Configuration

Settings are stored at ~/.tldr/settings.json. Run tldr config to see your current settings.

Most settings are easier to change interactively with tldr preset edit or /config in interactive mode. The CLI commands below are for when you know exactly what you want.

Summary

Key	Values	Example
style	quick, standard, detailed, study-notes	tldr config set style quick
tone	casual, professional, academic, eli5	tldr config set tone professional
traits	Comma-separated list	tldr config set traits adhd,dyslexia
model	Any model ID (aliases: haiku, sonnet, opus)	tldr config set model sonnet
provider	claude-code, anthropic, codex, gemini, ollama, openai, xai	tldr config set provider gemini
custom-instructions	Freeform text	tldr config set custom-instructions "Focus on code examples"

Tones

Tone	What it sounds like
casual (default)	Conversational, like explaining to a colleague
professional	Clear and formal, precise and direct
academic	Analytical, references key concepts and terminology
eli5	Simple analogies, no jargon, fun and accessible

Summary Styles

Style	Best for	Sections
quick	Fast overview	TL;DR, Key Points, Why It Matters, Action Items
standard (default)	Understanding	TL;DR, Key Points, Why It Matters, Connections, Action Items
detailed	Deep understanding	TL;DR, Context, Key Points, Analogy, Notable Details, Action Items
study-notes	Learning & review	TL;DR, Core Concepts, How They Connect, Key Facts, Visual Map, Review Questions

Override for a single run:

tldr --style quick "https://example.com/article"

Audio

Key	Values	Example
audio-mode	podcast, briefing, lecture, storyteller, study-buddy, calm	tldr config set audio-mode briefing
tts-provider	edge-tts, openai	tldr config set tts-provider openai
tts-model	Any OpenAI TTS model ID	tldr config set tts-model tts-1-hd
voice	TTS voice name	tldr config set voice en-US-GuyNeural
tts-speed	Positive number	tldr config set tts-speed 1.25
pitch	low, default, high	tldr config set pitch high
volume	quiet, normal, loud	tldr config set volume loud

Note: Pitch and Volume only apply to Edge TTS. They are not supported by OpenAI TTS and will be hidden in the preset editor when OpenAI is selected.

See the Audio guide for audio modes, voices, and save-with-audio behavior.

Appearance

Key	Values	Example
theme	coral, ocean, forest	tldr config set theme ocean
appearance	auto, dark, light	tldr config set appearance light

Three themes: coral (warm reds, default), ocean (cool blues), forest (earthy greens).

Three appearance modes: auto (detects system setting, default), dark, light.

Extraction

Key	Values	Example
fallback-jina	true, false	tldr config set fallback-jina false

Jina Reader Fallback

When a webpage can't be extracted (JavaScript-rendered SPAs, empty Readability results), tldr automatically retries via Jina Reader, which renders pages server-side and returns clean markdown. This is enabled by default.

Privacy note: When the fallback triggers, the URL is sent to Jina AI's servers (r.jina.ai). No API key is required. To disable this, run:

tldr config set fallback-jina false

When disabled, pages that require JavaScript will show an error message suggesting you paste the text directly.

Global Settings

These are top-level settings, not preset-specific. They are not available in the interactive preset editor.

Key	Values	Example
apiKey	Your API key	tldr config set apiKey sk-ant-...
baseUrl	Custom API endpoint	tldr config set baseUrl https://proxy.example.com
maxTokens	Number	tldr config set maxTokens 2048
output-dir	Path	tldr config set output-dir ~/summaries
activeProfile	Preset name	tldr config set activeProfile work
fallback-jina	true / false (default: true)	tldr config set fallback-jina false

Presets

Presets let you save different settings for different contexts. tldr ships with 7 built-in presets you can use out of the box or clone and customise.

Built-in Presets

Preset	Audio Mode	Style	Tone	Speed	Voice
morning-brief	briefing	quick	professional	1.15x	Guy
commute-catch-up	podcast	standard	casual	1.0x	Jenny
deep-study	lecture	study-notes	academic	0.9x	Aria
exam-prep	study-buddy	study-notes	casual	0.95x	Jenny
bedtime-read	calm	standard	casual	0.85x	Sonia
story-mode	storyteller	detailed	casual	1.0x	Guy
team-debrief	briefing	standard	professional	1.0x	Jenny

Built-in presets are read-only. To customise one, create a preset with the same name — the built-in settings are used as a starting point.

Managing Presets

tldr preset list                  # List presets (* = active)
tldr preset create work           # Create a new preset
tldr preset use work              # Switch active preset
tldr preset edit work             # Edit preset settings (interactive)
tldr preset delete work           # Delete a preset
tldr --preset morning-brief <url> # Use a preset for one run

In interactive mode, type /preset to switch presets without leaving the TUI.

Interactive Commands

In interactive mode, type / to access commands:

Command	Description
/history	Browse and resume past sessions
/setup	Re-run the first-time setup wizard
/config	Edit current preset settings
/theme	Change color theme
/preset	Switch between presets
/help	Show shortcuts and commands
/quit	Exit the app

Saving chat transcripts

Press Ctrl+s in chat view to save the conversation as chat.md in the session directory. After the first save, every completed assistant message auto-saves the full conversation. If the summary hasn't been saved yet, saving the chat also creates the session directory and saves the summary.

Per-Style Model Configuration

Each summary style can use a different model. Configure in settings.json:

{
  "profiles": {
    "default": {
      "styleModels": {
        "quick": "haiku",
        "detailed": "sonnet",
        "study-notes": "opus"
      }
    }
  }
}

When no styleModels are configured, all styles default to Opus.

Model Selection

The interactive preset editor (tldr preset edit / /config) fetches available models from your provider's API and shows them as a selectable list. If the API is unreachable or the provider doesn't support model listing, it falls back to a free-text input. CLI providers (claude-code, codex) always use a free-text input.

Model results are cached locally so subsequent edits are instant.

If you enter an invalid model ID, tldr suggests the closest match from your provider's available models.

Anthropic Aliases

For the Anthropic provider, short aliases like haiku, sonnet, and opus resolve to the latest available model in that tier automatically.

Environment Variables

Environment variables override file settings:

Variable	Overrides
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY	apiKey
ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL	baseUrl
ANTHROPIC_MODEL	model
OPENAI_API_KEY	apiKey (if ANTHROPIC_API_KEY not set)
OPENAI_BASE_URL	baseUrl (if ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL not set)
GEMINI_API_KEY	API key for Gemini provider
XAI_API_KEY	API key for xAI provider
XAI_BASE_URL	Custom base URL for xAI
OLLAMA_BASE_URL	Ollama server URL (default http://localhost:11434)

Resolution Order

Settings are resolved in this order (first wins):

1. CLI flags (--model, --style, --preset, --provider, --audio-mode)
2. Environment variables
3. Preset/profile settings in settings.json
4. Built-in defaults

Defaults

Setting	Default
Provider	claude-code (Claude Code)
Summary style	standard
Model	Opus (claude-opus-4-6)
Audio mode	podcast
Cognitive traits	dyslexia
Tone	casual
Voice	en-US-JennyNeural
TTS speed	1.0x
Pitch	default
Volume	normal
TTS provider	edge-tts
TTS model	tts-1
Save audio	false
Theme	coral
Appearance	auto