Configuration

Configure Intent in the intent object in package.json:

skills permits packages or individual skills.
exclude blocks packages or skills after permissions are evaluated.

json

{
  "intent": {
    "skills": [
      "@tanstack/query",
      "@acme/*",
      "@tanstack/start#routing",
      "workspace:@scope/internal"
    ],
    "exclude": ["@tanstack/router#experimental-*"]
  }
}

Configuration inheritance

Key	Inheritance rule
intent.skills	Uses the nearest non-null declaration between the current directory and the workspace or project root. A nearer declaration replaces its parent; omitted or null values inherit.
intent.exclude	Combines arrays from the root through the current directory, then adds excludes passed by the caller.

intent.skills

intent.skills is a package-source and skill allowlist. A permitted package or skill can:

Appear in list and stale.
Resolve through load.
Contribute mappings to install --map.
Default install helps configure permissions on first use. See Existing projects for how it handles saved or inherited configuration, and Trust model for the trust boundaries.
Package selectors permit current and future skills in the package. Exact selectors use <package>#<skill> and permit only that skill. If both match, the package selector takes precedence. intent.exclude is applied afterward and can still block either choice.

Source entries

Each array entry names one source:

Entry	Kind	Meaning
@scope/pkg or pkg	npm	An npm package reachable through the dependency tree, direct or transitive.
@scope/pkg#skill	npm	One exact skill in an npm package.
workspace:@scope/pkg	workspace	A package in the current workspace.
workspace:@scope/pkg#skill	workspace	One exact skill in a workspace package.
@scope/*	npm	Every discovered npm package whose name matches the pattern.
workspace:@scope/*	workspace	Every discovered workspace package whose name matches the pattern.
git:<host>/<repo>#<ref>	git	Reserved. Not yet supported, and rejected until a future version adds it.

Validation rules

Exact selectors require a non-empty package name and a non-empty skill name without wildcards.
Package patterns support *, including scoped patterns such as @tanstack/*. Patterns cannot be combined with an exact skill selector.
Source kinds must match: bare selectors permit npm sources; workspace: selectors permit workspace sources.
git: entries are rejected, including entries containing # for a Git ref.
A malformed entry fails the whole command. Intent reports every bad entry at once.

Special forms

Form	Result	Notice
Absent: no effective intent.skills key	Discovery commands surface every discovered package as migration behavior.	Deprecation notice until you configure permissions.
Empty: "skills": []	Surfaces no packages.	Info notice on stderr.
Wildcard: "skills": ["*"]	Permits every discovered package across scopes and source kinds, broader than @tanstack/*.	Acknowledged-risk notice: unvetted skills may reach your agent.

All policy notices go to stderr. Exclusions still apply to these forms.

Discovery notices

Situation	Notice
Discovered package is not permitted	Human output names omitted packages in one notice. Agent sessions receive only hidden package and skill counts.
Configured package was not discovered	Reports that the package was not discovered.
Package was explicitly excluded	No unlisted-source notice.

Existing projects

Run intent list to see which packages the current policy surfaces.

Current configuration	Default intent install behavior
Saved or inherited intent.skills	Updates guidance only. Keeps permissions unchanged and does not prompt.
No effective intent.skills	Starts interactive permission setup. Non-TTY execution fails without writes.

First-run setup offers Enable all, Choose packages or scopes, and Choose individual skills, followed by one confirmation before saving to the nearest owning package.json and installing guidance.

Compact rules: Enable all saves "*"; package choices save names such as "@tanstack/ai"; explicit scope choices save patterns such as "@tanstack/*". These rules include future matching skills and packages. Individual choices save exact names such as "@tanstack/ai#skill".
Optional skill review: choose Review individual skills at confirmation, then pick which selected packages to inspect. Leave the list empty to keep all selected skills. Only those packages open individual skill lists; unchecking a skill covered by a broad rule adds an exclusion. Existing and inherited exclusions stay in force.
Changing instructions: access choices do not record approval of specific content. Skills can change with dependency updates; update notifications are not available yet.
Empty selection: explicitly confirms disabling all skills with []. Empty or fully excluded discovery writes nothing, so setup can be retried.
For example, enabling a scope and unchecking one skill saves:

json

{
  "intent": {
    "skills": ["@tanstack/*"],
    "exclude": ["@tanstack/ai#skill"]
  }
}

This permits matching npm packages, including future additions, except the excluded skill. Selecting several packages individually never silently expands to a scope rule.

See Default install for picker controls and cancellation behavior.

Suppressing notices temporarily

Use --no-notices to suppress non-critical notices on stderr for one run:

shell

npx @tanstack/intent@latest list --no-notices
npx @tanstack/intent@latest install --map --no-notices

For CI or wrapper scripts, set INTENT_NO_NOTICES=1 to suppress notices without changing command arguments.

Discovery and resolution warnings are separate from policy notices and are not suppressed by these options. The acknowledged-risk notice for "skills": ["*"] also remains visible when other notices are suppressed.

intent.exclude

intent.exclude removes packages or individual skills after the allowlist resolves.

Use intent exclude to manage this list from the CLI:

shell

npx @tanstack/intent@latest exclude add @tanstack/router#experimental-*
npx @tanstack/intent@latest exclude remove @tanstack/router#experimental-*
npx @tanstack/intent@latest exclude list

json

{
  "intent": {
    "exclude": ["@tanstack/*devtools*", "@tanstack/router#experimental-*"]
  }
}

Exclusion patterns

Pattern	Excludes
@scope/pkg	The whole package.
@scope/pkg#search-params	One named skill.
@scope/pkg#experimental-*	Matching skills in one package.
#experimental-	Matching skills across packages.
@scope/pkg#*	The whole package, using the #* shortcut.

Each segment supports exact names and * wildcards only. Excludes apply to both npm and workspace sources with matching names, regardless of source kind.