Configuration

Settings live in ~/.config/polyglots/config.json and API keys in ~/.config/polyglots/.env, kept apart so the settings file can be shared or read without exposing a key. Change them with polyglots config or from the menu rather than by hand: every value is checked before it is saved.

polyglots config get                     # every setting, keys masked
polyglots config get batchSize
polyglots config set batchSize 50

Settings

Setting	Default	What it does
`defaultLocale`	not set	The locale a command uses when `--locale` is not given. `review` and `translate` then fall back to the file’s `Language` header; every other command that needs a locale stops and asks for one. `config set defaultLocale ""` unsets it.
`defaultDraftEngine`	`deepl`	The draft engine for `translate`: `deepl`, `openai` or `local`, or `none` for translation memory only; see without AI.
`reviewProvider`	`claude`	Which agent reviews: `claude` or `antigravity`. `local` is the experimental local reviewer; see local models. `none` reviews with the rules alone; see without AI.
`wporgUsername`	empty	Your translate.wordpress.org login. Used only to link the requester message to the contributor’s strings.
`batchSize`	`25`	Entries per batch sent to the reviewer or draft engine. `--batch-size` overrides it for one run.
`consistencyTtlDays`	`30`	How long a translate.wordpress.org consistency lookup is cached before it is asked again.
`localServerKind`	`ollama`	Which local server the `local` engine and reviewer use: `ollama` or `openai-compatible`.
`ollama.baseUrl`	`http://localhost:11434`	Where Ollama listens.
`ollama.model`	`qwen3.8:27b-mlx`	The Ollama model to load.
`ollama.contextLength`	unset	The context to ask Ollama for. Worth setting; see local models.
`openaiCompatible.baseUrl`	`http://localhost:1234`	An LM Studio, llama.cpp or vLLM server.
`openaiCompatible.model`	empty	The model id, exactly as `polyglots models` shows it.
`openaiCompatible.contextLength`	unset	The context the server was started with.
`localModelServers`	none	Extra servers for `polyglots models` to list, comma-separated. Replaces the whole list.
`localIdleTimeout`	`180`	Seconds a local server may send nothing before polyglots gives up on the reply. Raise it on slow hardware: `polyglots config set localIdleTimeout 600`.
`usageStats`	off	Whether to share anonymous weekly totals for the website: `on` or `off`. See usage statistics.
`updateCheck`	on	Whether to ask npm once a day for a newer version, and say so at the end of a command and in the app’s header: `on` or `off`.

The two context lengths are cleared with an empty value: polyglots config set ollama.contextLength "".

Names the checks should leave alone

Where the title-case check runs (in a language whose built-in pack turns it on, and in any locale whose rules do), a capital in the middle of a sentence is flagged. Places, people and institutions are the exceptions no built-in list can cover, so add them per locale:

polyglots config add-name --locale tr "Kadıköy"
polyglots config add-name --locale sv "Riksdagen"

A name may be several words. Names that belong to the language rather than to your projects, such as month or weekday names, go in the locale rules instead.

API keys

Key	Used by
`DEEPL_API_KEY`	the `deepl` draft engine
`OPENAI_API_KEY`	the `openai` draft engine

polyglots config set-key DEEPL_API_KEY

With no value given the key is read from standard input, so it never reaches your shell history. An environment variable of the same name takes precedence over the stored key. The .env file is written readable by you alone.

Reviewing needs no key: the agent uses its own sign-in.

Environment variables

Variable	Effect
`POLYGLOTS_HOME`	Keep settings and data under this folder (`config/` and `data/`) instead of `~/.config` and `~/.local/share`.
`POLYGLOTS_AGENT_BIN`	The agent executable to run, when it is not `claude` or `agy` on your `PATH`.
`POLYGLOTS_ASCII=1`	Plain ASCII instead of Unicode symbols and box lines. Also chosen automatically when the locale is not UTF-8.
`NO_COLOR`	No colour in the output.
`FORCE_COLOR`	Colour even when the output is not a terminal.
`NO_UPDATE_NOTIFIER=1`	Never check npm for a newer version. The check is also skipped when `CI` is set, or when the output is not a terminal.

Exit codes

Code	Meaning
`0`	Success.
`1`	An error, or the run was aborted.
`2`	A usage error: a missing argument or an invalid option.
`3`	The run stopped early on an API quota or rate limit. Run it again later to carry on.

This page is docs/configuration.md in the repository.