Customize OpenWiki

Customize OpenWiki with ignore rules, wiki briefs, agent instruction pointers, and telemetry.

Ignore paths

Create .openwikiignore at the repository root to exclude private, generated, or irrelevant paths from documentation runs. See Code mode for syntax and behavior.

Wiki instructions

OpenWiki reads the following files during runs. Edit them yourself, or ask OpenWiki in chat to revise the brief (for example, openwiki "Update openwiki/INSTRUCTIONS.md to focus on the public API").

Normal --init and --update runs do not rewrite these files.

Agent instruction files

On each code run, OpenWiki maintains agent instruction pointers at the repository root:

• AGENTS.md: Created when missing. OpenWiki rewrites only the <!-- OPENWIKI:START --> … <!-- OPENWIKI:END --> block and leaves the rest of your content untouched
• CLAUDE.md: Updated only when the file already exists. The managed block imports @AGENTS.md so Claude Code reads the same instructions. OpenWiki does not create CLAUDE.md when it is absent, and it leaves a file that is only @AGENTS.md unchanged

That managed content tells coding agents when to consult the generated wiki for repository context.

Local configuration directory

Both code and personal mode store machine-local state under ~/.openwiki/ by default:

Code-mode repository artifacts such as the generated wiki, Claims under openwiki/.claims/, openwiki/INSTRUCTIONS.md, and openwiki/.last-update.json live in the project, not under ~/.openwiki/. For more detail, see Code mode and Personal mode.

Override the state directory

Set OPENWIKI_CONFIG_DIR before starting OpenWiki to use a different writable directory, such as a mounted container volume:

OPENWIKI_CONFIG_DIR=/data/openwiki openwiki personal --init

The override selects a separate state directory. OpenWiki does not move or delete an existing ~/.openwiki directory. To preserve any state you wish to preserve, copy it yourself and point the variable at a dedicated directory because OpenWiki restricts its permissions for the current user.

Telemetry

OpenWiki collects anonymous, aggregate usage data by default so the project can understand how the tool is used and improve it.

Collected on a single openwiki_run event, keyed by a random install ID stored in ~/.openwiki/install-id:

• Every recorded run: the command (init / update) and outcome (success / failure / no-op), plus a coarse error category on failure (never the error message). Interactive chat, auth, and ingest are not recorded
• At setup (on init only): brain mode (code / personal), model provider, and configured connector names (never their contents)

Never collected: file contents, repository data or names, credentials, prompts, model output, connector payloads, error messages, file paths, URLs, model IDs, run duration, IP address, or personal information. GeoIP enrichment is disabled.

Scheduled and CI runs are tagged separately under a shared CI identifier and are not counted as distinct installs.

Opt out

export OPENWIKI_TELEMETRY_DISABLED=1
# or
export DO_NOT_TRACK=1

To disable telemetry collection permanently, add OPENWIKI_TELEMETRY_DISABLED=1 to ~/.openwiki/.env. In CI, set it in the workflow environment.

To inspect exactly what a run would send, add --telemetry-file=<path> to any run.

See also

• Code mode
• Personal mode
• Automate updates
• Model providers