Per-Repository Devcentr Settings

Per-repository settings for Devcentr are stored in a single SDL file at the root of each repository. This gives each repo a place for Devcentr-specific configuration that can be versioned and shared with the team.

File name and location

File name: .devcentr.sdl
Location: Repository root (same level as .git, package.json, or other root config files).

The leading dot keeps the file visible in file explorers that show dotfiles and follows common config-file convention (e.g. .editorconfig, .gitignore).

Format

Format: SDLang (SDL). See SDL (SDLang) preference for rationale and syntax.
Encoding: UTF-8.
Extension: .sdl.

Purpose and scope

The file is intended for settings that:

Apply to this repository only (not global user settings).
Are useful to commit so other developers and tools get the same behavior (e.g. which templates to use, which modules to enable for this repo).
Are consumed by Devcentr or by tooling that follows this convention.

User-specific or machine-specific data (e.g. paths, credentials) belong in user config (e.g. %USERPROFILE%\Dev Center) or environment, not in .devcentr.sdl.

Content (future)

The exact keys and structure for .devcentr.sdl are not yet defined. When we add features that need per-repo configuration, we will document the tags and semantics here and in the relevant component specs. The file may be empty or contain only comments until then; Devcentr should treat a missing or empty file as “no overrides.”

Example placeholder (no behavior assigned yet):

// Per-repo Devcentr settings. See docs/specifications/per-repo-settings.
// Keys and structure TBD as features need them.

Gitignore Suppressions

When the Gitignore Viewer compares your .gitignore to a template, it may warn about patterns that exist in the template but are missing from your file. You can suppress these warnings for patterns you intentionally omit.

Add a gitignore tag with nested suppressMissing entries. Each entry is a pattern (or line) from the template that you do not want to be warned about:

gitignore {
  suppressMissing [
    "build/"
    "*.log"
  ]
}

Patterns are matched exactly against template lines. Suppressions are stored in .devcentr.sdl at the repository root and can be committed so the team shares the same suppression set.

Relation to other config

User config: %USERPROFILE%\Dev Center (or equivalent) holds user- and machine-specific settings; see project vision.
Workspace templates: The Workspace Template Manager may sync from a template repo; per-repo settings can override or extend which template applies.
Universal config (project vision): The vision mentions a “universal configuration file” from each repo; .devcentr.sdl is the Devcentr-specific instance of that idea, in SDL format.