config-json.md

CLI settings (config.json)

Every field of config.json: how the openspec CLI behaves on your machine.

Location

The CLI keeps its machine-level settings at ~/.config/openspec/config.json on macOS and Linux, and %APPDATA%\openspec\config.json on Windows. $XDG_CONFIG_HOME wins on every platform when set. The openspec config command reads and edits it.

Fields

Key	Type	Required	Effect
profile	string: core or custom	No	Picks the workflow set openspec init installs
delivery	string: both, skills, or commands	No	Whether init installs skills, slash commands, or both
workflows	list of strings	No	The workflow list a custom profile installs
featureFlags	map: flag → boolean	No	Boolean feature toggles
defaultStore	string	No	Machine-level fallback store for root resolution
openers	map: tool id → settings	No	The tools worksets open in, and how each is launched
telemetry	map	No	State the CLI keeps: anonymous id and notice-seen

profile

Which workflow set openspec init installs. Defaults to core: propose, explore, apply, update, sync, and archive. Setting custom installs exactly the workflows list instead.

delivery

Whether init installs workflows as skills, as slash commands, or both. Defaults to both.

workflows

The workflows a custom profile installs; ignored when the profile is core. Valid ids: propose, explore, new, continue, apply, update, ff, sync, archive, bulk-archive, verify, onboard.

featureFlags

Boolean toggles keyed by flag name, set with openspec config set featureFlags.<flag> true. No flag is read by the CLI today.

defaultStore

The machine-level fallback store id for root resolution, consulted only when no --store flag, local openspec/, or project store: pointer resolves. The full ladder is Root resolution.

openers

The tools a workset can open in, keyed by tool id. Edit openers in the global config.json with openspec config edit in your terminal.

Field	Contract
style	workspace-file or attach-dirs. Required for a new tool; optional for a built-in.
label	Non-empty string shown in the tool picker. Defaults to the id for a new tool.
command	Non-empty executable name or path. Defaults to the id for a new tool. Put arguments in args, not in this string.
args	Array of strings passed before the workspace file or attach flags. Defaults to [] for a new tool.
attach_flag	Non-empty string paired with each member path for attach-dirs. Defaults to --add-dir for a new tool. Ignored for workspace-file.

Built-in overrides: code, cursor, claude, and codex retain any fields you omit. Setting args replaces the entire argument list; [] clears it.

Launch styles: workspace-file passes the generated .code-workspace path to the executable, which must support that format. attach-dirs passes one flag/path pair per member, including the primary member.

Availability: attach-dirs openers, including Claude Code and Codex, are temporarily disabled by default. They are hidden from the picker and rejected by workset open --tool. Configuration overrides do not enable the attach-dirs launch style.

Validation: unknown fields, invalid types, and a new tool without style fail when a workset command reads the opener table.

This example adds VS Code Insiders and passes --new-window whenever the built-in VS Code opener launches:

{
  "openers": {
    "code-insiders": {
      "style": "workspace-file",
      "label": "VS Code Insiders"
    },
    "code": {
      "args": ["--new-window"]
    }
  }
}

The corresponding code-insiders or code executable must be installed and available on PATH.

telemetry

State the CLI writes for telemetry: your anonymous id and whether the first-run notice was shown. It is not the opt-out. Disabling telemetry is an environment variable, on Environment variables.

Example

A filled-in config.json:

{
  "profile": "core",
  "delivery": "both",
  "featureFlags": {},
  "telemetry": {
    "anonymousId": "5f8a2c1e-4b6d-4f9a-9c3d-7e1b2a8d4c6f",
    "noticeSeen": true
  }
}