Config file

Instead of passing flags every time, check a .straitjacket.yaml into your repo. Straitjacket picks it up automatically — from the current directory or any parent — so every run (local or CI) starts from the same settings.

# .straitjacket.yaml
paths: [src, tests]
skip: [motion, slop-prose]
max-lines: 800
prose-window: 600
dup-min-tokens: 80
include-json: false
no-ignore: false
no-fail: false

Keys

Every key is optional and mirrors a CLI flag one-for-one, in kebab-case:

An unknown key is an error — a typo'd setting is surfaced, not silently ignored. The rule ids for only/skip are the same ones in the rules reference.

Precedence

Settings layer in this order, each overriding the one before:

1. Built-in defaults
2. .straitjacket.yaml
3. CLI flags

So a --max-lines 0 on the command line wins over max-lines: 800 in the file, which wins over the default of 1500. The boolean flags (include-json, no-ignore, no-fail) work as an on-switch: the file sets the baseline and a CLI flag can turn one on, but can't turn one off — use the file for that.

Discovery

Straitjacket looks for .straitjacket.yaml (or .straitjacket.yml) in the current directory and walks up to the filesystem root, using the first it finds. When a file is loaded it prints a one-line note to stderr (stdout stays clean for --format json).

• --config <path> — use a specific file instead of discovering one.
• --no-config — ignore any .straitjacket.yaml and use only flags + defaults.

Not to be confused with .straitjacket.toml. The YAML file here sets run settings. A .straitjacket.toml is a separate monorepo project marker — its presence draws a boundary the cross-file rules don't compare across. Different file, different job.

With the GitHub Action

The Action runs Straitjacket inside your checked-out repo, so a committed .straitjacket.yaml is picked up with no extra configuration. Leave the Action's inputs blank to defer to the file; set an input to override it for that workflow.