Settings

Settings provide the ability to customize and control the Sourcegraph UI and user-specific features. They do not configure operational aspects of the instance (which are set in the site configuration).

Settings can be set at the global level (by site admins), the organization level (by organization members), and at the individual user level.

Editing global settings (for site admins)

Global settings are found in Site admin > Global settings while links to organization and user settings are found in the user dropdown menu.

After setting or changing certain values in Site admin > Global settings the frontend will restart automatically or you might be asked to restart the frontend for the changes to take effect. In case of a Kubernetes deployment this can be done as follows:

SHELL
bash
kubectl delete pods -l app=sourcegraph-frontend

Reference

Settings options and their default values are shown below.

admin/config/settings.schema.json

JSON
{
 
	//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
	// General Configuration
	//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
 
	// Disables observability-related site alert banners.
	"alerts.hideObservabilitySiteAlerts": true,
 
	// Whether to show alerts for major and minor version updates. Alerts for patch version updates will be shown if `alerts.showPatchUpdates` is true.
	"alerts.showMajorMinorUpdates": true,
 
	// Whether to show alerts for patch version updates. Alerts for major and minor version updates will be shown if `alerts.showMajorMinorUpdatess` is true.
	"alerts.showPatchUpdates": true,
 
	// Whether to run global searches over all repositories. On instances with many repositories, this can lead to issues such as: low quality results, slow response times, or significant load on the Sourcegraph instance. Defaults to true.
	"basicCodeIntel.globalSearchesEnabled": false,
 
	// Whether to include archived repositories in search results.
	"basicCodeIntel.includeArchives": false,
 
	// Whether to include forked repositories in search results.
	"basicCodeIntel.includeForks": false,
 
	// Whether to use only indexed requests to the search API.
	"basicCodeIntel.indexOnly": false,
 
	// The timeout (in milliseconds) for un-indexed search requests.
	"basicCodeIntel.unindexedSearchTimeout": 0,
 
	// Whether to fetch multiple precise definitions and references on hover.
	"codeIntel.disableRangeQueries": false,
 
	// Never fall back to search-based code intelligence.
	"codeIntel.disableSearchBased": false,
 
	// Whether to supplement precise references with search-based results.
	"codeIntel.mixPreciseAndSearchBasedReferences": false,
 
	// Whether to enable trace logging on the extension.
	"codeIntel.traceExtension": false,
 
	// Custom informational messages to display to users at Cody clients locations.
	// Usually this setting is used in global and organization settings. If set in user settings, the message will only be displayed to that single user.
	"cody.notices": null,
 
	// Experimental features and settings.
	"experimentalFeatures": {
		"batchChangesExecution": true,
		"boostRelevantRepositories": true,
		"clientSearchResultRanking": "by-zoekt-ranking",
		"codeInsightsCompute": false,
		"codeInsightsRepoUI": "single-search-query",
		"disableOrderBySimilarity": false,
		"enableLazyBlobSyntaxHighlighting": true,
		"enableLazyFileResultSyntaxHighlighting": true,
		"enableSearchFilePrefetch": true,
		"enableSidebarFilePrefetch": true,
		"fuzzyFinder": false,
		"fuzzyFinderActions": false,
		"fuzzyFinderAll": false,
		"fuzzyFinderCaseInsensitiveFileCountThreshold": 25000,
		"fuzzyFinderNavbar": false,
		"fuzzyFinderRepositories": false,
		"fuzzyFinderSymbols": false,
		"goCodeCheckerTemplates": false,
		"keywordSearch": true,
		"newSearchNavigationUI": false,
		"newSearchResultFiltersPanel": false,
		"newSearchResultsUI": true,
		"proactiveSearchResultsAggregations": true,
		"searchContextsQuery": false,
		"searchQueryInput": "v1",
		"searchResultsAggregations": false,
		"showCodeMonitoringLogs": false,
		"symbolKindTags": false
	},
 
	// Whether the sidebar on the repo view should be open by default.
	"fileSidebarVisibleByDefault": true,
 
	// Custom page size for the history tab. If set, the history tab will populate that number of commits the first time the history tab is opened and then double the number of commits progressively.
	"history.defaultPageSize": 0,
 
	// Show absolute timestamps in the history panel and only show relative timestamps (e.g.: "5 days ago") in tooltip when hovering.
	"history.preferAbsoluteTimestamps": false,
 
	// The number of seconds to execute the aggregation for when running in extended timeout mode. This value should always be less than any proxy timeout if one exists. The maximum value is equal to searchLimits.maxTimeoutSeconds
	"insights.aggregations.extendedTimeout": 55,
 
	// DEPRECATED: Use `notices` instead.
	// An array (often with just one element) of messages to display at the top of all pages, including for unauthenticated users. Users may dismiss a message (and any message with the same string value will remain dismissed for the user).
	// Markdown formatting is supported.
	// Usually this setting is used in global and organization settings. If set in user settings, the message will only be displayed to that user. (This is useful for testing the correctness of the message's Markdown formatting.)
	// MOTD stands for "message of the day" (which is the conventional Unix name for this type of message).
	"motd": null,
 
	// Custom informational messages to display to users at specific locations in the Sourcegraph user interface.
	// Usually this setting is used in global and organization settings. If set in user settings, the message will only be displayed to that single user.
	"notices": null,
 
	// Group of settings related to opening files in an editor.
	"openInEditor": {
		"custom.urlPattern": null,
		"editorIds": null,
		"jetbrains.forceApi": null,
		"projectPaths.default": null,
		"projectPaths.linux": null,
		"projectPaths.mac": null,
		"projectPaths.windows": null,
		"replacements": null,
		"vscode.isProjectPathUNCPath": false,
		"vscode.remoteHostForSSH": null,
		"vscode.useInsiders": false,
		"vscode.useSSH": false
	},
 
	// If enabled, all members of the org will be treated as admins (e.g. can edit, apply, delete) for all batch changes created in that org.
	"orgs.allMembersBatchChangesAdmin": false,
 
	// Key-value pairs of code host URLs to Swarm URLs. Keys should have no prefix and should not end with a slash, like "perforce.company.com:1666". Values should look like "https://swarm.company.com/", with a slash at the end.
	"perforce.codeHostToSwarmMap": {},
 
	// DEPRECATED: This setting will be removed in a future version of Sourcegraph.
	"quicklinks": null,
 
	// The default number of lines to show as context below and above search results. Default is 1.
	"search.contextLines": 1,
 
	// Whether query patterns are treated case sensitively. Patterns are case insensitive by default.
	"search.defaultCaseSensitive": false,
 
	// DEPRECATED: this setting is no longer read when the default 'keyword' patterntype is enabled, which always uses the 'precise' mode. Smart search will be removed in a future release.
	"search.defaultMode": null,
 
	// The default pattern type that search queries will be interpreted as.
	"search.defaultPatternType": null,
 
	// The number of results we send down during a search. Note: this is different to the count: in the query. The search will continue once we hit displayLimit and updated filters and statistics will continue to stream down. Defaults to 1500.
	"search.displayLimit": 1500,
 
	// Disable search suggestions below the search bar when constructing queries. Defaults to false.
	"search.hideSuggestions": false,
 
	// Whether searches should include searching archived repositories.
	"search.includeArchived": false,
 
	// Whether searches should include searching forked repositories.
	"search.includeForks": false,
 
	// Predefined search snippets that can be appended to any search (also known as search scopes)
	"search.scopes": null,
 
	// Enables default site wide search context. Only admins can set this. Individual users can override with their own search context.
	"siteWideSearchContext": null
 
}

Configuration Notes

Settings Hierarchy and Inheritance

Settings follow a cascade model where more specific settings override general ones:

User settings - highest priority, affects individual users only
Organization settings - medium priority, affects all organization members
Global settings - lowest priority, affects all users on the instance

Frontend Restart Requirements

Some settings changes require a frontend restart to take effect:

Changes to global settings may trigger automatic frontend restarts
In Kubernetes deployments, manually restart frontend pods: kubectl delete pods -l app=sourcegraph-frontend

Deprecated Settings

Several settings are deprecated and should be migrated:

motd - Replace with notices for better functionality and styling options
quicklinks - Will be removed in future versions
search.savedQueries - Functionality integrated into search interface

Performance Impact Settings

search.displayLimit affects initial search result loading - higher values increase memory usage
basicCodeIntel.globalSearchesEnabled can impact performance on large instances
insights.aggregations.extendedTimeout extends query timeouts but may increase load

Security Considerations

User Privacy and Data Protection

Global settings visibility - Global settings are visible to all users; avoid including sensitive information
Notice content - Notices are displayed to all users; ensure content is appropriate for your organization
Search behavior - Default search settings affect what users can discover across repositories

Access Control Configuration

orgs.allMembersBatchChangesAdmin grants administrative privileges to all organization members - use carefully
basicCodeIntel.includeArchives and basicCodeIntel.includeForks may expose archived or forked repositories users shouldn't access
Settings should align with repository permission policies to prevent unauthorized access

Code Intelligence Security

codeIntel.disableSearchBased may expose code patterns through search-based fallbacks
codeIntel.mixPreciseAndSearchBasedReferences combines precise and search results - ensure both are appropriate
Trace logging (codeIntel.traceExtension) may expose code content in logs

Common Examples

Basic User Experience Configuration

JSON
{
  "fileSidebarVisibleByDefault": true,
  "search.defaultCaseSensitive": false,
  "search.defaultPatternType": "keyword",
  "search.displayLimit": 1500
}

Search Optimization

JSON
{
  "search.contextLines": 3,
  "search.includeArchived": false,
  "search.includeForks": false,
  "search.hideSuggestions": false,
  "basicCodeIntel.globalSearchesEnabled": true,
  "basicCodeIntel.unindexedSearchTimeout": 30000
}

Code Intelligence Configuration

JSON
{
  "codeIntel.disableRangeQueries": false,
  "codeIntel.disableSearchBased": false,
  "codeIntel.mixPreciseAndSearchBasedReferences": true,
  "basicCodeIntel.indexOnly": false
}

Organization Batch Changes Setup

JSON
{
  "orgs.allMembersBatchChangesAdmin": false
}

Notices and Alerts Configuration

JSON
{
  "notices": [
    {
      "message": "📢 Scheduled maintenance window: **Saturday 2-4 PM UTC**",
      "location": "top",
      "dismissible": true,
      "variant": "warning"
    }
  ],
  "alerts.showMajorMinorUpdates": true,
  "alerts.showPatchUpdates": false,
  "alerts.hideObservabilitySiteAlerts": false
}

History and Interface Preferences

JSON
{
  "history.defaultPageSize": 50,
  "history.preferAbsoluteTimestamps": false,
  "fileSidebarVisibleByDefault": true
}

Code Insights Extended Configuration

JSON
{
  "insights.aggregations.extendedTimeout": 45
}

Best Practices

Settings Management Strategy

Use global settings sparingly - Only configure settings that should apply to all users
Leverage organization settings - Configure team-specific preferences at the organization level
Document setting changes - Maintain records of why specific settings were configured
Test setting changes - Verify settings work as expected before applying organization-wide

User Experience Optimization

Configure sensible defaults - Set search and display preferences that work for most users
Enable helpful features - Turn on code intelligence features unless they cause performance issues
Minimize distractions - Use notices judiciously to avoid alert fatigue
Respect user preferences - Allow users to override organization settings when appropriate

Performance Considerations

Monitor search performance - Adjust displayLimit and timeout settings based on instance performance
Balance code intelligence features - Enable features that provide value without overwhelming the system
Consider repository scale - Disable global searches on very large instances if needed
Test timeout settings - Ensure Code Insights timeouts are appropriate for your query complexity

Maintenance and Updates

Review deprecated settings - Regularly audit and migrate away from deprecated configurations
Update alerting preferences - Configure update notifications based on your maintenance schedule
Validate settings hierarchy - Ensure organization and global settings work together as intended
Plan for setting changes - Coordinate setting updates with users when they affect user experience

Communication Best Practices

Use clear notice messaging - Write notices that clearly communicate important information
Choose appropriate notice styling - Use warning/danger variants for critical information
Make notices actionable - Include links to relevant documentation or actions users should take
Time-bound temporary notices - Remove notices when they're no longer relevant

Additional details on settings

Notices

Notices can be added in global, organization, or user settings. The notices setting is a list of notice configurations with the following options:

message: the markdown copy to be displayed in the banner
location: where the banner will be shown. Either on the home page with "home" or at the top of the page with "top"
dismissible (optional): boolean (true or false). If true, users will be able to close the notice and not see it again. If false, it will persist on the instance until the configuration is removed.
variant (optional): one of "primary", "secondary", "success", "danger", "warning", "info", "note" the style of the notice. Although specifics such as color depend on the theme in general danger or primary will draw more attention than secondary or note. The default style depends on the location of the notice.
styleOverrides (optional): a configuration object with the following elements:
1. backgroundColor (optional): a hexadecimal color code for forcing a specific background color.
2. textColor (optional): a hexadecimal color code for forcing a specific text color.
3. textCentered (optional): boolean (true or false). If true, the text will be centered in the banner.

Example settings:

JSON
"notices": [
  {
    "message": "Your important message here! [Include a link for more information](http://example.com).",
    "location": "top",
    "dismissible": true,
    "variant": "danger",
    "styleOverrides": {
      "styleOverrides": {
        "backgroundColor": "#7f1d1d",
        "textColor": "#fecaca",
        "textCentered": true
      }
    }
  }
]