5. The nearest config file applies, and replaces the ones above it

Status: accepted (2026-10-20)

Context

Up to 3.0, one jsonvet.toml, found from the working directory, applied to every file, so a run from a monorepo's root ignored each package's own.

Options

• One file from the working directory. Wrong for monorepos.
• Merge every file from the root down. A package's settings would depend on files outside it. Argued, not built.
• The nearest file replaces any above it, as in ruff.

Decision

Each file takes the nearest config file in its folder or a parent, up to the first .git, with nothing merged (#73). Its patterns match paths relative to its own folder (3.0.0, #51).

Consequences

A package's settings are exactly what its file says, so one that relied on the root's must copy them. We call this Changed, not Breaking: a nested file used to apply only when run from its own folder, so it was already meant for those files. The bench cases stayed within σ (#73).

Confirmation

each_file_takes_the_nearest_config_file and a_walk_takes_each_folders_nearest_exclude in crates/jsonvet-cli/tests/cli.rs.

Revisit if

Users want shared settings across packages (add extend, not merging), or the lookup costs past 5% on a real repository.