doc/develop/west/config.rst

.. _west-config:

Configuration
#############

This page documents west's configuration file system, the ``west config``
command, and configuration options used by built-in commands. For API
documentation on the ``west.configuration`` module, see
:ref:`west-apis-configuration`.

West Configuration Files
------------------------

West's configuration file syntax is INI-like; here is an example file:

.. code-block:: ini

   [manifest]
   path = zephyr

   [zephyr]
   base = zephyr

Above, the ``manifest`` section has option ``path`` set to ``zephyr``. Another
way to say the same thing is that ``manifest.path`` is ``zephyr`` in this file.

There are three types of configuration file:

1. **System**: Settings in this file affect west's behavior for every user
   logged in to the computer. Its location depends on the platform:

   - Linux: :file:`/etc/westconfig`
   - macOS: :file:`/usr/local/etc/westconfig`
   - Windows: :file:`%PROGRAMDATA%\\west\\config`

2. **Global** (per user): Settings in this file affect how west behaves when
   run by a particular user on the computer.

   - All platforms: the default is :file:`.westconfig` in the user's home
     directory.
   - Linux note: if the environment variable ``XDG_CONFIG_HOME`` is set,
     then :file:`$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/west/config` is used.
   - Windows note: the following environment variables are tested to find the
     home directory: ``%HOME%``, then ``%USERPROFILE%``, then a
     combination of ``%HOMEDRIVE%`` and ``%HOMEPATH%``.

3. **Local**: Settings in this file affect west's behavior for the
   current :term:`west workspace`. The file is :file:`.west/config`, relative
   to the workspace's root directory.

A setting in a file which appears lower down on this list overrides an earlier
setting. For example, if ``color.ui`` is ``true`` in the system's configuration
file, but ``false`` in the workspace's, then the final value is
``false``. Similarly, settings in the user configuration file override system
settings, and so on.

.. _west-config-cmd:

west config
-----------

The built-in ``config`` command can be used to get and set configuration
values. You can pass ``west config`` the options ``--system``, ``--global``, or
``--local`` to specify which configuration file to use. Only one of these can
be used at a time. If none is given, then writes default to ``--local``, and
reads show the final value after applying overrides.

Some examples for common uses follow; run ``west config -h`` for detailed help,
and see :ref:`west-config-index` for more details on built-in options.

To set ``manifest.path`` to :file:`some-other-manifest`:

.. code-block:: console

   west config manifest.path some-other-manifest

Doing the above means that commands like ``west update`` will look for the
:term:`west manifest` inside the :file:`some-other-manifest` directory
(relative to the workspace root directory) instead of the directory given to
``west init``, so be careful!

To read ``zephyr.base``, the value which will be used as ``ZEPHYR_BASE`` if it
is unset in the calling environment (also relative to the workspace root):

.. code-block:: console

   west config zephyr.base

You can switch to another zephyr repository without changing ``manifest.path``
-- and thus the behavior of commands like ``west update`` -- using:

.. code-block:: console

   west config zephyr.base some-other-zephyr

This can be useful if you use commands like ``git worktree`` to create your own
zephyr directories, and want commands like ``west build`` to use them instead
of the zephyr repository specified in the manifest. (You can go back to using
the directory in the upstream manifest by running ``west config zephyr.base
zephyr``.)

To set ``color.ui`` to ``false`` in the global (user-wide) configuration file,
so that west will no longer print colored output for that user when run in any
workspace:

.. code-block:: console

   west config --global color.ui false

To undo the above change:

.. code-block:: console

   west config --global color.ui true

.. _west-config-index:

Built-in Configuration Options
------------------------------

The following table documents configuration options supported by west's
built-in commands. Configuration options supported by Zephyr's extension
commands are documented in the pages for those commands.

.. NOTE: docs authors: keep this table sorted by section, then option.

.. list-table::
   :widths: 10 30
   :header-rows: 1

   * - Option
     - Description
   * - :samp:`alias.{ALIAS}`
     - String. If non-empty the ``<ALIAS>`` can be used as a west command.
       See :ref:`west-aliases`.
   * - ``color.ui``
     - Boolean. If ``true`` (the default), then west output is colorized when
       stdout is a terminal.
   * - ``commands.allow_extensions``
     - Boolean, default ``true``, disables :ref:`west-extensions` if ``false``
   * - ``grep.color``
     - String, default empty. Set this to ``never`` to disable ``west grep``
       color output. If set, ``west grep`` passes the value to the grep tool's
       ``--color`` option.
   * - ``grep.tool``
     - String, one of ``"git-grep"`` (default), ``"ripgrep"``, or ``"grep"``.
       The grep tool that ``west grep`` should use.
   * - ``grep.<TOOL>-args``
     - String, default empty. The ``<TOOL>`` part is a pattern that can be any
       ``grep.tool`` value, so ``grep.ripgrep-args`` is an example
       configuration option. If set, arguments that ``west grep`` should pass
       to the corresponding grep tool. Run ``west help grep`` for details.
   * - ``grep.<TOOL>-path``
     - String, default empty. The ``<TOOL>`` part is a pattern that can be any
       ``grep.tool`` value, so ``grep.ripgrep-path`` is an example
       configuration option. The path to the corresponding tool that ``west
       grep`` should use instead of searching for the command. Run ``west help
       grep`` for details.
   * - ``manifest.file``
     - String, default ``west.yml``. Relative path from the manifest repository
       root directory to the manifest file used by ``west init`` and other
       commands which parse the manifest.
   * - ``manifest.group-filter``
     - String, default empty. A comma-separated list of project groups to
       enable and disable within the workspace. Prefix enabled groups with
       ``+`` and disabled groups with ``-``. For example, the value
       ``"+foo,-bar"`` enables group ``foo`` and disables ``bar``. See
       :ref:`west-manifest-groups`.
   * - ``manifest.path``
     - String, relative path from the :term:`west workspace` root directory
       to the manifest repository used by ``west update`` and other commands
       which parse the manifest. Set locally by ``west init``.
   * - ``manifest.project-filter``
     - Comma-separated list of strings.

       The option's value is a comma-separated list of regular expressions,
       each prefixed with ``+`` or ``-``, like this:

       .. code-block:: none

          +re1,-re2,-re3

       Project names are matched against each regular expression (``re1``,
       ``re2``, ``re3``, ...) in the list, in order. If the entire project name
       matches the regular expression, that element of the list either
       deactivates or activates the project. The project is deactivated if the
       element begins with ``-``. The project is activated if the element
       begins with ``+``. (Project names cannot contain ``,`` if this option is
       used, so the regular expressions do not need to contain a literal ``,``
       character.)

       If a project's name matches multiple regular expressions in the list,
       the result from the last regular expression is used. For example,
       if ``manifest.project-filter`` is:

       .. code-block:: none

          -hal_.*,+hal_foo

       Then a project named ``hal_bar`` is inactive, but a project named
       ``hal_foo`` is active.

       If a project is made inactive or active by a list element, the project
       is active or not regardless of whether any or all of its groups are
       disabled. (This is currently the only way to make a project that has no
       groups inactive.)

       Otherwise, i.e. if a project does not match any regular expressions in
       the list, it is active or inactive according to the usual rules related
       to its groups (see :ref:`west-project-group-examples` for examples in
       that case).

       Within an element of a ``manifest.project-filter`` list, leading and
       trailing whitespace are ignored. That means these example values
       are equivalent:

       .. code-block:: none

          +foo,-bar
          +foo , -bar

       Any empty elements are ignored. That means these example values are
       equivalent:

       .. code-block:: none

           +foo,,-bar
           +foo,-bar

   * - ``update.fetch``
     - String, one of ``"smart"`` (the default behavior starting in v0.6.1) or
       ``"always"`` (the previous behavior). If set to ``"smart"``, the
       :ref:`west-update` command will skip fetching
       from project remotes when those projects' revisions in the manifest file
       are SHAs or tags which are already available locally. The ``"always"``
       behavior is to unconditionally fetch from the remote.
   * - ``update.name-cache``
     - String. If non-empty, ``west update`` will use its value as the
       ``--name-cache`` option's value if not given on the command line.
   * - ``update.narrow``
     - Boolean. If ``true``, ``west update`` behaves as if ``--narrow`` was
       given on the command line. The default is ``false``.
   * - ``update.path-cache``
     - String. If non-empty, ``west update`` will use its value as the
       ``--path-cache`` option's value if not given on the command line.
   * - ``update.sync-submodules``
     - Boolean. If ``true`` (the default), :ref:`west-update` will synchronize
       Git submodules before updating them.
   * - ``zephyr.base``
     - String, default value to set for the :envvar:`ZEPHYR_BASE` environment
       variable while the west command is running. By default, this is set to
       the path to the manifest project with path :file:`zephyr` (if there is
       one) during ``west init``. If the variable is already set, then this
       setting is ignored unless ``zephyr.base-prefer`` is ``"configfile"``.
   * - ``zephyr.base-prefer``
     - String, one the values ``"env"`` and ``"configfile"``. If set to
       ``"env"`` (the default), setting :envvar:`ZEPHYR_BASE` in the calling
       environment overrides the value of the ``zephyr.base`` configuration
       option. If set to ``"configfile"``, the configuration option wins
       instead.