Configuration

Pathfinder has no settings screen. Its configuration is a handful of Markdown markers in context/, the flags of one installer, and two environment variables. This page lists all of them in one place; each row links to the page that explains the choice.

Files in context/

A marker is an HTML comment on its own line. Pathfinder reads the marker; the rest of the file is for people.

Setting	Lives in	Values	Default
Execution mode	execution-mode.md	human-in-the-loop, orchestrator	human-in-the-loop
Routing policy	execution-mode.md	static — the only policy the kit ships	static
Ticket store	tracker.md	github-issues owner/repo; other stores through /setup-tracker	Absent — local Markdown under context/tickets/
Current ticket	current-ticket.md	A ticket id, for example 47.1	Absent between tickets
Handoff	handoff.md	Free text written by /handoff	Absent

The first three are project truth and tracked in Git. current-ticket.md and handoff.md are session state and ignored — see Ignore rules.

Each marker, as written:

<!-- pathfinder:execution-mode orchestrator -->
<!-- pathfinder:routing-policy static -->
<!-- pathfinder:evidence-judge jev -->
<!-- pathfinder:ticket-store github-issues owner/repo -->
<!-- pathfinder:ticket 47.1 -->

An execution-mode.md with any other value, or none, is invalid: the ticket lifecycle says so once and proceeds human-in-the-loop, and orchestration refuses to run. The routing-policy and evidence-judge markers are read only in orchestrator mode. The evidence-judge value is jev or none; without the line, or with none, no judge is asked. Only this line enables the optional judge — never a credential in the environment.

See Execution modes for what the two modes change, and Ticket stores for what choosing a store commits you to.

Ignore rules

Two context files and one directory are session state, not project truth. context/coding-standards.md carries the rule; the installer writes it.

context/current-ticket.md
context/handoff.md
/.pathfinder/

Do not ignore context/ wholesale. That would hide the project truth future sessions need.

Installer flags

npx create-pathfinder copies the kit into the current Git repository. These are its options, as --help prints them.

Flag	Effect	Default
--mode <mode>	Record the execution mode in context/execution-mode.md. Re-run with it to change the mode.	Interactive runs ask once; scripted runs record nothing, which means human-in-the-loop
--agents <ids>	Generate skill adapters for these tools, comma-separated. Valid ids: claude-code, codex. Alias --agent.	Nothing is configured unless you are asked and say so
--dry-run	Report what would be written, and any git init that would run; change nothing and ask nothing.	Off
--force	Overwrite files that already exist, and replace a file you wrote at a path an adapter would occupy.	Off — a file Pathfinder did not generate is never replaced
--git-init	Run git init here if this is not a repository yet.	Off — without a terminal, a non-repository is refused
--no-git-init	Never run git init; refuse instead.	—
--no-clipboard	Never offer to copy the Kickstart prompt. The prompt is printed either way.	Offered in a terminal
--no-open	Never offer to open the project in an editor.	Offered in a terminal
--yes	Take the defaults and ask nothing. Alias --no-input. Does not authorize git init or configure any tool.	Off
-h, --help	Show the help.	—
-v, --version	Print the version and exit, whatever else you passed.	—

Adapters are generated files Pathfinder owns and regenerates without --force. Without a terminal on both stdin and stdout, nothing is ever asked, and neither your clipboard nor an editor is touched.

Environment variables

Variable	Effect
PATHFINDER_PROMPT=classic	Ask every question as a numbered list and y/n instead of an arrow-key selector. Use it for screen readers, for scripts, or if you prefer typing. A terminal narrower than 49 columns or TERM=dumb selects it on its own.
NO_COLOR	Print no colour. It does not disable the selector.

What is not configurable

Pathfinder does not have settings for the things it deliberately leaves to the project: stack, package manager, database, hosting, Git model, branch naming, or release process. Those are recorded as decisions in context/project-overview.md by the workflow that first needs them, and a TBD there means a human decision is still required. See Decision states.