OpenCues reads config from three layers: $OPENCUES_HOME when set, then <project>/.cues/, then ~/.cues/. That middle layer is the team feature: commit a .cues/ folder to your repo and every teammate running OpenCues gets the project's cues and blanks automatically.
Additive, never destructive
Project config adds to what each person already has: entering a project extends your setup, it never silently removes anything. On a name conflict the project copy wins, and a project's master files can disable: a specific source by name (that redaction source, on for client repos, off for scratch), which is the only way one layer subtracts from another.
What a project ships
- Domain vocabulary: a cue for the project's terminology, so the whole team gets the same alternatives and tips.
- Project blanks: an issue-tracker lookup, an environment status check.
- House style: naming rules, forbidden phrases, PII redaction.
The boundaries
Runtime settings (OPENCUES.md: providers, keys, modes) stay user-level by design: a repo can ship vocabulary, but it can't switch your model or flip your features. And everything hot-reloads, so pulling a teammate's new cue is live on your next pause.
Related: Write your own cue · Hot-reload · GitHub repo