Configure with greptile.json

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:

greptile.json (highest priority) - Repository-specific configuration
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.

The ignorePatterns field follows .gitignore syntax.

greptile.json

{
  "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.

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.

Getting Started

Code Review

Self-Hosting

Account

How Greptile Works

Configure with greptile.json

Configuration Hierarchy

Configuration Parameters

Comment Types Explained

Available Comment Types

Example Configurations

Custom Context Explained

Custom Context Types

Scope Targeting

​Configuration Hierarchy

​Configuration Parameters

​Comment Types Explained

​Available Comment Types

​Example Configurations

​Custom Context Explained

​Custom Context Types

​Scope Targeting

Configuration Hierarchy

Configuration Parameters

Comment Types Explained

Available Comment Types

Example Configurations

Custom Context Explained

Custom Context Types

Scope Targeting