Configuration

Clew Code is configured through settings files, environment variables, and hooks.

Settings files

Settings live in .clew/ at the project root:

File	Purpose
.clew/settings.json	Shared project settings (checked into version control)
.clew/settings.local.json	Private/local overrides (gitignored, never committed)

Settings are merged at startup: settings.json is the base, settings.local.json overrides.

Example settings.json

{
  "permissionMode": "acceptEdits",
  "model": "deepseek-v4-pro",
  "provider": "deepseek",
  "hooks": {
    "PostToolUse": "echo 'tool used: $TOOL_NAME'"
  },
  "permissions": {
    "allow": ["Bash", "Read", "Edit", "Write", "Glob", "Grep"],
    "deny": []
  },
  "theme": "dark",
  "maxTokens": 8192,
  "temperature": 0.7
}

Local overrides

{
  "permissionMode": "ask",
  "model": "gpt-5.5",
  "provider": "openai"
}

Environment variables

Provider API keys

Each provider uses a specific environment variable. See Providers for the full list.

# Common ones
export OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-...
export DEEPSEEK_API_KEY=...
export GROQ_API_KEY=...

Clew Code settings

Variable	Description
CLEW_DISABLE_GATEWAY	Set to true to disable gateway auth and use direct provider connections
CLEW_DATA_DIR	Override the data directory (default: ~/.clew/)
ENABLE_COMPUTER_USE	Enable computer use features (Windows only)

Hooks

Hooks are shell commands that run in response to events. They are configured in settings.json or settings.local.json.

Hook	When it runs
PreToolUse	Before each tool call. $TOOL_NAME and $TOOL_INPUT are set.
PostToolUse	After each tool call. $TOOL_NAME, $TOOL_INPUT, $TOOL_RESULT are set.
PrePrompt	Before the AI prompt is constructed.
PostPrompt	After the AI prompt is constructed.
PreBash	Before a Bash command executes.
UserPromptSubmit	When the user submits a message.

Example hook

{
  "hooks": {
    "PreToolUse": "echo \"[$(date)] Tool: $TOOL_NAME\" >> /tmp/clew-audit.log"
  }
}

Permission modes

Mode	Behavior
default	Ask for sensitive operations (write, bash)
ask	Ask before every operation
acceptEdits	Auto-accept file edits, ask for bash
plan	Full access, no prompts (plan mode)
guardian	AI reviews and may deny tool calls
bypassPermissions	Full access, no prompts
dontAsk	Auto-accept everything
auto	Auto-accept in automated contexts

Switch with /profile <mode> or set in settings.json.

Theme

> /theme dark
> /theme light
> /theme custom

Custom themes can be configured in settings.json with ANSI color codes.

Per-project configuration

Settings are per-project — each repository has its own .clew/settings.json. Global defaults live in ~/.clew/config.json.