Configuration

Each project has one config file, .localexec.json, in its root. Every key is optional. Unknown keys are rejected with an error, so a typo never silently does nothing.

Keys
Checks
A fuller example
Environment variables

Keys

Key	Type	Default	Meaning
`ollama_model`	string	`qwen-coder-16k`	The model name in Ollama.
`ollama_url`	string	`http://localhost:11434`	Must point at this machine. To use another server, set `LOCALEXEC_OLLAMA_URL`.
`num_ctx`	integer	16384	Context window requested from Ollama. Match it to the model.
`temperature`	number, 0 to 2	0.1	Sampling temperature.
`max_attempts`	integer, 1 or more	2	Generations per task. Each failed check is sent back to the model for the next one.
`max_output_tokens`	integer	4096	Largest reply the model may write.
`prompt_budget_tokens`	integer	8000	Upper bound for the prompt. See the budget formula below.
`keep_alive`	string	`10m`	How long Ollama keeps the model loaded after a request.
`request_timeout`	integer, seconds	600	Time allowed for one Ollama request.
`conventions`	string	empty	Text added to every prompt: language version, style, things to avoid.
`allowed_paths`	list of globs	`["**"]`	Only these paths can be read or edited. It must not be empty.
`ignore`	list of globs	see below	Added to the default ignore list. Ignored paths cannot be read or edited.
`checks`	list of objects	none	Commands that decide whether a task passed.
`standards`	true or object	off	Turns on the built-in size limits. See Coding standards.

Default ignore list

Your ignore globs are added to these:

.git/**
.localexec/**
.localexec.json
node_modules/**
.venv/**
venv/**
__pycache__/**
/dist/**
/build/**
/data/**
*.lock
package-lock.json
pnpm-lock.yaml
yarn.lock
.env
.env.*

A leading slash anchors the pattern to the project root, so a package named src/build is still source.

Prompt budget

The prompt may use min(prompt_budget_tokens, num_ctx - max_output_tokens - 2500) tokens, converted at 3.5 characters per token with a floor of 1,000 characters. The 2,500 tokens are reserved for one repair round. Context files are truncated first and listed under truncated. If files_to_edit alone do not fit, the result is blocked with a message to split the task.

Checks

A check is a command from your config. It runs without a shell, with a timeout and with stdin closed. A task passes when every selected check exits successfully.

Key	Type	Default	Meaning
`name`	string	required	Unique name. `standards` is reserved when a standards block is present.
`argv`	list of strings	required	The command and its arguments. No shell is involved.
`cwd`	string	`.`	Working directory, relative to the project root.
`timeout`	integer, seconds	300	The check is stopped after this long.
`files_filter`	list of globs	none	Run the check only if a changed file matches. Otherwise it is reported as skipped.

Put "{files}" in argv as a whole element, used once, and it expands to the files the task changed, relative to the check's cwd, one argument per file. See scoped checks.

A fuller example

{
  "ollama_model": "qwen-coder-16k",
  "num_ctx": 16384,
  "temperature": 0.1,
  "max_attempts": 2,
  "prompt_budget_tokens": 8000,
  "standards": {
    "max_function_lines": 50,
    "max_file_lines": 500,
    "warn_file_lines": 300,
    "exempt": ["frontend/src/generated/**"]
  },
  "checks": [
    { "name": "ruff", "argv": ["uv", "run", "ruff", "check", "{files}"], "files_filter": ["*.py"], "timeout": 120 },
    { "name": "pytest", "argv": ["uv", "run", "pytest", "-x", "-q"], "timeout": 600 },
    { "name": "tsc", "argv": ["npx", "tsc", "--noEmit"], "cwd": "frontend",
      "files_filter": ["frontend/**/*.ts", "frontend/**/*.tsx"], "timeout": 300 }
  ],
  "conventions": "Python 3.12, type hints on all functions, no new dependencies. Do not touch tests unless the spec says so.",
  "allowed_paths": ["backend/**", "frontend/src/**", "tests/**"],
  "ignore": ["frontend/public/**", "migrations/**"]
}

Environment variables

Variable	Meaning
`LOCALEXEC_ROOT`	The project root. Without it, the server uses the git top-level of its working directory, or a directory that contains `.localexec.json`. It refuses to guess beyond that.
`LOCALEXEC_OLLAMA_URL`	An Ollama server other than this machine. It must be an http or https URL. Only the environment can do this, never the project file.

The project file may only point ollama_url at this machine (localhost, 127.0.0.1 or ::1). A cloned repository cannot redirect your code to another host.