Configuration reference

The app uses two JSON files to manage state: one for the Git-Mastery workspace and one per downloaded exercise.

.gitmastery.json

Created by gitmastery setup in the Git-Mastery root directory.

Field	Type	Description
progress_local	bool	Whether local progress tracking is enabled
progress_remote	bool	Whether progress is synced to a GitHub fork
exercises_source	object	Where the app fetches exercises from

exercises_source

Two source types are supported:

Remote (default):

{
  "type": "remote",
  "username": "git-mastery",
  "repository": "exercises",
  "branch": "main"
}

Local (for co-developing app and exercises):

{
  "type": "local",
  "repo_path": "/absolute/path/to/exercises"
}

With type: local, the app copies the local exercises directory into a temp directory at runtime. This means changes you make in your local exercises/ clone are picked up immediately without needing to push to GitHub — useful when developing app and exercises together.

To point at a fork or a feature branch, change username or branch in the remote config.

---

.gitmastery-exercise.json

Created per exercise by gitmastery download. Lives in the exercise root.

Field	Type	Description
exercise_name	string	Exercise identifier used for progress tracking
tags	string[]	Used for indexing on the exercise directory
requires_git	bool	If true, app checks Git installation and user.name/user.email before download
requires_github	bool	If true, app checks GitHub CLI authentication before download
base_files	object	Map of destination filename to source path in res/; these files are copied to the exercise root alongside README.md
exercise_repo	object	Controls what working repository the student receives
downloaded_at	string	ISO timestamp of when the exercise was downloaded

exercise_repo

Field	Type	Description
repo_type	string	One of local, remote, ignore, local-ignore
repo_name	string	Name of the subfolder created for the student
init	bool	Whether to run git init (used with local)
create_fork	bool	Whether to fork the remote repo to the student’s account
fork_all_branches	bool	Whether all branches are included in the fork (remote only)
repo_title	string	Name of the GitHub repository to clone or fork (remote only)

repo_type values

Value	Behaviour
local	Creates a local folder, optionally runs git init
remote	Clones or fork-and-clones a GitHub repository
ignore	No repository created; exercise.repo is a null wrapper
local-ignore	Creates a folder without git init; student runs it themselves

How commands use these files

Command	Reads	Writes
setup	—	.gitmastery.json
download	.gitmastery.json	.gitmastery-exercise.json
verify	.gitmastery-exercise.json	progress/progress.json
progress	.gitmastery.json	.gitmastery.json (on sync toggle)