Configuration inheritance

Learn how CodeRabbit merges configuration settings across multiple levels, from repository files to organization defaults.

Configuration inheritance allows you to share common settings across repositories while still allowing individual repositories to customize specific values. When enabled, CodeRabbit merges configuration from parent levels instead of using only the highest-priority source.

Inheritance is disabled by default. You must explicitly enable it by adding inheritance: true to your configuration file.

Enabling inheritance

Add inheritance: true at the root level of your .coderabbit.yaml file:

inheritance: true
reviews:
  profile: chill
  auto_review:
    enabled: true

When inheritance is enabled:

1. CodeRabbit merges values from the parent configuration level
2. If the parent also has inheritance: true, the chain continues to the grandparent level
3. The chain stops at the first level where inheritance:false or not set

Configuration hierarchy

CodeRabbit resolves configuration from multiple levels. Without inheritance, only the highest-priority source is used. With inheritance enabled, values merge across levels.

Cloud/SaaS deployment

Priority	Source	Location
0 (Highest)	Workspace global overrides	CodeRabbit UI - Workspace Settings - Global Overrides (Enterprise workspace customers)
1	Organization global overrides	CodeRabbit UI - Organization Settings - Global Overrides
2	Repository YAML	.coderabbit.yaml in the repository
3	Central YAML	.coderabbit.yaml in coderabbit repository
4	Repository UI	CodeRabbit UI - Repository Settings
5	Organization UI	CodeRabbit UI - Organization Settings
6	Workspace UI	CodeRabbit UI - Workspace Settings (Enterprise workspace customers)
7 (Lowest)	Defaults	CodeRabbit schema defaults

Global overrides are applied as the final merge layer, after the inheritance chain has been resolved, and take precedence over every other source. For Enterprise workspace customers, Workspace Settings provide the lowest configuration level above defaults, and workspace global overrides apply after organization global overrides. See Global overrides for details.

Self-hosted deployment

Priority	Source	Location
1 (Highest)	Repository YAML	.coderabbit.yaml in the repository
2	Central YAML	.coderabbit.yaml in coderabbit repository
3	Environment YAML	YAML_CONFIG environment variable
4 (Lowest)	Defaults	CodeRabbit schema defaults

How inheritance works

When you enable inheritance, CodeRabbit walks up the configuration hierarchy and merges values. The merge behavior depends on the data type.

How the inheritance chain works

Repository YAML (inheritance: true)
       ↓ merges with
Central YAML (inheritance: true)
       ↓ merges with
Organization UI (inheritance: false)
       ✗ chain stops here

• Each level with inheritance: true merges with its parent
• The chain stops at the first level where inheritance:false or unset
• Missing configuration levels are skipped automatically

Merge behavior by type

Type	Behavior
Objects	Deep merge - child properties override parent properties at each nesting level
Arrays	Child items first, then unique parent items appended (deduplicated by path, label, name, id, or key)
Scalars	Simple override - child value wins when defined

Example

This example demonstrates all three merge behaviors.

Repository configuration (.coderabbit.yaml):

inheritance: true
language: "de-DE"
reviews:
  profile: assertive
  auto_review:
    drafts: false
  path_instructions:
    - path: "src/**"
      instructions: "Use strict TypeScript settings"
    - path: "api/**"
      instructions: "Validate API contracts"

Central configuration (coderabbit/.coderabbit.yaml):

inheritance: true
language: "en-US"
reviews:
  profile: chill
  request_changes_workflow: true
  high_level_summary: true
  auto_review:
    enabled: true
    drafts: true
  path_instructions:
    - path: "src/**"
      instructions: "Follow our coding standards"
    - path: "docs/**"
      instructions: "Check for grammar and clarity"
    - path: "tests/**"
      instructions: "Ensure adequate test coverage"
chat:
  art: false

Merged result:

language: "de-DE" # scalar: child wins
reviews:
  profile: assertive # scalar: child wins
  request_changes_workflow: true # object: inherited from central
  high_level_summary: true # object: inherited from central
  auto_review:
    enabled: true # object: inherited from central
    drafts: false # scalar: child wins
  path_instructions: # array: child-first, then unique parent items
    - path: "src/**"
      instructions: "Use strict TypeScript settings" # from repo
    - path: "api/**"
      instructions: "Validate API contracts" # from repo
    - path: "docs/**"
      instructions: "Check for grammar and clarity" # from central (unique)
    - path: "tests/**"
      instructions: "Ensure adequate test coverage" # from central (unique)
chat:
  art: false # object: inherited from central

The src/** path instruction from central is excluded because the repository already defines the same path. Arrays deduplicate using the first available stable key: path, label, name, id, or key.

Verifying inherited configuration

After enabling inheritance, run @coderabbitai configuration on any pull request to see the fully-resolved YAML annotated with source comments. Each setting shows where it came from, so you can trace exactly which level in the merge chain supplied each value. The command identifies these sources:

• Repository YAML — .coderabbit.yaml in the repository
• Central YAML — .coderabbit.yaml in the coderabbit repository
• Environment YAML — YAML_CONFIG environment variable (self-hosted only)
• Repository UI — CodeRabbit UI repository settings
• Organization UI — CodeRabbit UI organization settings
• Workspace UI — CodeRabbit UI workspace settings (enterprise only)
• Defaults — CodeRabbit schema defaults
• Global overrides — organization or workspace overrides (enterprise only)

See the @coderabbitai configuration command reference for usage details.

Common use cases

Organization-wide defaults

Set up common settings in your central coderabbit repository, then enable inheritance in individual repositories to use those defaults while customizing specific values.

Central configuration (organization/coderabbit/.coderabbit.yaml):

inheritance: true
reviews:
  profile: chill
  request_changes_workflow: true
  high_level_summary: true
  path_instructions:
    - path: "**/*.test.*"
      instructions: "Verify test coverage and edge cases"
chat:
  art: false

Repository configuration (organization/my-repo/.coderabbit.yaml):

inheritance: true
reviews:
  profile: assertive # This repo needs stricter reviews
  path_instructions:
    - path: "src/api/**"
      instructions: "Ensure backward compatibility"

The repository inherits all central settings but uses an assertive review profile and adds API-specific instructions.

Team-specific configurations (GitLab)

GitLab’s nested group structure allows team-specific configurations. Each team can have their own coderabbit repository with settings that inherit from parent groups.

company/coderabbit                     # Organization defaults
company/backend/coderabbit             # Backend team settings (inherits from company)
company/backend/payments/coderabbit    # Payments team settings (inherits from backend)

Each level can enable inheritance to merge with its parent while adding team-specific customizations.

Related topics

• YAML configuration - Configuration file reference
• Central configuration - Set up organization-wide configuration
• Repository settings - Configuring individual repositories
• Organization settings - Managing organization-level settings