Config Files

Repo-local — .work-summary.json

Place this in the root of any git repository to set project-specific defaults. Commit it to share settings with teammates.

work-summary config set branch main        # creates or updates .work-summary.json
work-summary config set timeWindow 48h

Full example with annotations

{
  "branch": "main",
  "timeWindow": "24h",
  "repoPath": ".",

  "excludePaths": [
    "**/package-lock.json",
    "**/*.snap",
    "coverage/",
    "e2e/"
  ],

  "focusAreas": [
    "src/",
    "api/"
  ],

  "llm": {
    "summaryLength": "medium"
  },

  "output": {
    "format": "both",
    "dir": "~/.work-summary/reports"
  },

  "integrations": {
    "linear": {
      "teamId": "team-abc123"
    },
    "docsRepo": {
      "path": "/Users/you/Projects/my-docs",
      "outputDir": "doc-tasks",
      "autoCommit": false
    }
  }
}

Key reference

Key	Type	Description
branch	string	Branch for git log.
timeWindow	string	Commit window: 30m, 24h, 2d, 1w, or a git date string.
repoPath	string	Default repo path when --repo is not passed.
excludePaths	string[]	Glob patterns or substrings. Matching files are stripped from diffs and commit changed-file lists.
focusAreas	string[]	Patterns or substrings. Commits that touch none of these paths are skipped entirely.
llm.summaryLength	short|medium|long	Controls Gemini output length.
output.format	markdown|html|both	Default report format.
output.dir	string	Report output directory. ~ is expanded.
integrations.linear.teamId	string	Linear team ID required for docs --create-issues.
integrations.docsRepo.path	string	Path to a local documentation repository.
integrations.docsRepo.outputDir	string	Subdirectory inside the docs repo. Defaults to doc-tasks.
integrations.docsRepo.autoCommit	boolean	If true, docs push creates a git commit automatically.

---

Global — ~/.work-summary/config.json

Use this for non-secret preferences you want across all repos. Written by work-summary config set --global.

{
  "llm": {
    "summaryLength": "medium"
  },
  "output": {
    "dir": "~/.work-summary/reports",
    "format": "markdown"
  }
}

---

Global env — ~/.work-summary/.env

Written by work-summary config init. Contains API keys and the model name.

GEMINI_API_KEY=AIza...
GEMINI_MODEL=gemini-3.1-flash-lite
LINEAR_API_KEY=lin_api_...
MINTLIFY_API_KEY=mint_...
MINTLIFY_PROJECT_ID=my-project

This file is loaded automatically on every command. Shell-exported variables take precedence over values in this file.

---

excludePaths vs focusAreas

Option	Effect
excludePaths	Strips matching files from the diff content shown to Gemini and the changed-files list. The commit itself is still included.
focusAreas	Drops entire commits where no changed file matches any pattern. Useful for monorepos where you only care about a specific subdirectory.

Both options support glob patterns (*, **, ?) and plain substrings.