (typeId: string) => void;
   setAllRelationTypesVisible: (visible: boolean) => void;
 
-  // Auto-zoom to filtered results
-  autoZoomEnabled: boolean;
-  setAutoZoomEnabled: (enabled: boolean) => void;
-
   // Clear all filters
   clearFilters: () => void;
 
@@ -43,7 +38,6 @@ export const useSearchStore = create<SearchStore>((set, get) => ({
   searchText: '',
   visibleActorTypes: {},
   visibleRelationTypes: {},
-  autoZoomEnabled: true,
 
   setSearchText: (text: string) =>
     set({ searchText: text }),
@@ -98,9 +92,6 @@ export const useSearchStore = create<SearchStore>((set, get) => ({
       return { visibleRelationTypes: updated };
     }),
 
-  setAutoZoomEnabled: (enabled: boolean) =>
-    set({ autoZoomEnabled: enabled }),
-
   clearFilters: () =>
     set((state) => {
       // Reset all actor types to visible
diff --git a/src/stores/settingsStore.ts b/src/stores/settingsStore.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..fb909ed
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/stores/settingsStore.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+import { create } from 'zustand';
+import { persist } from 'zustand/middleware';
+
+/**
+ * Settings Store - Global application settings with localStorage persistence
+ *
+ * Features:
+ * - Search and filter preferences
+ * - UI behavior settings
+ * - Auto-save to localStorage
+ * - Extendable for future settings
+ */
+
+interface SettingsState {
+  // Search & Filter Settings
+  autoZoomEnabled: boolean;
+  setAutoZoomEnabled: (enabled: boolean) => void;
+
+  // Future settings can be added here
+  // Example:
+  // theme: 'light' | 'dark';
+  // setTheme: (theme: 'light' | 'dark') => void;
+}
+
+export const useSettingsStore = create<SettingsState>()(
+  persist(
+    (set) => ({
+      // Search & Filter Settings
+      autoZoomEnabled: true,
+      setAutoZoomEnabled: (enabled: boolean) =>
+        set({ autoZoomEnabled: enabled }),
+
+      // Future settings implementations go here
+    }),
+    {
+      name: 'constellation-settings', // localStorage key
+      version: 1, // For future migrations if needed
+    }
+  )
+);