Configuration file

Ship Spec looks for configuration in this order:

1. shipspec.json
2. .shipspecrc
3. .shipspecrc.json

Precedence: CLI flags > environment variables > configuration file > defaults.

Example schema

{
  "projectPath": ".",
  "vectorDbPath": ".ship-spec/lancedb",
  "ignorePatterns": ["**/node_modules/**", "**/.git/**", "**/dist/**", "**/*.lock", "**/build/**", "**/.ship-spec/**"],
  "llm": {
    "provider": "openrouter",
    "modelName": "google/gemini-3-flash-preview",
    "temperature": 0,
    "maxRetries": 3,
    "timeout": 60000,
    "maxContextTokens": 16000,
    "reservedOutputTokens": 4000
  },
  "embedding": {
    "provider": "openrouter",
    "modelName": "mistralai/codestral-embed-2505",
    "dimensions": "auto",
    "maxRetries": 3
  },
  "checkpoint": {
    "enabled": false,
    "type": "memory",
    "sqlitePath": ".ship-spec/checkpoint.db"
  },
  "productionalize": {
    "webSearch": { "provider": "tavily" },
    "sast": { "enabled": false, "tools": ["semgrep", "gitleaks", "trivy"] },
    "coreCategories": ["security", "soc2", "code-quality", "dependencies", "testing", "configuration"]
  }
}

Key fields:

• projectPath / vectorDbPath — where to run and store LanceDB
• ignorePatterns — glob patterns excluded from indexing
• llm / embedding — provider, model, retries, token budgets
• checkpoint — enable persistence (memory or sqlite)
• productionalize — web search provider, SAST toggle and tools, core categories