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CodeRabbit works out of the box with sensible defaults, but configuration lets you customize reviews for your teamā€™s specific needs. Choose from multiple configuration approaches based on your workflow preferences.

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Configuration approaches

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File-based

YAML file (recommended)

Version-controlled configuration committed to your repository

Central configuration

Organization-wide configuration from a dedicated repository

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Web Interface-based

Organization settings

Apply the same configuration to all repositories in your organization

Repository settings

Configure individual repositories with specific needs

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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.

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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. 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 the configuration reference for all available options and sample configurations for language-specific recommendations.

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Central configuration

Create a dedicated coderabbit repository in your organization with a .coderabbit.yaml file. This configuration automatically applies to any repository that doesnā€™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.

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Understanding configuration priority

Configuration sources donā€™t merge by default. 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
You can enable configuration inheritance to let CodeRabbit merge configuration from parent levels instead of using only the highest-priority source.
Example: If you set a custom timeout in organization settings and central configuration but have a local .coderabbit.yaml that doesnā€™t mention timeouts and configuration inheritance is disabled, CodeRabbit uses the default timeout value, not your organization or central configuration settings.

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Adaptive configuration

Besides manual configuration, CodeRabbit automatically builds learnings about your teamā€™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

How learnings work and how to manage them