update-config

name	update-config
description	Modify settings.json / hooks / permissions safely + explain trade-offs.

update-config

Edit DeepCode's settings.json files safely. Always show a diff first.

When to invoke

• User says "change settings", "add a hook", "set the model to X", "lower the effort tier".
• User asks for a setting they describe but can't name (e.g. "make it more cautious" → bump permissions to ask-on-write).

The three layers

Layer	Path	Precedence (highest = last applied)
User	~/.deepcode/settings.json	lowest
Project	<cwd>/.deepcode/settings.json	middle
Local	<cwd>/.deepcode/settings.local.json (git-ignored)	highest

When the user says "for this project", write to project-scoped. When they say "everywhere", user-scoped. When secret-y (API keys, work-only overrides), local.

Process

1. Read the existing file (or note that it doesn't exist).
2. Compute the merged diff the user will see after the change.
3. Explain trade-offs — what they're trading off by enabling/disabling. E.g. bypassPermissions mode: "faster, but the agent can write anywhere without asking — only do this in a sandbox/worktree."
4. Show a clear diff and ask [y]es / [n]o / [e]dit.
5. Write with JSON.stringify(obj, null, 2) (matches existing style).

Common requests

| User asks | Setting | | ---------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------- | ------------------------ | | "Don't ask me about reads" | permissions.allow: ["Read"] | | "Stop running tests for me" | permissions.deny: ["Bash(npm test:*)"] | | "Use deepseek-reasoner by default" | model: "deepseek-reasoner" | | "Lower the effort" | effortLevel: "low" | | "Turn off the sandbox" | sandbox.enabled: false | | "Disable plugin X" | disabledPlugins: ["X"] | | "Add a hook to lint after edits" | hooks.PostToolUse: [{ matcher: "Edit | Write", hooks: [...] }] |

Refuse

Don't:

• Delete permissions.deny rules without explicit confirmation.
• Write apiKeyHelper that points at a script you didn't author.
• Enable bypassPermissions as a default — it has to be a deliberate user act.