OpenCode Configuration

Navigation hub for OpenCode configuration tasks.

Information Architecture

• Quick Start — working provider + AGENTS.md in under 2 minutes
• When to Use / Scope — what this skill covers
• Mindset — mental model before diving into config fields
• Workflow — step-by-step approach
• Configuration Examples — copy-paste provider and AGENTS.md templates
• Gotchas & Production Caveats — field quirks and safety constraints
• Anti-Patterns — common mistakes with WHY/BAD/GOOD

Quick Start

Add a provider — create/edit opencode.json in your project root:

{
  "providers": [
    {
      "id": "anthropic",
      "baseEnv": "ANTHROPIC_API_KEY",
      "models": [
        { "id": "claude-sonnet-4-5", "default": true }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Add project instructions — create AGENTS.md in project root:

## Workflow Rules
- Run `npm test` after every code change.
- Never modify `package.json` without user confirmation.

Validate config:

jq . opencode.json && opencode run "test"

When to Use

• Adding or updating providers and model preferences.
• Editing permissions for tools, shell commands, or file access.
• Updating formatter or instruction configuration in opencode.json.
• Creating or refining AGENTS.md instructions.
• Diagnosing configuration precedence or behavior mismatches.

When Not to Use

• General coding implementation tasks.
• Plugin/tool development outside standard config fields.
• Agent personality design unrelated to config structure.

Mindset

• Prefer explicit, minimal configuration changes over broad rewrites.
• Treat permissions and secrets as security-critical defaults.
• Validate behavior immediately after each meaningful config edit.

Scope

Out of scope: plugin authoring and custom tool SDK development.

Workflow

1. Identify target config file(s) from request intent.
2. Read current config state and precedence (project vs global).
3. Apply minimal configuration edits with explicit rationale.
4. Validate syntax: jq . opencode.json >/dev/null && rg -n "API_KEY|baseEnv|permission" opencode.json .env*
5. Run a smoke test: opencode run "test"
6. Confirm expected behavior and document key constraints. If errors surface, re-read config precedence before widening permissions.

Quick Commands

rg -n "model|provider|permission|instructions" opencode.json AGENTS.md

opencode run "test"

jq . opencode.json >/dev/null

rg -n "API_KEY|baseEnv|permission" opencode.json .env*

Configuration Examples

Minimal opencode.json — provider with baseEnv pattern

{
  "providers": [
    {
      "id": "openai",
      "baseEnv": "OPENAI_API_KEY",
      "models": [
        { "id": "gpt-4o-2024-08-06", "default": true }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "permissions": {
    "filesystem": { "read": ["./src", "./docs"], "write": ["./src"] },
    "shell": { "allow": ["npm test", "jq"] }
  },
  "formatter": { "enabled": true }
}

Minimal AGENTS.md template

# Project Agent Instructions

## Scope
- Work only within `src/` and `docs/` unless explicitly told otherwise.

## Workflow Rules
- Run `npm test` after every code change.
- Never modify `opencode.json` directly; propose changes for human review.

## Constraints
- Do not execute destructive shell commands (rm -rf, git push --force).
- Prefer read operations before any write or delete action.

Gotchas

• Provider order matters when multiple providers can satisfy a model name.
• Agent-level permissions can be stricter than global defaults.
• Environment precedence is typically shell > dotenv loader > config defaults.
• Model identifiers must match provider format exactly.

Production Caveats

• NEVER commit raw API keys to repository config files.
• Prefer least-privilege permissions and widen only when required.
• Re-test config after permission or provider edits.

Anti-Patterns

NEVER commit API keys directly in config

• WHY: secret leakage through source control history is irreversible.
• BAD: "apiKey": "sk-...".
• GOOD: "baseEnv": "OPENAI_API_KEY".

NEVER use broad filesystem or shell permissions by default

• WHY: permissive defaults increase blast radius of mistakes.
• BAD: root-level read/write and unrestricted shell.
• GOOD: scoped paths and explicit command allowlists.

NEVER use ambiguous model names

• WHY: providers may resolve generic model aliases differently.
• BAD: "model": "gpt-4".
• GOOD: provider-qualified or exact model identifiers.

NEVER skip verification after permission changes

• WHY: permission regressions are often silent until runtime.
• BAD: edit-and-commit without test.
• GOOD: run opencode run "test" and validate behavior.

NEVER put AGENTS.md instructions in opencode.json and vice versa

• WHY: opencode.json is runtime config (providers, permissions, tools). AGENTS.md is behavioral guidance for the agent. Mixing them causes ignored instructions or broken config parsing.
• BAD: putting instructions: blocks inside opencode.json, or adding JSON config snippets inside AGENTS.md.
• GOOD: runtime settings → opencode.json; workflow rules, constraints, conventions → AGENTS.md.

NEVER use global config for project-specific settings

• WHY: global config (~/.config/opencode/opencode.json) bleeds into unrelated projects, causing unexpected behavior across your entire environment.
• BAD: adding a project's npm test to the global shell allowlist, or setting a project-specific model globally.
• GOOD: put project-specific config in project-root opencode.json. Reserve global config for cross-project defaults (personal API keys via baseEnv, editor preferences).

NEVER configure provider models with only default: true and no ID

• WHY: default: true without a model id field is silently ignored or resolves to provider defaults, which may change between releases.
• BAD: { "default": true } with no id key.
• GOOD: always pair default: true with a fully-qualified id: { "id": "claude-sonnet-4-5", "default": true }.

NEVER ignore the precedence order when diagnosing config issues

• WHY: OpenCode applies config in layers: shell environment > .env loader > project opencode.json > global opencode.json. Debugging config mismatches without knowing this order leads to wasted time.
• BAD: Editing project opencode.json to fix an issue caused by a shell env override.
• GOOD: Audit from the top of the precedence chain first (echo $OPENAI_API_KEY), then work downward.

Quick Reference

References

• OpenCode Docs

Eval Scenarios

• Scenario 0: Configure Anthropic provider with env variable
• Scenario 1: Place behavioral rules in AGENTS.md vs opencode.json
• Scenario 2: Fix global vs project-level config scope issue