greptile.json Reference

Complete configuration reference for greptile.json. All parameters are optional.

Looking for the recommended config format? The .greptile/ folder supports everything greptile.json does, plus cascading per-directory overrides, separate rules files, and structured rules with severity and disable-by-ID. greptile.json is still fully supported — if both exist in the same directory, .greptile/ takes precedence.

Place greptile.json in your repository root. Settings are read from the source branch of the PR and override dashboard settings.

Review Behavior

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`strictness`	number	`2`	Severity threshold. Must be `1`, `2`, or `3`
`commentTypes`	array	`["logic", "syntax", "style", "info"]`	Comment types to provide. Options: `logic`, `syntax`, `style`, `info`
`triggerOnUpdates`	boolean	`false`	Review every commit to the PR, not just when opened
`skipReview`	string	-	Set to `"AUTOMATIC"` to skip auto-reviews but allow manual triggers
`model`	string	-	Specify which AI model to use for reviews

PR Filters

Control which PRs get reviewed:

Parameter	Type	Description
`labels`	array	Review only PRs with these labels
`disabledLabels`	array	Skip PRs with these labels
`includeAuthors`	array	Review only PRs from these authors. Empty = all authors (except excluded)
`excludeAuthors`	array	Never review PRs from these authors
`includeBranches`	array	Review only PRs to these branches. Empty = all branches (except excluded)
`excludeBranches`	array	Never review PRs to these branches
`includeKeywords`	string	Newline-separated keywords. Review only PRs with these in title/description
`ignoreKeywords`	string	Newline-separated keywords. Skip PRs with these in title/description
`fileChangeLimit`	number	Skip PRs with more than this many changed files (minimum: 1)

File Patterns

Parameter	Type	Description
`ignorePatterns`	string	Newline-separated file patterns to skip (follows `.gitignore` syntax)

Example:

{
  "ignorePatterns": "**/*.generated.*\ndist/**\nnode_modules/**"
}

Custom Context

Parameter	Type	Description
`instructions`	string	Natural language instructions for code reviews
`customContext`	object	Advanced context with `rules`, `files`, and `other` arrays
`patternRepositories`	array	Related repos to reference (format: `org/repo`)

customContext structure:

{
  "customContext": {
    "rules": [
      {
        "rule": "Use async/await instead of callbacks",
        "scope": ["src/**/*.ts"]
      }
    ],
    "files": [
      {
        "path": "docs/style-guide.md",
        "description": "Company style guide",
        "scope": ["src/**"]
      }
    ],
    "other": [
      {
        "content": "This is a legacy codebase - be cautious with changes",
        "scope": ["legacy/**"]
      }
    ]
  }
}

Review Output

Control how reviews appear:

Parameter	Type	Description
`comment`	string	Disclaimer/prefix added to every PR summary
`shouldUpdateDescription`	boolean	If `true`, updates PR description. If `false`, posts as review comment
`updateExistingSummaryComment`	boolean	Update existing review comment instead of creating new one
`updateSummaryOnly`	boolean	Only update summary, don’t post individual inline comments
`fixWithAI`	boolean	Add AI fix prompts to help AI tools understand fixes
`hideFooter`	boolean	Hide Greptile footer from review comments

Review Components

Control visibility of individual review components:

Parameter	Type	Description
`includeIssuesTable`	boolean	Include issues table in review
`includeConfidenceScore`	boolean	Include confidence scores in review
`includeSequenceDiagram`	boolean	Include diagrams in review (sequence, ER, class, or flow — auto-selected based on changes)

Review Sections

Fine-grained control over section visibility and behavior:

Parameter	Type	Properties
`summarySection`	object	`included` (boolean), `collapsible` (boolean), `defaultOpen` (boolean)
`issuesTableSection`	object	`included` (boolean), `collapsible` (boolean), `defaultOpen` (boolean)
`confidenceScoreSection`	object	`included` (boolean), `collapsible` (boolean), `defaultOpen` (boolean)
`sequenceDiagramSection`	object	Controls the diagram section (sequence, ER, class, or flow). Properties: `included` (boolean), `collapsible` (boolean), `defaultOpen` (boolean)

Example:

{
  "summarySection": {
    "included": true,
    "collapsible": true,
    "defaultOpen": false
  }
}

GitHub-Specific

Parameter	Type	Description
`statusCheck`	boolean	Create a GitHub status check for each review. When enabled, Greptile posts a status check (pass/fail indicator) instead of a comment like “X files reviewed, no comments”. Set to `true` to disable the “X files reviewed” comments.
`statusCommentsEnabled`	boolean	Post a summary comment on PRs after review. This controls the main review summary comment, not the “X files reviewed” status message.

Common confusion: To disable the “X files reviewed, no comments” message, set statusCheck: true (not statusCommentsEnabled: false). When statusCheck is enabled, Greptile uses GitHub’s status check system instead of posting status comments.

Complete Example

greptile.json

{
  "strictness": 2,
  "commentTypes": ["logic", "syntax"],
  "model": "gpt-4",
  "instructions": "Focus on security and maintainability",
  "ignorePatterns": "**/*.generated.*\ndist/**\n*.md",
  "patternRepositories": ["acme/shared-utils"],
  "triggerOnUpdates": false,
  "fileChangeLimit": 100,
  "includeAuthors": [],
  "excludeAuthors": ["dependabot[bot]"],
  "includeBranches": ["main", "develop"],
  "excludeBranches": ["draft/**"],
  "customContext": {
    "rules": [
      {
        "rule": "All API endpoints must have rate limiting",
        "scope": ["src/api/**/*.ts"]
      }
    ],
    "files": [
      {
        "path": "docs/architecture.md",
        "description": "System architecture"
      }
    ]
  },
  "shouldUpdateDescription": false,
  "updateExistingSummaryComment": true,
  "statusCheck": true,
  "includeConfidenceScore": true,
  "summarySection": {
    "included": true,
    "collapsible": false,
    "defaultOpen": true
  }
}

Parameter Reference by Category

All parameters alphabetically

comment - string
commentTypes - array
customContext - object
disabledLabels - array
excludeAuthors - array
excludeBranches - array
fileChangeLimit - number
fixWithAI - boolean
hideFooter - boolean
ignoreKeywords - string
ignorePatterns - string
includeAuthors - array
includeBranches - array
includeConfidenceScore - boolean
includeIssuesTable - boolean
includeKeywords - string
includeSequenceDiagram - boolean (controls all diagram types)
instructions - string
labels - array
model - string
patternRepositories - array
shouldUpdateDescription - boolean
skipReview - string (literal "AUTOMATIC")
statusCheck - boolean
statusCommentsEnabled - boolean
strictness - number (1, 2, or 3)
triggerOnUpdates - boolean
updateExistingSummaryComment - boolean
updateSummaryOnly - boolean
Section objects: summarySection, issuesTableSection, confidenceScoreSection, sequenceDiagramSection

Validation

JSON syntax errors

Common mistakes:❌ Trailing commas:

{
  "strictness": 2,
  "commentTypes": ["logic"],
}

✅ No trailing comma:

{
  "strictness": 2,
  "commentTypes": ["logic"]
}

Validate your JSON:

npx jsonlint greptile.json

Invalid parameter values

strictness must be 1, 2, or 3:

{
  "strictness": 4
}

❌ Invalid - only 1, 2, or 3 allowedcommentTypes must be valid:

{
  "commentTypes": ["logic", "syntax", "style", "info"]
}

✅ Valid options: logic, syntax, style, infoskipReview must be exactly “AUTOMATIC”:

{
  "skipReview": "AUTO"
}

❌ Invalid - must be "AUTOMATIC" exactly

File location

✅ Correct: Repository root

your-repo/
├── greptile.json
├── src/
└── package.json

❌ Wrong: Subdirectory

your-repo/
├── src/
│   └── greptile.json
└── package.json

Configuration not taking effect

Check:

File is in repository root
File exists in the source branch of the PR
JSON is valid (use jsonlint)
Parameter names are spelled correctly
Waiting for new PR (changes don’t affect existing reviews)

Export dashboard settings: Go to app.greptile.com/review/github → Click copy/download icon

Configuration Hierarchy

Settings priority (highest to lowest):

Org enforced rules (set by admins in the dashboard — cannot be overridden)
.greptile/ folder (per-directory and repo-wide settings)
greptile.json in repository root
Dashboard settings (organization defaults)

If both .greptile/ and greptile.json exist in the same directory, .greptile/ takes precedence and greptile.json is ignored. See Customization Overview for details.

What’s Next

Custom Standards → - Enforce team-specific rules
Pattern Repositories → - Reference related codebases
Controlling Nitpickiness → - Fine-tune review behavior

Getting Started

Code Review

Self-Hosting

Account

How Greptile Works

greptile.json Reference

Review Behavior

PR Filters

File Patterns

Custom Context

Review Output

Review Components

Review Sections

GitHub-Specific

Complete Example

Parameter Reference by Category

Validation

Configuration Hierarchy

What’s Next

Getting Started

Code Review

Self-Hosting

Account

How Greptile Works

​Review Behavior

​PR Filters

​File Patterns

​Custom Context

​Review Output

​Review Components

​Review Sections

​GitHub-Specific

​Complete Example

​Parameter Reference by Category

​Validation

​Configuration Hierarchy

​What’s Next

Review Behavior

PR Filters

File Patterns

Custom Context

Review Output

Review Components

Review Sections

GitHub-Specific

Complete Example

Parameter Reference by Category

Validation

Configuration Hierarchy

What’s Next