Setup and quick reference
Agent Configuration Layering Reference
Locate and reconcile system, managed, user, workspace, local, and task-level AI tool configuration without guessing which layer wins.
- Format
- Reference
- Level
- Intermediate
- Audience
- Developer, Operator
- Owner
- Project42 Editorial
- Review cadence
- Every 45 days
- Prerequisites
- The selected tool's current configuration documentation; Access to inspect the effective workspace configuration; Authority to change the intended configuration layer
Map layers before resolving a conflict
AI tools use different names and precedence rules for managed policy, user settings, workspace configuration, local overrides, instruction files, rules, commands, and runtime flags. Do not assume a precedence order transfers between products. Use the current product documentation and inspect the effective configuration where the tool exposes it.
Classify every layer by owner, scope, sensitivity, sharing behavior, precedence, and enforcement point. Repository instructions can guide behavior but cannot replace operating-system, identity, network, or server-side authorization controls.
Change the owning layer, not every copy
Reproduce the conflict with a minimal, non-sensitive task. Record the value at each applicable layer and the effective result. Change only the layer owned by the intended audience; avoid copying personal paths or credentials into shared configuration merely to override a local problem.
Treat managed policy as an administrative boundary. If local configuration cannot override it, document the conflict and escalate to its owner rather than bypassing the control.
Task: [CONFIGURATION OUTCOME OR CONFLICT]
Scope: [TOOL, VERSION, WORKSPACE, USER, AND EXECUTION ENVIRONMENT]
Permissions: [LAYERS THIS OPERATOR MAY INSPECT OR CHANGE]
Layer inventory: [MANAGED | USER | WORKSPACE | LOCAL | INSTRUCTIONS | FLAGS]
Owner and sharing: [LAYER -> OWNER -> PRIVATE OR COMMITTED]
Documented precedence: [OFFICIAL RULE OR UNKNOWN]
Effective observation: [VALUE, SOURCE, AND REPRODUCER]
Stop conditions: [MANAGED POLICY, SECRET EXPOSURE, UNKNOWN PRECEDENCE, OR WIDER IMPACT]
Verification: [FRESH SESSION, EFFECTIVE CONFIG, MINIMAL TASK, AND DIFF]
Recovery: [RESTORE THE ONE CHANGED LAYER AND REPEAT THE REPRODUCER]Expected evidence and verification
Expected evidence includes the tool and version, official configuration reference, applicable layers and owners, documented precedence or an explicit unknown, a secret-safe reproducer, the one changed layer, and the effective result in a fresh session. Verify that shared configuration contains no user-specific path, account, tenant, or credential.
If behavior changes outside the target workspace or the effective value cannot be explained, stop and restore the changed layer from the recorded baseline. Restart the relevant client, reopen the workspace, and rerun the minimal reproducer before proceeding.