> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.rapidreview.dev/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Configure a repository

> How to configure Rapid Review for a repository with .rapid-review.yml and .rapid-review/instructions.md; read this when you want to know which keys the file accepts, how to exclude files or folders, how to give the reviewer guidance, or why a change to the file had no effect.

## How do I configure Rapid Review for a repository?

Add a file named `.rapid-review.yml` at the root of the repository. It's optional: without it, the defaults apply.

To give the reviewer written guidance, add a Markdown file at `.rapid-review/instructions.md`.

## Which keys does .rapid-review\.yml accept?

* `version`: required, and must be `1`.
* `mode`: `budget` or `standard`.
* `confidence`: `low`, `medium` or `high`. It decides which findings are shown, by how likely each is to be real. `low`, the default, shows the most.
* `review.include`: a list of path patterns. Only matching files are reviewed. Without it, every file can be.
* `review.exclude`: a list of path patterns to leave out of reviews. They add to the files Rapid Review always leaves out; they can't bring one of those back.
* `scan.exclude`: path patterns to leave out when Rapid Review looks for repeated code, for code you keep but wouldn't refactor, such as experiments.

## What does a .rapid-review\.yml look like?

```yaml theme={null}
version: 1
mode: standard
confidence: medium
review:
  exclude:
    - "docs/**"
    - "scripts/**"
```

To review only some folders:

```yaml theme={null}
version: 1
review:
  include:
    - "src/**"
    - "lib/**"
```

## When does a change to .rapid-review\.yml take effect?

Rapid Review reads `.rapid-review.yml` as it is at the pull request's merge base, where its branch left the base branch, never from the pull request's own changes. A pull request that adds or edits the file is reviewed under the earlier version. The change applies to later pull requests once it's merged.

## Why was my .rapid-review\.yml ignored?

<Warning>
  The file is strict. An unknown key, a wrong value or invalid YAML makes Rapid Review ignore the whole file, and the check's warnings say ".rapid-review\.yml ignored" with the reason.
</Warning>

Some values are read but not used, and the check's warnings say so:

* `mode` when the repository is in the free tier, or when Rapid Review has set the repository's mode to take precedence over its file;
* `confidence` when Rapid Review has set the repository's tier to take precedence over its file;
* `mode: deep`, which has been retired. The repository is then reviewed in its default mode.

## How do I write path patterns?

Patterns are globs, such as `src/**` or `**/*.test.ts`. A list holds at most 100 patterns of up to 200 characters each, and the file can be up to 64 KB.

## How do I give the reviewer instructions for my repository?

Write them in a Markdown file at `.rapid-review/instructions.md`. The reviewer reads them, as the repository's review instructions, with each part of the change it reviews.

Use them to explain conventions in your code, or to say what kinds of issues not to raise: they can narrow what the reviewer reports. They can't change how or where Rapid Review posts its results.

* Like `.rapid-review.yml`, the file is read at the pull request's merge base, so an edit applies to later pull requests once it's merged.
* Only the first 4,000 characters are used.

Replying to a finding with the reason it's wrong is another way to teach Rapid Review about your code: it can record the reason as a learning.

## Does Rapid Review read CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md or other instruction files?

No. The reviewer is given only `.rapid-review/instructions.md`. Instructions in other files, such as `CLAUDE.md`, `AGENTS.md` or `.github/copilot-instructions.md`, aren't given to the reviewer.


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