Configure with greptile.json

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Configure Greptile per-repository with greptile.json. Set review triggers, custom rules, file exclusions, strictness levels, and scoped custom context.

You can have custom settings at the repo level by adding a greptile.json file to the root of the repo. Settings will be read from the source branch of the PR.

You can grab your global settings in the correct format here by clicking on the copy or download icons on the top right of the Settings panel.

Configuration Hierarchy

Settings in greptile.json override dashboard settings for that repository. The hierarchy is:

1. greptile.json (highest priority) - Repository-specific configuration
2. Dashboard settings (lower priority) - Organization-wide defaults

This allows you to set organization-wide defaults in the dashboard while customizing specific repositories with greptile.json.

Note

The ignorePatterns field follows .gitignore syntax.

{
  "labels": ["feature", "bug"],
  "commentTypes": ["logic", "syntax"],
  "instructions": "Ensure style_guide.md is enforced.",
  "ignoreKeywords": "rename\nlinter\nprettier\ngreptile-ignor",
  "ignorePatterns": "greptile.json\ntesting/**/*.py\n*.md\n*.txt\n*.json",
  "patternRepositories": ["acme/backend"],
  "triggerOnUpdates": true,
  "shouldUpdateDescription": false,
  "disabledLabels": ["docs"],
  "includeAuthors": ["dakshgup", "schoi"],
  "excludeAuthors": ["cool-dev"],
  "strictness": 2,
  "fixWithAI": false,
  "includeKeywords": "bug\nfeature",
  "includeBranches": ["main", "develop"],
  "excludeBranches": ["draft", "wip"],
  "statusCheck": true,
  "statusCommentsEnabled": true,
  "summarySection": {
    "included": true,
    "collapsible": false,
    "defaultOpen": false
  },
  "issuesTableSection": {
    "included": true,
    "collapsible": false,
    "defaultOpen": false
  },
  "confidenceScoreSection": {
    "included": true,
    "collapsible": false,
    "defaultOpen": false
  },
  "sequenceDiagramSection": {
    "included": true,
    "collapsible": false,
    "defaultOpen": false
  },
  "customContext": {
    "rules": [
      {
        "scope": ["src/**/*.py"],
        "rule": "Specific coding rule to enforce"
      }
    ],
    "files": [
      {
        "scope": ["*.md"],
        "path": "docs/style-guide.md",
        "description": "Style guide reference"
      }
    ],
    "other": [
      {
        "scope": ["*.ts", "*.js"],
        "content": "Custom instruction or context"
      }
    ]
  }
}

Configuration Parameters

Parameter	Type	Description
labels	array	Labels that will trigger a Greptile review when added to a PR. In the example above, adding "feature" or "bug" label will trigger a review.
commentTypes	array	Types of comments Greptile should make. Options: "logic" (business logic issues), "syntax" (language-specific best practices), "style" (formatting, naming conventions). All enabled by default.
instructions	string	Natural language custom instructions for Greptile to follow when reviewing code. Can reference files in your repo or contain specific rules.
ignoreKeywords	string	Newline-separated list of keywords. PRs with these keywords in their title or description will be ignored.
ignorePatterns	string	Newline-separated list of file patterns to ignore, following .gitignore syntax. Files matching these patterns will not be reviewed.
patternRepositories	array	List of repositories to learn patterns from. Greptile will analyze these repos to understand your codebase's patterns.
triggerOnUpdates	boolean	If true, Greptile will review code every time a PR is updated with a new commit.
triggerOnDrafts	boolean	If true, review draft PRs. Default is false.
shouldUpdateDescription	boolean	If true, Greptile will update the PR description with a summary of changes. If false, posts the summary as a review comment instead.
disabledLabels	array	PRs with these labels will not be reviewed by Greptile, even if other trigger conditions are met.
includeAuthors	array	Only PRs from these authors will be reviewed. If empty, reviews PRs from all authors (except excluded ones).
excludeAuthors	array	PRs from these authors will not be reviewed, even if other trigger conditions are met.
strictness	number	Severity threshold for Greptile comments (1-3). 1 = comment on all issues, 2 = moderate filtering, 3 = only most critical issues. Defaults to 2.
fixWithAI	boolean	If true, adds AI fix prompts to code review comments to help AI tools understand how to fix the issues.
includeKeywords	string	Newline-separated list of keywords. Only PRs containing these keywords in their title or description will be reviewed.
includeBranches	array	Only PRs targeting these branches will be reviewed. If empty, reviews PRs to all branches (except excluded ones).
excludeBranches	array	PRs targeting these branches will not be reviewed, even if other trigger conditions are met.
statusCheck	boolean	If true, creates a GitHub status check for each PR review. GitHub only.
statusCommentsEnabled	boolean	If true, enables status comments on PRs.
skipReview	string	Controls automatic code review behavior. When set to AUTOMATIC, skips reviews triggered automatically but still allows intentional triggers like @-mentions. Gives you manual control over when reviews run.
summarySection	object	Controls PR summary section. Properties: included (boolean), collapsible (boolean), defaultOpen (boolean).
issuesTableSection	object	Controls issues table section. Properties: included (boolean), collapsible (boolean), defaultOpen (boolean).
confidenceScoreSection	object	Controls confidence score section. Properties: included (boolean), collapsible (boolean), defaultOpen (boolean).
sequenceDiagramSection	object	Controls sequence diagram section. Properties: included (boolean), collapsible (boolean), defaultOpen (boolean).
customContext	object	Advanced context configuration with three arrays: other, rules, and files. Each supports optional scope and file pattern matching.

Note

labels, disabledLabels, includeAuthors, excludeAuthors, includeBranches, and excludeBranches accept glob patterns mixed with literals: *, **, ?, and {a,b} brace expansion. Matching is case-insensitive. [, ], and leading ! are literal, so dependabot[bot] works as-is; negation is not supported.

{
  "excludeBranches": ["dependabot/**"],
  "disabledLabels": ["wip-*"],
  "excludeAuthors": ["*-bot", "dependabot[bot]"]
}

Comment Types Explained

Available Comment Types

• logic - Business logic issues, algorithmic problems, potential bugs
• syntax - Language-specific best practices, proper usage patterns
• style - Code formatting, naming conventions, structural consistency

All comment types are enabled by default. You can restrict reviews to specific types by setting commentTypes to a subset.

Example Configurations

// Only check for logic issues (most critical)
{
  "commentTypes": ["logic"]
}

// Focus on code quality without style nitpicks
{
  "commentTypes": ["logic", "syntax"]
}

Custom Context Explained

The customContext field allows you to provide additional context to help Greptile make more informed code review decisions. It supports three types of context, each with optional scope targeting:

Custom Context Types

rules - Specific coding rules to enforce

• Define custom coding standards, best practices, or project-specific requirements
• More specific than general instructions, focused on enforceable coding practices

files - Reference existing documentation files

• Point Greptile to existing documentation, style guides, or reference files in your repository
• Includes a path field to specify the file location and optional description for context

other - General instructions or context

• Provide additional background information about your codebase, team practices, or specific requirements
• Use for high-level guidance that doesn't fit into rules or file references

Scope Targeting

Each context item supports an optional scope array that uses glob patterns to target specific files:

"scope": ["*.ts", "*.js"]        // Apply to TypeScript and JavaScript files
"scope": ["src/**/*.py"]         // Apply to Python files in src directory
"scope": ["tests/**/*"]          // Apply to all files in tests directory
"scope": ["*.md", "docs/**/*"]   // Apply to markdown files and docs folder

If no scope is specified, the context applies to all files in the review.

Source

Mirrored from the official Greptile documentation. Self-contained reference copy.