Configuration approaches
Organization settings
Apply the same configuration to all repositories in your organization
Repository settings
Configure individual repositories with specific needs
YAML file
Version-controlled configuration committed to your repository
Central configuration
Organization-wide configuration from a dedicated repository
Organization settings
Use organization settings when you want consistent CodeRabbit behavior across all your repositories. Configure once in the web UI and all repositories inherit the same settings. Best for: Teams with standardized coding practices across projects. See Organization preferences.Repository settings
Use repository settings when different projects need different CodeRabbit configurations. Configure each repository individually through the web UI or with a local.coderabbit.yaml file.
Best for: Organizations with diverse projects requiring specific review approaches.
See Repository preferences.
YAML file (recommended)
Create a.coderabbit.yaml file in your repository root for version-controlled configuration. This approach gives you the benefits of infrastructure-as-code: configuration changes go through code review, maintain history, and deploy with your application.
Best for: Teams that prefer GitOps workflows and want configuration changes tracked in version control.
See YAML template for the complete configuration reference.
Central configuration
Create a dedicatedcoderabbit repository in your organization with a .coderabbit.yaml file. This configuration automatically applies to any repository that doesn’t have its own settings, giving you organization-wide defaults with the flexibility of repository-specific overrides.
Best for: Organizations wanting centralized configuration management without requiring individual repository setup.
See Central configuration for setup instructions and platform support.
We recommend the YAML file approach as a best
practice for most teams, with central
configuration as an excellent fallback for organization-wide defaults.
Understanding configuration priority
When you use multiple configuration methods, CodeRabbit follows a strict priority hierarchy:1
Local .coderabbit.yaml file
Highest priority - Completely overrides all other settings
2
Central configuration
High priority - Organization-wide defaults from dedicated repository
3
Repository settings
Medium priority - Web UI settings for individual repositories
4
Organization settings
Lowest priority - Web UI settings for entire organization
Configuration sources don’t merge. The highest priority source completely
replaces all lower priority sources. If your local YAML file doesn’t define a
setting, CodeRabbit uses the default value, not your organization or
repository settings.
.coderabbit.yaml that doesn’t mention timeouts, CodeRabbit uses the default timeout value, not your organization or central configuration settings.
Learnings: Adaptive configuration
Beyond manual configuration, CodeRabbit automatically builds learnings about your team’s review preferences based on your interactions with review comments over time. This creates a dynamic, self-improving configuration layer. Learnings capture patterns like:- Which types of suggestions your team typically accepts or rejects
- Coding standards specific to your repositories
- Review focus areas that matter most to your workflow
Learnings complement rather than replace manual configuration. Use both
together for the most tailored review experience.