Synopsis
Display the current effective configuration after merging user config, project config, and environment variables.
Usage
watercooler config show [options]
Options
Project directory for config discovery. Defaults to current directory.
Output configuration as JSON instead of TOML
Show config source files and their priority order instead of values
Examples
Show current configuration
Output:
# Watercooler Configuration (resolved)
[paths]
threads_dir = "./watercooler"
code_root = "."
[agents]
default_agent = "Team"
default_role = "implementer"
[mcp]
transport = "stdio"
port = 3000
[validation]
fail_on_violation = false
strict_mode = false
Show configuration as JSON
watercooler config show --json
{
"paths": {
"threads_dir": "./watercooler",
"code_root": "."
},
"agents": {
"default_agent": "Team",
"default_role": "implementer"
},
"mcp": {
"transport": "stdio",
"port": 3000
},
"validation": {
"fail_on_violation": false,
"strict_mode": false
}
}
Show config sources
watercooler config show --sources
Config sources (in priority order):
✓ project: /path/to/project/.watercooler/config.toml
✓ user: /home/username/.watercooler/config.toml
✗ system: /etc/watercooler/config.toml (not found)
Environment variables override all file configs.
Show config for specific project
watercooler config show --project-path ~/projects/myapp
Pipe to file
watercooler config show --json > current-config.json
Configuration Resolution
Settings are merged in this priority order (highest first):
-
Environment variables
WATERCOOLER_DIRWATERCOOLER_MCP_PORTWATERCOOLER_TRANSPORT- etc.
-
Project config
.watercooler/config.toml in project root
-
User config
~/.watercooler/config.toml
-
Built-in defaults
TOML (default)
- Human-readable
- Matches source file format
- Includes comments
- Suitable for copying sections
JSON (--json)
- Machine-readable
- No comments
- Easier to parse programmatically
- Useful for scripts and integrations
Sources (--sources)
- Shows which config files exist
- Displays file paths
- Indicates priority order
- Useful for debugging config issues
Common Use Cases
Verify configuration
# Check what settings are active
watercooler config show
Debug config issues
# See which files are being used
watercooler config show --sources
# Check specific setting
watercooler config show --json | jq '.paths.threads_dir'
Compare environments
# Development
watercooler config show --json > dev-config.json
# Production
watercooler config show --json --project-path /var/app > prod-config.json
# Compare
diff dev-config.json prod-config.json
# Get threads directory
watercooler config show --json | jq -r '.paths.threads_dir'
# Get MCP port
watercooler config show --json | jq -r '.mcp.port'
Generate documentation
# Export current config for team
watercooler config show > docs/watercooler-config.toml
Environment Variable Overrides
Environment variables take highest priority:
# Override threads directory
export WATERCOOLER_DIR=/custom/threads
watercooler config show
# Will show threads_dir = "/custom/threads"
# Override MCP port
export WATERCOOLER_MCP_PORT=8080
watercooler config show --json | jq '.mcp.port'
# Output: 8080
Error Handling
Config error
Output:
❌ Config error: Invalid port number in /home/user/.watercooler/config.toml
watercooler config validate for details.
No config files found
If no config files exist, shows built-in defaults:
# Watercooler Configuration (resolved)
# Using built-in defaults - no config files found
[paths]
threads_dir = "./watercooler"
# ...
Integration Examples
Shell script
#!/bin/bash
THREADS_DIR=$(watercooler config show --json | jq -r '.paths.threads_dir')
echo "Threads directory: $THREADS_DIR"
Python script
import json
import subprocess
result = subprocess.run(
["watercooler", "config", "show", "--json"],
capture_output=True,
text=True
)
config = json.loads(result.stdout)
print(f"Threads dir: {config['paths']['threads_dir']}")
