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Configuration Profiles

Gherkin PowerTools supports Configuration Profiles via the .gherkin-powertoolsrc.json file. This allows teams to share a strict formatting baseline and anti-pattern enforcement across the repository, ensuring all contributors (and CI pipelines) adhere to the same standards.

Purpose

  • Consistency: Share formatting rules (e.g., indentation, table alignment) across all developers.
  • Portability: Ensure the standalone CLI (@carlos-camara/gherkin-pt) uses the exact same rules as the VS Code extension.
  • Overrides: Users can still override specific settings in their local .vscode/settings.json, but the repository provides the baseline.

File Format and Storage Location

Create a .gherkin-powertoolsrc.json (or .gherkin-powertoolsrc) file in the root of your workspace.

{
  "profile": "team",
  "indentation": {
    "steps": 4
  },
  "tables": {
    "alignToKeyword": true
  },
  "emptyLines": {
    "betweenScenarios": 1
  }
}

Available Profiles

Gherkin PowerTools exposes profiles for Formatting (profile).

Formatting Profiles (profile)

You can specify a base profile to inherit a predefined set of formatting rules:

  • custom (Default): Extension defaults — configure individual settings manually.
  • strict: Strict consistency: 4-space indent, alphabetical tags, 1 blank line between scenarios.
  • team: Standard team baseline: sensible defaults for large projects without being restrictive.
  • minimal: Low-interference: 2-space indent, table alignment off, tags on one line, no blank line enforcement.
  • legacy: Targets older Gherkin/SpecFlow codebases: 2-space indent, table alignment off.

Validation and Schema

Gherkin PowerTools automatically contributes a JSON schema for .gherkin-powertoolsrc.json. When editing this file in VS Code, you will receive autocomplete, hover descriptions, and validation for all supported settings.

Precedence and Overrides

Configuration values are resolved in the following order (highest precedence first):

  1. Machine-Specific Overrides: Settings scoped as machine-overridable (e.g., behave.localExecutable) set in User Settings.
  2. Configuration Profile: .gherkin-powertoolsrc.json in the workspace root.
  3. Workspace Folder Settings: .vscode/settings.json in the specific folder.
  4. Workspace Settings: .vscode/settings.json at the workspace level.
  5. User Settings: Global VS Code settings.json.
  6. Default Profile: Inherited from gherkinPowerTools.profile.

This means a developer can enforce a strict standard via .gherkin-powertoolsrc.json for the repository, which will securely override any local workspace or user settings, ensuring all contributors and CI pipelines use the same baseline. Machine-specific overrides like local executables must be placed in global User Settings.