> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/tree-sitter/tree-sitter/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# init-config

> Initialize a configuration file for the Tree-sitter CLI

This command initializes a configuration file for the Tree-sitter CLI.

```bash theme={null}
tree-sitter init-config
```

## Configuration File Location

The configuration file is created in the "default" location for your platform:

* **Unix**: `$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/tree-sitter/config.json` or `$HOME/.config/tree-sitter/config.json`
* **Windows**: `%APPDATA%\tree-sitter\config.json` or `$HOME\AppData\Roaming\tree-sitter\config.json`

<Info>
  The CLI will work without a config file, falling back on default values for each configuration option.
</Info>

When you run the command, it will print the location of the created file so you can easily find and modify it.

## Configuration Options

The configuration file is a JSON file with the following fields:

### parser-directories

Specifies where to look for Tree-sitter grammars on your filesystem. The [`tree-sitter highlight`](/cli/highlight) command uses this to automatically determine which language to use.

```json theme={null}
{
  "parser-directories": [
    "/Users/my-name/code",
    "~/other-code",
    "$HOME/another-code"
  ]
}
```

Any folder within these directories whose name begins with `tree-sitter-` will be treated as a Tree-sitter grammar repository.

### theme

Defines colors for syntax highlighting. The [Tree-sitter highlighting system](https://tree-sitter.github.io/tree-sitter/syntax-highlighting) annotates code with logical "highlight names" like `function.method`, `type.builtin`, `keyword`, etc.

The `theme` value is an object whose keys are dot-separated highlight names and values are styling parameters.

#### Highlight Names

A theme can contain multiple keys that share a common subsequence:

* `variable` and `variable.parameter`
* `function`, `function.builtin`, and `function.method`

Styling is determined based on the **longest matching theme key**. For example, `function.builtin.static` would match `function.builtin` rather than `function`.

#### Styling Values

Values can be:

* **Integers** from 0 to 255 (ANSI terminal color IDs)
* **Hex strings** like `"#e45649"` (RGB colors)
* **Color names** like `"red"`, `"black"`, `"purple"`, `"cyan"`
* **Objects** with keys:
  * `color` - Integer or string as above
  * `underline` - Boolean
  * `italic` - Boolean
  * `bold` - Boolean

#### Example Theme

```json theme={null}
{
  "theme": {
    "function": 26,
    "operator": {
      "bold": true,
      "color": 239
    },
    "variable.builtin": {
      "bold": true
    },
    "variable.parameter": {
      "underline": true
    },
    "type.builtin": {
      "color": 23,
      "bold": true
    },
    "keyword": 56,
    "type": 23,
    "number": {
      "bold": true,
      "color": 94
    },
    "constant": 94,
    "attribute": {
      "color": 124,
      "italic": true
    },
    "comment": {
      "color": 245,
      "italic": true
    },
    "constant.builtin": {
      "color": 94,
      "bold": true
    }
  }
}
```

### parse-theme

Controls colors for the pretty-printed CST output from [`tree-sitter parse`](/cli/parse) with the `-c/--cst` option.

<Note>
  Omitting a field will cause the relevant text to be rendered with its default color.
</Note>

Colors are specified as RGB arrays `[r, g, b]` with values 0-255.

```json theme={null}
{
  "parse-theme": {
    "node-kind": [20, 20, 20],
    "node-text": [255, 255, 255],
    "field": [42, 42, 42],
    "row-color": [255, 255, 255],
    "row-color-named": [255, 130, 0],
    "extra": [255, 0, 255],
    "error": [255, 0, 0],
    "missing": [153, 75, 0],
    "line-feed": [150, 150, 150],
    "backtick": [0, 200, 0],
    "literal": [0, 0, 200]
  }
}
```

## Modifying the Config

After creating the config file, you can edit it manually with any text editor. The CLI will automatically use the updated settings.