Settings

Configure how droid behaves and integrates with your workflow.

Accessing settings

To configure droid settings:

1. Run droid
2. Enter /settings
3. Adjust your preferences interactively

Changes take effect immediately and are saved to your settings file.

Where settings live

OS	Location
macOS / Linux	~/.factory/settings.json
Windows	%USERPROFILE%\.factory\settings.json

If the file doesn’t exist, it’s created with defaults the first time you run droid.

Local overrides

You can create a settings.local.json alongside settings.json in any .factory/ folder:

• ~/.factory/settings.local.json (user-level)
• <project>/.factory/settings.local.json (project-level)

Local overrides merge on top of the corresponding settings.json at the same level and follow the same hierarchy precedence. Add settings.local.json to .gitignore if you want to keep machine-specific preferences out of version control.

Legacy Droid YAML configuration

.droid.yaml was an older project configuration surface. Use the current .factory/ files instead:

• Use settings.json and settings.local.json for Droid preferences and local overrides.
• Use AGENTS.md for repository instructions, conventions, and validation commands.
• Use MCP servers, hooks, and skills for integrations, automation, and reusable workflows.

Available settings

Setting	Options	Default	Description
model	Any available model ID	Product default	The default AI model used by droid
reasoningEffort	off, none, low, medium, high (availability depends on the model)	Model-dependent default	Controls how much structured thinking the model performs.
sessionDefaultSettings.interactionMode	auto, spec	auto	Sets whether new sessions start in Auto or Spec Mode.
sessionDefaultSettings.autonomyLevel	off, low, medium, high	off	Sets the default Autonomy Level for new sessions.
cloudSessionSync	true, false	true	Mirror CLI sessions to Factory web.
diffMode	github, unified	github	Choose between split GitHub-style diffs and a single-column view.
completionSound	off, bell, fx-ok01, fx-ack01, or custom file path	fx-ok01	Audio cue when a response finishes.
awaitingInputSound	off, bell, fx-ok01, fx-ack01, or custom file path	fx-ack01	Audio cue when droid is waiting for user input.
soundFocusMode	always, focused, unfocused	always	When to play sound notifications.
commandAllowlist	Array of commands	Safe defaults provided	Commands that run without extra confirmation.
commandDenylist	Array of commands	Restrictive defaults provided	Commands that always require confirmation.
includeCoAuthoredByDroid	true, false	true	Automatically append the Droid co-author trailer to commits.
enableDroidShield	true, false	true	Enable secret scanning and git guardrails.
hooksDisabled	true, false	false	Globally disable all hooks execution.
ideAutoConnect	true, false	false	Auto-connect to IDE from external terminals.
showThinkingInMainView	true, false	false	Display AI thinking/reasoning blocks in the main chat view.
customModels	Array of model configs	[]	Custom model configurations for BYOK. See BYOK docs.

Model

Set model to a model ID from Available Models. For custom models, see Bring Your Own Key (BYOK).

Reasoning effort

reasoningEffort adjusts how much structured thinking the model performs before replying. Available values depend on the model, but typically include:

• off / none – disable structured reasoning (fastest).
• low, medium, high – progressively increase deliberation time for more complex reasoning.

Anthropic models default to off, while GPT-5 starts on medium.

Autonomy level

Use sessionDefaultSettings.interactionMode to choose whether new sessions start in Auto or Spec Mode, and sessionDefaultSettings.autonomyLevel to set the default Autonomy Level. off keeps manual approvals; low, medium, and high pre-authorize work at or below that risk level.

sessionDefaultSettings.autonomyMode is deprecated and retained for older configurations.

Diff mode

Control how droid displays code changes:

• github – Side-by-side, higher fidelity render (recommended).
• unified – Traditional single-column diff format.

Cloud session sync

When this switch is on, every CLI session is mirrored to Factory web so you can revisit conversations in the browser:

• true – Sync sessions to the web app.
• false – Keep sessions local only.

Sound notifications

Configure audio feedback for droid events:

Completion sound (completionSound) - plays when a response finishes:

• fx-ok01 – Built-in completion sound (default) - soft success bloop
• fx-ack01 – Alternative built-in sound effect - tactile ripple feedback
• bell – Use the system terminal bell
• off – No sound notifications
• Custom path – Provide a file path to your own sound file (e.g., "/path/to/sound.wav")

Awaiting input sound (awaitingInputSound) - plays when droid is waiting for user input. Same options as completion sound, defaults to fx-ack01.

Sound focus mode (soundFocusMode) - controls when sounds play:

• always – Play sounds regardless of window focus (default)
• focused – Only play sounds when the terminal is focused
• unfocused – Only play sounds when the terminal is not focused

Access sound settings via /settings or Shift+Tab → Settings in the TUI.

Hooks

The hooksDisabled setting provides a global toggle to disable all hooks execution without removing your hook configurations:

• false – Hooks are enabled and will execute normally (default)
• true – All hooks are disabled globally

You can also toggle this from the /hooks menu or /settings.

IDE auto-connect

The ideAutoConnect setting controls whether droid automatically connects to your IDE when running from external terminals (outside the IDE’s built-in terminal):

• false – Only auto-connect when running inside IDE terminal (default)
• true – Auto-connect to IDE from any terminal

Command allowlist & denylist

Use these settings to control which commands droid can execute automatically and which it must never run:

• commandAllowlist – Commands in this array are treated as safe and run without additional confirmation, regardless of autonomy prompts. Include only low-risk utilities you rely on frequently (for example ls, pwd, dir).
• commandDenylist – Commands in this array always require confirmation and are typically blocked because they are destructive or unsafe (for example recursive rm, mkfs, or privileged system operations).

Commands that appear in both lists default to the denylist behavior. Any command that is in neither list falls back to the autonomy level you selected for the session.

Example allow/deny configuration

{
  "commandAllowlist": ["ls", "pwd", "dir"],
  "commandDenylist": ["rm -rf /", "mkfs", "shutdown"]
}

Review and update these arrays periodically to match your workflow and security posture, especially when sharing configurations across teams.

Example configuration

{
  "model": "claude-opus-4-7",
  "reasoningEffort": "low",
  "diffMode": "github",
  "cloudSessionSync": true,
  "completionSound": "fx-ok01",
  "awaitingInputSound": "fx-ack01",
  "soundFocusMode": "always"
}

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Need more?

• CLI Overview – see the main TUI workflow
• CLI Reference – command flags & options
• IDE Integrations – editor-specific setup
• Custom models & BYOK - add custom models and API keys