Settings - Global Configuration

Manage global settings for the article-writer plugin, including article word limits and companion project defaults.

File location: .article_writer/settings.json Schema: .article_writer/schemas/settings.schema.json Documentation: docs/COMMANDS.md

Article Limits

The article_limits section defines hard limits that apply to ALL articles:

Setting	Type	Description
max_words	integer	Maximum word count for article prose (excludes frontmatter and code blocks)

Default: 3000 words

Articles exceeding max_words are automatically condensed during the Condense phase while preserving quality, flow, and author voice.

Commands

Show all settings

/article-writer:settings show

Runs: bun run "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}"/scripts/show.ts settings

Shows summary table of all companion project types with technologies and test settings.

Show specific companion project type

/article-writer:settings show code
/article-writer:settings show document
/article-writer:settings show diagram

Runs: bun run "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}"/scripts/show.ts settings <type>

Shows full details: technologies, scaffold command, setup commands, run instructions, file structure.

Set a value

/article-writer:settings set <path> <value>

Runs: bun run "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}"/scripts/config.ts set <path> <value>

Common paths:

Path	Example Value
article_limits.max_words	3000
code.technologies	'["Laravel 11", "Pest 3", "SQLite"]'
code.has_tests	true
code.scaffold_command	"composer create-project laravel/laravel:^11.0 code"
code.run_command	"php artisan serve"
code.test_command	"vendor/bin/pest"
document.technologies	'["Markdown", "AsciiDoc"]'

Reset all settings

/article-writer:settings reset

Runs: bun run "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}"/scripts/config.ts reset

Resets all settings to plugin defaults.

Reset one companion project type

/article-writer:settings reset-type code
/article-writer:settings reset-type document

Runs: bun run "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}"/scripts/config.ts reset-type <type>

Companion Project Types

Type	Default Technologies	Has Tests	Use For
code	Laravel 12, Pest 4, SQLite	Yes	Full application companion projects
document	Markdown	No	Templates, guides
diagram	Mermaid	No	Architecture diagrams
template	Markdown, YAML	No	Reusable file templates
dataset	JSON, CSV, SQL	No	Sample data + schemas
config	Docker, YAML	No	Docker/infrastructure
script	Bash, Shell	No	Automation scripts
spreadsheet	Excel, CSV	No	Spreadsheets with formulas
other	(none)	No	Anything else

Configurable Fields Per Type

Field	Type	Description
technologies	array	Default tech stack
has_tests	boolean	Include tests by default
path	string	Default companion project folder
scaffold_command	string	Command to create base project
post_scaffold	array	Commands after scaffolding
setup_commands	array	User setup commands
run_command	string	Command to run companion project
run_instructions	string	Full run instructions
test_command	string	Command to run tests
file_structure	array	Expected files/folders
env_setup	object	Environment variables
notes	string	Notes for this type

How Defaults Are Merged

When creating a companion project:

1. System reads article's companion_project.type (e.g., "code")
2. Loads defaults for that type from settings.json
3. Merges with article-specific values
4. Article values always override defaults

settings.json defaults    +    article companion_project    =    final companion_project
──────────────────────         ──────────────────────────        ────────────────────────
technologies: [Laravel 12]     technologies: [L11]               technologies: [L11]
has_tests: true                (not specified)                   has_tests: true
run_instructions: "..."        run_instructions: "X"             run_instructions: "X"

Examples

View code defaults

/article-writer:settings show code

Change Laravel version

/article-writer:settings set code.technologies '["Laravel 11", "Pest 3", "SQLite"]'

Use PostgreSQL instead of SQLite

/article-writer:settings set code.technologies '["Laravel 12", "Pest 4", "PostgreSQL"]'

Disable tests by default

/article-writer:settings set code.has_tests false

Custom scaffold command

/article-writer:settings set code.scaffold_command "composer create-project laravel/laravel:^11.0 code"

Reset code defaults only

/article-writer:settings reset-type code

Word Limit Examples

Set max words to 2000

/article-writer:settings set article_limits.max_words 2000

Set max words to 5000 (for deep-dives)

/article-writer:settings set article_limits.max_words 5000

View current word limit

jq '.article_limits.max_words' .article_writer/settings.json