# Settings Reference

Complete reference of all Tabnine CLI settings. For an overview and getting started guide, see [Settings](/main/getting-started/tabnine-cli/features/settings.md).

Settings are read from `settings.json` files in order of precedence (highest first):

1. **System Settings:** Platform-specific system settings path — Admin-enforced overrides (highest priority)
2. **Workspace:** `<project>/.tabnine/agent/settings.json` — Project-specific overrides
3. **User:** `~/.tabnine/agent/settings.json` — Personal defaults across all projects
4. **System Defaults:** Platform-specific system defaults path — Organization-wide defaults that users can override (lowest priority)

Settings are deep-merged — you only need to specify overrides. System file paths vary by platform and can be overridden with `TABNINE_CLI_SYSTEM_SETTINGS_PATH` and `TABNINE_CLI_SYSTEM_DEFAULTS_PATH` environment variables.

**Legend:**

* ⟳ = requires restart to take effect

**System file paths:**

| Platform    | System Settings                                         | System Defaults                                                |
| ----------- | ------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Windows** | `C:\ProgramData\tabnine-cli\settings.json`              | `C:\ProgramData\tabnine-cli\system-defaults.json`              |
| **macOS**   | `/Library/Application Support/TabnineCli/settings.json` | `/Library/Application Support/TabnineCli/system-defaults.json` |
| **Linux**   | `/etc/tabnine-cli/settings.json`                        | `/etc/tabnine-cli/system-defaults.json`                        |

### General Settings

| Setting                         | Type    | Description                                                                                                                                                               | Default   |
| ------------------------------- | ------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------- |
| `general.defaultApprovalMode`   | enum    | You can control how tool execution is approved by choosing `default` (prompts for approval), `auto_edit` (automatically approves edit tools), or `plan` (read-only mode). | `default` |
| `general.vimMode`               | boolean | You can use Vim keybindings for navigation and editing when this is enabled.                                                                                              | `false`   |
| `general.enableNotifications`   | boolean | You will receive desktop notifications for action-required prompts and session completion when this is enabled.                                                           | `false`   |
| `general.retryFetchErrors`      | boolean | The CLI will automatically retry network fetch errors when this is enabled.                                                                                               | `true`    |
| `general.maxAttempts`           | number  | You can set the maximum number of retry attempts for model requests (this cannot be set higher than 10).                                                                  | `10`      |
| `general.debugKeystrokeLogging` | boolean | Keystrokes are logged to the console for debugging purposes when this is enabled.                                                                                         | `false`   |
| `general.preferredEditor`       | string  | You can specify the editor you prefer to use for opening files.                                                                                                           | —         |
| `general.devtools`              | boolean | DevTools inspector opens on launch when this is enabled (you can access it by pressing F12).                                                                              | `false`   |
| `general.tabnineHost`           | string  | You can specify the Tabnine host URL you want to use for authentication. ⟳                                                                                                | —         |
| `general.checkpointing.enabled` | boolean | Session checkpointing is available for recovery when this is enabled. See [Checkpointing](/main/getting-started/tabnine-cli/features/checkpointing.md). ⟳                 | `false`   |

#### Session Retention Settings

Automatic cleanup of old chat sessions:

| Setting                                 | Type    | Description                                                                                                        | Default |
| --------------------------------------- | ------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------- |
| `general.sessionRetention.enabled`      | boolean | Old chat sessions are automatically cleaned up when this is enabled.                                               | `true`  |
| `general.sessionRetention.maxAge`       | string  | Sessions older than this time period are deleted (you can use formats like `7d`, `24h`, `1w`).                     | `30d`   |
| `general.sessionRetention.maxCount`     | number  | You can specify the maximum number of sessions to keep as an alternative to `maxAge` (keeps the most recent ones). | —       |
| `general.sessionRetention.minRetention` | string  | You can set the safety minimum retention period that prevents accidental deletion of very recent sessions.         | `1d`    |

#### Plan Mode Settings

| Setting                     | Type    | Description                                                                                                         | Default |
| --------------------------- | ------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------- |
| `general.plan.directory`    | string  | You can specify the directory where planning artifacts are stored (defaults to system temp dir if not specified). ⟳ | —       |
| `general.plan.modelRouting` | boolean | Automatically switches between Pro (planning) and Flash (implementation) models when this is enabled.               | `true`  |

### Output Settings

| Setting         | Type | Description                                                             | Default |
| --------------- | ---- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------- |
| `output.format` | enum | You can choose the format for CLI output by selecting `text` or `json`. | `text`  |

### User Interface Settings

All UI settings are nested under the `ui` key.

| Setting                                | Type    | Description                                                                                                                   | Default |
| -------------------------------------- | ------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------- |
| `ui.theme`                             | string  | You can specify the color theme you want to use (see [Themes](/main/getting-started/tabnine-cli/features/themes.md)).         | (auto)  |
| `ui.autoThemeSwitching`                | boolean | Automatically switches between light and dark themes based on your terminal background when this is enabled.                  | `true`  |
| `ui.terminalBackgroundPollingInterval` | number  | You can set how often (in seconds) the CLI checks your terminal background color.                                             | `60`    |
| `ui.customThemes`                      | object  | You can define your custom theme definitions (see [Themes](/main/getting-started/tabnine-cli/features/themes.md) for schema). | `{}`    |
| `ui.showLineNumbers`                   | boolean | Line numbers are displayed in chat when this is enabled.                                                                      | `true`  |
| `ui.hideBanner`                        | boolean | The startup banner is hidden when this is enabled.                                                                            | `false` |
| `ui.hideTips`                          | boolean | Helpful tips are hidden when this is enabled.                                                                                 | `false` |
| `ui.hideFooter`                        | boolean | The footer bar is hidden when this is enabled.                                                                                | `false` |
| `ui.showMemoryUsage`                   | boolean | Memory usage information is shown when this is enabled.                                                                       | `false` |
| `ui.showSpinner`                       | boolean | A spinner is shown during operations when this is enabled.                                                                    | `true`  |
| `ui.inlineThinkingMode`                | enum    | You can control how model thinking is displayed by choosing `off` or `full`.                                                  | `off`   |
| `ui.loadingPhrases`                    | enum    | You can choose what you see while the CLI is working by selecting `tips`, `witty`, `all`, or `off`.                           | `tips`  |
| `ui.customWittyPhrases`                | array   | You can specify custom phrases to cycle through during loading (replaces defaults when provided).                             | `[]`    |
| `ui.errorVerbosity`                    | enum    | You can choose the level of error details you want to see by selecting `low` or `full`.                                       | `low`   |
| `ui.showStatusInTitle`                 | boolean | Model thoughts are shown in your terminal title when this is enabled.                                                         | `false` |
| `ui.dynamicWindowTitle`                | boolean | Your terminal title is updated with status icons when this is enabled.                                                        | `true`  |
| `ui.hideWindowTitle`                   | boolean | The window title bar is hidden when this is enabled. ⟳                                                                        | `false` |
| `ui.useAlternateBuffer`                | boolean | Alternate screen buffer is used when this is enabled. ⟳                                                                       | `false` |
| `ui.incrementalRendering`              | boolean | Flickering is reduced when this is enabled (requires `useAlternateBuffer`). ⟳                                                 | `true`  |
| `ui.showCitations`                     | boolean | Citations for generated text are shown when this is enabled.                                                                  | `false` |
| `ui.showModelInfoInChat`               | boolean | The model name for each response is shown when this is enabled.                                                               | `false` |
| `ui.showUserIdentity`                  | boolean | Your signed-in user identity is shown when this is enabled.                                                                   | `true`  |
| `ui.showShortcutsHint`                 | boolean | The "? for shortcuts" hint is shown when this is enabled.                                                                     | `true`  |
| `ui.hideContextSummary`                | boolean | The context summary above the input is hidden when this is enabled.                                                           | `false` |
| `ui.escapePastedAtSymbols`             | boolean | `@` symbols in pasted text are escaped when this is enabled.                                                                  | `false` |
| `ui.useBackgroundColor`                | boolean | Background colors are used in the UI when this is enabled.                                                                    | `true`  |
| `ui.showHomeDirectoryWarning`          | boolean | You are warned when running in your home directory when this is enabled. ⟳                                                    | `true`  |
| `ui.showCompatibilityWarnings`         | boolean | Terminal compatibility warnings are shown when this is enabled. ⟳                                                             | `true`  |
| `ui.accessibility.screenReader`        | boolean | Screen reader mode with plain text output is activated when this is enabled. ⟳                                                | `false` |

#### Footer customization

| Setting                           | Type    | Description                                                                      | Default |
| --------------------------------- | ------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------- |
| `ui.footer.items`                 | array   | You can specify a list of item IDs to display in the footer (rendered in order). | —       |
| `ui.footer.showLabels`            | boolean | Descriptive headers are displayed above footer items when this is enabled.       | `true`  |
| `ui.footer.hideCWD`               | boolean | The working directory is hidden when this is enabled.                            | `false` |
| `ui.footer.hideModelInfo`         | boolean | The model name and context usage are hidden when this is enabled.                | `false` |
| `ui.footer.hideSandboxStatus`     | boolean | The sandbox indicator is hidden when this is enabled.                            | `false` |
| `ui.footer.hideContextPercentage` | boolean | The context window usage percentage is hidden when this is enabled.              | `true`  |

### Model Settings

| Setting                      | Type    | Description                                                                                                                                 | Default |
| ---------------------------- | ------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------- |
| `model.name`                 | string  | You can specify the model identifier you want to use. See [Model Selection](/main/getting-started/tabnine-cli/features/model-selection.md). | —       |
| `model.maxSessionTurns`      | number  | You can set the maximum number of turns per session (`-1` means unlimited).                                                                 | `-1`    |
| `model.compressionThreshold` | number  | You can specify the context usage fraction that triggers compression. ⟳                                                                     | `0.7`   |
| `model.disableLoopDetection` | boolean | Infinite loop detection is disabled when this is enabled. ⟳                                                                                 | `false` |
| `model.skipNextSpeakerCheck` | boolean | The next speaker check is skipped when this is enabled.                                                                                     | `true`  |
| `model.summarizeToolOutput`  | object  | You can configure per-tool summarization settings (e.g., `{\"run_shell_command\": {\"tokenBudget\": 2000}}`).                               | —       |

### Tools Settings

| Setting                             | Type    | Description                                                                                                                                                                        | Default |
| ----------------------------------- | ------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------- |
| `tools.enableRemoteCodeSearch`      | boolean | Tabnine Remote Code Search is enabled when this is enabled. ⟳                                                                                                                      | `true`  |
| `tools.enableCoaching`              | boolean | Tabnine Coaching Guidelines are enabled when this is enabled. See [Coaching Guidelines](/main/administering-tabnine/managing-your-team/context-engine/coaching-guidelines-v.md). ⟳ | `true`  |
| `tools.useRipgrep`                  | boolean | Ripgrep is used for faster file search when this is enabled.                                                                                                                       | `true`  |
| `tools.truncateToolOutputThreshold` | number  | You can specify the maximum number of characters before tool output is truncated. ⟳                                                                                                | `40000` |
| `tools.disableLLMCorrection`        | boolean | LLM error correction for edits is disabled when this is enabled. ⟳                                                                                                                 | `true`  |
| `tools.searchOutputLimitEnabled`    | boolean | Search tool output size is limited when this is enabled.                                                                                                                           | `true`  |
| `tools.searchMaxChars`              | number  | You can specify the maximum number of characters from search tools.                                                                                                                | `50000` |
| `tools.core`                        | array   | You can restrict built-in tools to this allowlist. ⟳                                                                                                                               | —       |
| `tools.allowed`                     | array   | You can specify tool names that bypass the confirmation dialog. ⟳                                                                                                                  | —       |
| `tools.exclude`                     | array   | You can specify tool names to exclude from discovery. ⟳                                                                                                                            | —       |
| `tools.discoveryCommand`            | string  | You can specify a command to run for tool discovery. ⟳                                                                                                                             | —       |
| `tools.callCommand`                 | string  | You can specify a custom shell command for invoking discovered tools (reads JSON from stdin, emits JSON on stdout). ⟳                                                              | —       |

#### Shell Settings

| Setting                                   | Type    | Description                                                                   | Default |
| ----------------------------------------- | ------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------- |
| `tools.shell.enableInteractiveShell`      | boolean | Interactive shell is used when this is enabled. ⟳                             | `true`  |
| `tools.shell.showColor`                   | boolean | Color is shown in shell output when this is enabled.                          | `false` |
| `tools.shell.inactivityTimeout`           | number  | You can specify the maximum number of seconds without output (default 5 min). | `300`   |
| `tools.shell.pager`                       | string  | You can specify the pager command for shell output.                           | `cat`   |
| `tools.shell.enableShellOutputEfficiency` | boolean | Shell output efficiency optimizations are enabled when this is enabled.       | `true`  |

#### Sandbox Settings

| Setting         | Type   | Description                                                                                                                                                                                                              | Default |
| --------------- | ------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------- |
| `tools.sandbox` | object | You can enable sandboxed execution by setting this to `true`/`false`, a string command name (`"docker"`, `"podman"`), or an object with `enabled`, `command`, `image`, `allowedPaths`, and `networkAccess` properties. ⟳ | —       |

### Security Settings

| Setting                                | Type    | Description                                                                                  | Default |
| -------------------------------------- | ------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------- |
| `security.disableYoloMode`             | boolean | YOLO mode is blocked even from CLI flags when this is enabled. ⟳                             | `false` |
| `security.disableAlwaysAllow`          | boolean | "Always allow" is removed from confirmation dialogs when this is enabled. ⟳                  | `false` |
| `security.enablePermanentToolApproval` | boolean | "Allow for all future sessions" option is shown when this is enabled.                        | `false` |
| `security.autoAddToPolicyByDefault`    | boolean | "Allow for all future sessions" defaults to enabled for low-risk tools when this is enabled. | `false` |
| `security.toolSandboxing`              | boolean | Experimental per-tool sandboxing is enabled when this is enabled.                            | `false` |
| `security.blockGitExtensions`          | boolean | Extensions installed from Git are blocked when this is enabled. ⟳                            | `true`  |
| `security.allowedExtensions`           | array   | You can specify a regex allowlist for extensions (overrides `blockGitExtensions`). ⟳         | `[]`    |
| `security.folderTrust.enabled`         | boolean | Workspace trust checks are enabled when this is enabled. ⟳                                   | `true`  |
| `security.enableConseca`               | boolean | Context-aware security checker is enabled when this is enabled. ⟳                            | `false` |

#### Environment variable redaction

| Setting                                         | Type    | Description                                                                         | Default |
| ----------------------------------------------- | ------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------- |
| `security.environmentVariableRedaction.enabled` | boolean | Environment variables that may contain secrets are redacted when this is enabled. ⟳ | `false` |
| `security.environmentVariableRedaction.allowed` | array   | You can specify environment variables to never redact. ⟳                            | `[]`    |
| `security.environmentVariableRedaction.blocked` | array   | You can specify environment variables to always redact. ⟳                           | `[]`    |

### Context Settings

| Setting                                           | Type    | Description                                                                                          | Default |
| ------------------------------------------------- | ------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------- |
| `context.includeDirectoryTree`                    | boolean | Directory tree is included in initial context when this is enabled.                                  | `true`  |
| `context.discoveryMaxDirs`                        | number  | You can specify the maximum number of directories to scan for memory files.                          | `200`   |
| `context.loadMemoryFromIncludeDirectories`        | boolean | Include directories are scanned for TABNINE.md files when this is enabled.                           | `false` |
| `context.includeDirectories`                      | array   | You can specify additional directories to include in the workspace context.                          | `[]`    |
| `context.fileName`                                | string  | You can override the context file name(s) to load into memory.                                       | —       |
| `context.importFormat`                            | enum    | You can specify the memory import format (`tree` or `flat`).                                         | —       |
| `context.fileFiltering.respectGitIgnore`          | boolean | .gitignore is respected when searching when this is enabled. ⟳                                       | `true`  |
| `context.fileFiltering.respectGeminiIgnore`       | boolean | .tabnineignore is respected when searching when this is enabled. ⟳                                   | `true`  |
| `context.fileFiltering.enableRecursiveFileSearch` | boolean | Recursive file search for @ references is enabled when this is enabled. ⟳                            | `true`  |
| `context.fileFiltering.enableFuzzySearch`         | boolean | Fuzzy file search is enabled when this is enabled. ⟳                                                 | `true`  |
| `context.fileFiltering.customIgnoreFilePaths`     | array   | You can specify additional ignore file paths (take precedence over .gitignore and .tabnineignore). ⟳ | `[]`    |

### Telemetry Settings

| Setting                  | Type    | Description                                                  | Default |
| ------------------------ | ------- | ------------------------------------------------------------ | ------- |
| `telemetry.enabled`      | boolean | You can enable or disable telemetry collection.              | —       |
| `telemetry.otlpEndpoint` | string  | You can specify a custom OTLP endpoint for telemetry data.   | —       |
| `telemetry.otlpProtocol` | enum    | You can specify the OTLP protocol to use (`grpc` or `http`). | —       |
| `telemetry.logPrompts`   | boolean | Prompts are included in telemetry when this is enabled.      | —       |
| `telemetry.outfile`      | string  | You can specify a file path for writing telemetry output.    | —       |

### Billing Settings

| Setting                   | Type | Description                                                                             | Default |
| ------------------------- | ---- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------- |
| `billing.overageStrategy` | enum | You can specify how to handle quota exhaustion by choosing `ask`, `always`, or `never`. | `ask`   |

### MCP Servers Settings

The `mcpServers` key is a top-level object mapping server names to their configuration. See [MCP Server Config](/main/getting-started/tabnine-cli/features/mcp-server-config.md) for transport types, tool filtering, and authentication.

| Setting             | Type   | Description                                         | Default |
| ------------------- | ------ | --------------------------------------------------- | ------- |
| `mcp.serverCommand` | string | You can specify a command to start an MCP server. ⟳ | —       |
| `mcp.allowed`       | array  | You can specify an allowlist of MCP server names. ⟳ | —       |
| `mcp.excluded`      | array  | You can specify a blocklist of MCP server names. ⟳  | —       |

### Hooks Settings

See [Hooks](/main/getting-started/tabnine-cli/features/hooks.md) for full documentation.

| Setting                     | Type    | Description                                               | Default |
| --------------------------- | ------- | --------------------------------------------------------- | ------- |
| `hooksConfig.enabled`       | boolean | The hooks system is enabled when this is enabled. ⟳       | `true`  |
| `hooksConfig.notifications` | boolean | Indicators are shown when hooks run when this is enabled. | `true`  |
| `hooksConfig.disabled`      | array   | You can specify a list of hook command names to disable.  | `[]`    |

Hook events are configured under the `hooks` key with arrays per event: `BeforeTool`, `AfterTool`, `BeforeAgent`, `AfterAgent`, `Notification`, `SessionStart`, `SessionEnd`, `PreCompress`, `BeforeModel`, `AfterModel`, `BeforeToolSelection`.

### IDE Settings

| Setting       | Type    | Description                                             | Default |
| ------------- | ------- | ------------------------------------------------------- | ------- |
| `ide.enabled` | boolean | IDE integration mode is enabled when this is enabled. ⟳ | `false` |

### Skills Settings

| Setting           | Type    | Description                                       | Default |
| ----------------- | ------- | ------------------------------------------------- | ------- |
| `skills.enabled`  | boolean | Agent Skills are enabled when this is enabled. ⟳  | `true`  |
| `skills.disabled` | array   | You can specify a list of disabled skill names. ⟳ | `[]`    |

### Extensions Settings

| Setting               | Type  | Description                                           | Default |
| --------------------- | ----- | ----------------------------------------------------- | ------- |
| `extensions.disabled` | array | You can specify a list of disabled extension names. ⟳ | `[]`    |

### Agents Settings

| Setting                           | Type    | Description                                                                                     | Default                                       |
| --------------------------------- | ------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------- |
| `agents.overrides`                | object  | You can specify per-agent override settings (model config, run config, enable/disable). ⟳       | `{}`                                          |
| `agents.browser.sessionMode`      | enum    | You can specify the browser session mode by choosing `persistent`, `isolated`, or `existing`. ⟳ | `persistent`                                  |
| `agents.browser.headless`         | boolean | The browser runs in headless mode when this is enabled. ⟳                                       | `false`                                       |
| `agents.browser.profilePath`      | string  | You can specify the path to browser profile directory for session persistence. ⟳                | —                                             |
| `agents.browser.visualModel`      | string  | You can specify a model override for the browser visual agent. ⟳                                | —                                             |
| `agents.browser.allowedDomains`   | array   | You can specify allowed domains for the browser agent. ⟳                                        | `["github.com", "*.google.com", "localhost"]` |
| `agents.browser.disableUserInput` | boolean | User input on browser window is disabled during automation when this is enabled.                | `true`                                        |

### Advanced Settings

| Setting                        | Type    | Description                                                                | Default                   |
| ------------------------------ | ------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------- |
| `advanced.autoConfigureMemory` | boolean | Node.js memory limits are automatically configured when this is enabled. ⟳ | `false`                   |
| `advanced.dnsResolutionOrder`  | string  | You can specify the DNS resolution order (`ipv4first` or `verbatim`). ⟳    | —                         |
| `advanced.excludedEnvVars`     | array   | You can specify environment variables to exclude from project context.     | `["DEBUG", "DEBUG_MODE"]` |
| `policyPaths`                  | array   | You can specify additional policy files or directories to load. ⟳          | `[]`                      |
| `adminPolicyPaths`             | array   | You can specify additional admin policy files or directories to load. ⟳    | `[]`                      |


---

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```
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```

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