Customize

Written By Stanislas

Last updated 6 days ago

Overview

Teach Swiftask Code how your team works and set defaults for approvals.

Open Swiftask Settings from the gear icon in the Sessions panel title bar.

Prerequisites

  • Swiftask Code installed and signed in

  • Access to full Swiftask Settings (gear icon in the Sessions panel title bar)

Step-by-step guide

1. Set up project rules

Rules are instructions Swiftask Code follows in every chat — coding style, architecture boundaries, checks before finishing work.

Shared rules (team) — stored in your project (typically in a .swiftask/rules folder). Commit them to git so everyone gets the same behavior.

When to use: Team conventions, architecture boundaries, required checks before merge.

Personal rules (just you) — stored on your machine for that project. Good for preferences that shouldn't go in the repo.

When to use: Personal formatting prefs, local tooling paths, experimental instructions.

If two rules conflict, the more specific one wins. What you write in the chat always overrides rules.

2. Create a rule with AI

In Settings → Rules, use Create with agent. Describe what you want in plain language; Swiftask Code drafts a rule file you can edit and save.

3. Configure permissions

Settings → Permissions

OptionWhat it does

Run mode

Run everything vs Ask before sensitive actions

Trusted commands

Commands that can run without asking (when using ask-first mode)

Auto-format on finish

Format files Swiftask Code edited after each turn

See Build, plan & review for how approvals feel in daily use.

The defaults in the allowlist are:

  • yarn

  • npm

  • pnpm

  • tsc

  • node

  • git status

  • git log

  • git diff

  • ls

  • cat

  • echo

  • pwd

4. Adjust per-session choices

These are set in the chat input, not in Settings:

  • Model — which AI to use

  • Mode — Build / Ask / Plan

  • Thinking level — low / medium / high

They apply to the current session only.

5. Open VS Code settings & docs

From Settings you can also:

  • Open VS Code settings (fonts, tabs, editor preferences)

  • Open documentation (this Help Center)

Practical use cases

TypeScript project:

Use strict typing. Run the type checker after changes to .ts files.

Frontend team:

New UI components follow our folder naming convention and use our design system.

Security:

Never commit secrets, API keys, or .env files.

Tips & best practices

Rule conflicts: if two rules conflict, the more specific one wins. What you write in the chat always overrides rules.

Trusted commands examples:

CommandWhy trust it

yarn test / npm test

Frequent, read-only on source

yarn typecheck

Safe validation step

git status / git diff

Read-only git inspection

Add only commands your team runs routinely. Destructive commands (rm, git push --force) should stay off the list.

Additional resources