Settings

AutoC stores configuration in JSON. Use /settings for common options, or edit JSON directly — both write the same fields; /settings saves automatically.

Scopes

Location	Scope
~/.autoc/agent/settings.json	Global (all projects)
.autoc/settings.json	Project (current working directory, overrides global)

Run /reload after changing paths or toolchain options. Setup steps live in each toolchain guide (e.g. EB tresos); this page is the field reference.

Models

AutoC currently supports WhyEngineer models only. Most users do not need to set defaultProvider / defaultModel manually; see Getting started and Using AutoC.

All settings

Models and thinking

Key	Type	Default	Description
defaultProvider	string	-	Default provider
defaultModel	string	-	Default model ID
defaultThinkingLevel	string	-	off, minimal, low, medium, high, xhigh
hideThinkingBlock	boolean	false	Hide thinking blocks in output
thinkingBudgets	object	-	Custom token budgets per thinking level

thinkingBudgets

{
  "thinkingBudgets": {
    "minimal": 1024,
    "low": 4096,
    "medium": 10240,
    "high": 32768
  }
}

UI and display

Key	Type	Default	Description
theme	string	"dark"	Theme name (dark, light, or custom)
quietStartup	boolean	false	Hide startup area
collapseChangelog	boolean	false	Show compact changelog after updates
enableInstallTelemetry	boolean	true	Anonymous install/update telemetry (does not control update checks)
doubleEscapeAction	string	"tree"	Double Esc: tree, fork, or none
treeFilterMode	string	"default"	Default /tree filter: default, no-tools, user-only, labeled-only, all
editorPaddingX	number	0	Editor horizontal padding (0–3)
autocompleteMaxVisible	number	5	Autocomplete dropdown size (3–20)
showHardwareCursor	boolean	false	Show terminal hardware cursor

Telemetry and update checks

enableInstallTelemetry only controls anonymous install/update reports. Disabling it does not disable version update checks.

• PI_SKIP_VERSION_CHECK=1 — skip version update check
• --offline or PI_OFFLINE=1 — skip all startup network activity (updates, package checks, telemetry)

Warnings

Key	Type	Default	Description
warnings.anthropicExtraUsage	boolean	true	Warn when Anthropic subscription may use paid extra usage

Compaction

Key	Type	Default	Description
compaction.enabled	boolean	true	Enable automatic context compaction
compaction.reserveTokens	number	16384	Tokens reserved for model reply
compaction.keepRecentTokens	number	20000	Recent tokens kept out of summarization

Branch summary

Key	Type	Default	Description
branchSummary.reserveTokens	number	16384	Tokens reserved for branch summary
branchSummary.skipPrompt	boolean	false	Skip “summarize abandoned branch?” prompt in /tree (default: no summary)

Retry

Key	Type	Default	Description
retry.enabled	boolean	true	Auto-retry transient errors
retry.maxRetries	number	3	Max retries
retry.baseDelayMs	number	2000	Exponential backoff base (2s, 4s, 8s…)
retry.provider.timeoutMs	number	SDK default	Request timeout (ms)
retry.provider.maxRetries	number	SDK default	SDK-layer retries
retry.provider.maxRetryDelayMs	number	60000	Cap on server-requested wait (ms); 0 = no cap

Message delivery

Key	Type	Default	Description
steeringMode	string	"one-at-a-time"	Steering messages: all or one-at-a-time
followUpMode	string	"one-at-a-time"	Follow-up messages: all or one-at-a-time
transport	string	"sse"	Transport preference: sse, websocket, auto

Terminal and images

Key	Type	Default	Description
terminal.showImages	boolean	true	Show images in terminal (if supported)
terminal.imageWidthCells	number	60	Inline image width (cells)
terminal.clearOnShrink	boolean	false	Clear blank lines when content shrinks (may flicker)
images.autoResize	boolean	true	Resize images to max 2000×2000 before send
images.blockImages	boolean	false	Block sending images to the model

Shell

Key	Type	Default	Description
shellPath	string	-	Custom shell path (e.g. Cygwin on Windows)
shellCommandPrefix	string	-	Prefix prepended to every bash command
npmCommand	string[]	-	argv for npm-related operations

Session directory

Key	Type	Default	Description
sessionDir	string	-	Session file directory; absolute, relative, or ~

Priority (high to low): --session-dir → PI_CODING_AGENT_SESSION_DIR → sessionDir in settings.json.

Model cycling (Ctrl+P)

Key	Type	Default	Description
enabledModels	string[]	-	Model patterns for Ctrl+P (same as --models)

EB tresos

Quickstart: EB tresos. Install path / Project path in /settings map to the first two rows; includeModules and below are JSON-only.

Key	Type	Default	Description
eb.tresosPath	string	-	EB tresos install root (/settings → Install path)
eb.projectPath	string	.project	Project path (/settings → Project path)
eb.includeModules	string[]	-	Load only listed modules (case-insensitive)
eb.excludeModules	string[]	-	Exclude after include filter
eb.name / eb.target / eb.derivate / eb.pn	string	-	Override display parsed from .project

Per-project module filter (.autoc/settings.json):

{
  "eb": {
    "includeModules": ["Mcu", "Port"]
  }
}

DaVinci Configurator

Quickstart: DaVinci Configurator. /settings path fields map to the first two rows; includeModules is JSON-only.

Key	Type	Default	Description
davinci.configuratorPath	string	${SIP}/DaVinciConfigurator	Install root (/settings → Configurator path)
davinci.projectPath	string	.	Project directory (/settings → Project path)
davinci.includeModules	string[]	-	Load only listed ECUC modules
davinci.excludeModules	string[]	-	Exclude after include
davinci.name / davinci.derivative	string	-	Override display parsed from .dpa

ETAS ISOLAR

Quickstart: ETAS ISOLAR. /settings covers Install path, Project path, Data ARXML paths, External modules; includeModules / autoAssignParams below.

Key	Type	Default	Description
etas.installPath	string	-	ISOLAR-AB install root; else ISOLAR_HOME
etas.projectPath	string	.	RTA-CAR project directory
etas.dataArxmlPaths	string[]	-	ECUC value ARXML; non-empty loads only listed files
etas.externalModules	string[]	-	EB+ETAS mixed: ETAS-side module config names
etas.autoAssignParams	string[]	-	Param SHORT-NAMEs auto-assigned by ISOLAR at generate
etas.includeModules	string[]	-	Load only listed ECUC modules
etas.excludeModules	string[]	-	Exclude after include
etas.name	string	-	Override display from .project

System Template

Key	Type	Default	Description
autosar.systemTemplatePaths	string[]	-	System-level ARXML paths or globs; or use /system import

See System Template (Beta).

License server

Key	Type	Default	Description
license.serverAddr	string	-	License server address (host:port, e.g. 192.168.1.10:9847)

Change in TUI via /settings → License server. Enterprise: Enterprise licensing.

Markdown

Key	Type	Default	Description
markdown.codeBlockIndent	string	" "	Code block indent

Extension resource paths

Where to load extensions, skills, prompt templates, and themes.

• Relative paths in ~/.autoc/agent/settings.json resolve from ~/.autoc/agent
• Relative paths in .autoc/settings.json resolve from .autoc
• Absolute paths and ~ supported

Key	Type	Default	Description
packages	array	[]	Load resources from npm/git packages
extensions	string[]	[]	Local extension paths or directories
skills	string[]	[]	Local skill paths or directories
prompts	string[]	[]	Local prompt template paths or directories
themes	string[]	[]	Local theme paths or directories
enableSkillCommands	boolean	true	Register skills as /skill:name commands

Arrays support globs and exclusions: !pattern to exclude, +path / -path to force include/exclude exact paths.

Example

{
  "theme": "dark",
  "defaultThinkingLevel": "medium",
  "compaction": {
    "enabled": true,
    "reserveTokens": 16384,
    "keepRecentTokens": 20000
  },
  "retry": {
    "enabled": true,
    "maxRetries": 3
  },
  "eb": {
    "tresosPath": "C:/EB/tresos",
    "projectPath": ".project"
  },
  "davinci": {
    "configuratorPath": "${SIP}/DaVinciConfigurator",
    "projectPath": "."
  },
  "etas": {
    "installPath": "D:/ETAS/ISOLAR-AB",
    "projectPath": "."
  },
  "enabledModels": ["deepseek-*"]
}

Project override example

// ~/.autoc/agent/settings.json (global)
{
  "theme": "dark",
  "compaction": { "enabled": true, "reserveTokens": 16384 }
}

// .autoc/settings.json (project)
{
  "compaction": { "reserveTokens": 8192 }
}

// merged result
{
  "theme": "dark",
  "compaction": { "enabled": true, "reserveTokens": 8192 }
}