Configuration

Cora's configuration lives on your local filesystem as plain text files. All settings skills, rules, workflows, MCP servers, system instructions, and auto-accept behavior can be read and edited direct

Where settings are stored

Cora has two configuration scopes: global and project.

Global settings apply to every project you open. They live in extension storage directory:

~/.config/Code/User/globalStorage/codemateai.codemate-agent/settings/

Project settings apply only to the current workspace and take precedence over global settings when both exist. They live at the root of your project:

your-project/
  .cora/
    skills/
    rules/
    workflows/
    mcp_settings.json

Both locations use the same file formats Markdown for skills, rules, workflows, and system instructions; JSON for MCP servers.

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Global settings directory

The full structure of the global settings directory:

~/.config/Code/User/globalStorage/codemateai.codemate-agent/settings/
  skills/
    api-conventions.md
    testing-approach.md
  rules/
    security.md
    naming.md
  workflows/
    new-feature.md
    pr-prep.md
  mcp_settings.json
  system-instructions.md

Because these are plain files, you can version-control them, sync them across machines with a dotfiles manager, or share a set of skills and rules across a team.

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Global vs. project settings

Use global settings for conventions and tools that apply to everything you work on a personal coding style, preferred patterns, MCP servers for services you use everywhere like GitHub or Slack.

Use project settings for things specific to a codebase its domain vocabulary, its particular API conventions, its security rules, the MCP server for its specific database.

When both scopes define the same type of file (e.g., a rules/security.md in both global and project), the project-level file is used for that project. They don't merge line-by-line the project file takes precedence as a whole for that filename.

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Configuration types

Type	Format	Purpose
Skills	Markdown	Domain knowledge Cora draws on when relevant to the task
Rules	Markdown	Hard constraints applied unconditionally to every interaction
Workflows	Markdown	Step-by-step processes for recurring tasks
MCP servers	JSON	External tool and service integrations
System instructions	Markdown	Baseline behavior applied at the start of every session
Auto-accept	Setting	Whether Cora applies file changes without asking for confirmation