Configuration overview

Magic Coder splits configuration into three layers:

1. Per-thread. Set on the command line or via slash commands. Lives only for the current session — though some choices write through to the user defaults.
2. User-level. ~/.magic/. Things like your default model, theme, sleep mode, machine ID, sign-in credentials, and the workspace registry.
3. Per-project. <workspace>/.magic/. Project-local skills and rules (loaded only when the workspace is trusted), plus an AGENTS.md for project context. Persistent command-permission decisions are also scoped here.

The agent itself reads project context from AGENTS.md files at the workspace root and (on demand) under it.

Where to look for what

What you want to change	Where it lives
Default model	~/.magic/config.toml [generation] model (or /model to set per-thread)
Default reasoning effort	~/.magic/config.toml [generation] reasoning_effort
Long-context preference	~/.magic/config.toml [generation] allow_long_context
Sleep mode	~/.magic/config.toml [generation] sleep_mode
UI theme	~/.magic/config.toml [ui] theme (or /theme to set per-session)
Sign-in credentials	OS keychain or fallback file under ~/.config/magic-coder/ (managed by Magic Coder; see Sign in)
Workspace trust	~/.magic/known.toml
Command permissions	the approval prompt (see Command permissions)
Project context for the agent	<workspace>/AGENTS.md (root) and nested

Common workflows

Set a default model and reasoning effort

~/.magic/config.toml

[generation]
model = "gpt-5.5"
reasoning_effort = "high"

Pick a light theme

Either run /theme light once in the TUI, or:

[ui]
theme = "default-light"

Trust this workspace and approve common commands

coder --trust

…then approve-and-remember the routine commands as you encounter them through the prompt. See Command permissions for the full flow.

Brief Magic Coder on the project

Write an AGENTS.md at the workspace root. See Project context.

Cheat sheet

• User config and state: ~/.magic/. Details: User config.
• Project-local skills and rules: <workspace>/.magic/. Details: Project files.
• Sleep behavior: Sleep mode.
• Full path map: File locations.

If you only care about CLI flags, jump to the CLI reference.