Byte Configuration Settings

Byte's configuration system uses a YAML file located at .byte/config.yaml to control all aspects of the application's behavior. Configuration is organized into logical sections covering CLI behavior, LLM providers, file handling, and feature-specific settings.

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Boot

Field	Type	Default	Description
read_only_files	array[string]	-	Files to add to read-only context
editable_files	array[string]	-	Files to add to editable context

Cli

Field	Type	Default	Description
ui_theme	mocha, macchiato, latte, frappe	mocha	Catppuccin theme variant for the CLI interface (mocha/macchiato are dark, latte is light, frappe is cool dark)
syntax_theme	github-dark, bw, sas, staroffice, xcode, monokai, lightbulb, rrt	monokai	Pygments theme for code block syntax highlighting in CLI output

Edit_Format

Field	Type	Default	Description
enable_shell_commands	boolean	false	Enable execution of shell commands from AI responses. When disabled, shell command blocks will not be executed.
mask_message_count	integer	1	Number of recent AI messages to exclude from masking. Messages older than this count will have their SEARCH/REPLACE blocks removed to reduce token usage.

Files

Field	Type	Default	Description
ignore	array[string]	['.byte/cache', '.ruff_cache', '.idea', '.venv', '.env', '.git', '.pytest_cache', '__pycache__', 'node_modules', 'dist']	List of gitignore-style patterns to exclude from file discovery. Patterns support wildcards and are combined with .gitignore rules.

Files > Watch

Field	Type	Default	Description
enable	boolean	false	Enable file watching for AI comment markers (AI:, AI@, AI?, AI!). When enabled, Byte automatically detects changes and processes AI instructions.

Git

Field	Type	Default	Description
enable_scopes	boolean	false	Enable scope selection for conventional commits
enable_breaking_changes	boolean	true	Enable breaking change detection and confirmation
enable_body	boolean	true	Enable commit message body generation
scopes	array[string]	-	Available scopes for conventional commits
description_guidelines	array[string]	-	Additional guidelines for commit descriptions
max_description_length	integer	72	Maximum character length for commit descriptions

Lint

Code linting and formatting configuration

Field	Type	Default	Description
enable	boolean	false	Enable or disable the linting functionality
commands	array[LintCommand]	[]	List of lint commands to run on files with their target extensions

Lint > LintCommand

Field	Type	Default	Description
command	array[string]	-	Command and arguments to execute for linting (e.g., ['ruff', 'check', '--fix']). Use {file} placeholder to specify where the file path should be inserted, otherwise it will be appended to the end.
languages	array[string]	-	List of language names this command handles (e.g., ['python', 'php']). Empty list means all files.

Llm

Field	Type	Default	Description

Llm > Main Model

Field	Type	Default	Description
model	string	-	The model identifier to use
extra_params	object	-	Additional parameters to pass to the model initialization

Llm > Weak Model

Field	Type	Default	Description
model	string	-	The model identifier to use
extra_params	object	-	Additional parameters to pass to the model initialization

Llm > Providers

Field	Type	Default	Description
gemini	LLMProviderConfig	{'enable': False, 'extra_params': {}}
anthropic	LLMProviderConfig	{'enable': False, 'extra_params': {}}
openai	LLMProviderConfig	{'enable': False, 'extra_params': {}}

Lsp

Field	Type	Default	Description
enable	boolean	false	Enable or disable LSP functionality
timeout	integer	30	Timeout in seconds for LSP requests
servers	object	-	Map of server names to their configurations

Presets

Field	Type	Default	Description
id	string	-	Unique identifier for the preset, used in /preset command
read_only_files	array[string]	-	Files to add to read-only context
editable_files	array[string]	-	Files to add to editable context
conventions	array[string]	-	Convention files to load
prompt	string | null	-	Preset prompt to load into chat input
load_on_boot	boolean	false	Automatically load this preset when byte starts

Web

Field	Type	Default	Description
enable	boolean	false	Enable web commands
chrome_binary_location	string	/usr/bin/google-chrome	Path to Chrome/Chromium binary executable for headless browser automation