Settings overview

Here you can find an overview of all available settings.

Available settings

frontMatter.logging

Specify the logging level you want to use for the extension.

• Type: string
• Default: info

Options:

• verbose
• info
• warning
• error

Info

More information on how to use it can be found in the troubleshooting - logging section.

frontMatter.config.dynamicFilePath

Allows you to specify a dynamic config file path which will be used during the initialization of the extension. You can, for instance, use it to dynamically set the path of the preview host.

• Type: string
• Default: ""

Info

More information on how to use it can be found in the extending settings with code section.

frontMatter.content.autoUpdateDate

Specify if you want to automatically update the modified date of your article/page.

• Type: boolean
• Default: false

frontMatter.content.defaultFileType

Specify the default file type for the content to create.

• Type: emum
• Default: md

Options:

• md
• mdx

For more information how and when this is used, check content creation

frontMatter.content.defaultSorting

Specify the default sorting option for the content dashboard. You can use one of the values from the enum or define your own ID.

• Type: string
• Default: ""

Options:

• LastModifiedAsc
• LastModifiedDesc
• FileNameAsc
• FileNameDesc
• PublishedAsc
• PublishedDesc
• ID of your custom sorting option

frontMatter.content.draftField

Define the draft field you want to use to manage your content.

• Type: object

  • name: Define the type of field
  • type: boolean or choice
  • invert: true if you want to invert the value. This inversion is only applied if the field is a boolean field and can be used to change the draft to published content behaviou.
  • choices: Define the choices of the draft field string[]

• Default:

{
  "name": "draft",
  "type": "boolean"
}

frontMatter.content.fmHighlight

Specify if you want to highlight the Front Matter in the Markdown file.

• Type: boolean
• Default: true

frontMatter.content.grouping

Specify the grouping options you want to use for your content dashboard.

• Type: { title: string; name: string; }[]
• Default: []

frontMatter.content.hideFm

Specify if you want to hide the Front Matter in the Markdown file.

• Type: boolean
• Default: false

frontMatter.content.hideFmMessage

Specify the message to display when the Front Matter is hidden.

• Type: string
• Default: ""

frontMatter.content.i18n

Specify the locales for the entire workspace.

• Type: object[]
• Default: []

Info

More information on how to use it can be found in the multilingual section.

frontMatter.content.pageFolders

This array of folders defines where the extension can find your content and create new content by running the create article command.

• Type: object[]
• Default: []

Info

More information on how to use it can be found in the content folders section.

frontMatter.content.placeholders

Allows you to specify custom placeholders to use in your content creation process.

• Type: object[]
• Default: []

Properties:

• id: The id of the placeholder
• value: The value of the placeholder

Info

More information on how you can use it can be found here: placeholders.

frontMatter.content.publicFolder

Specify the folder name where all your assets are located. For instance in Hugo this is the static folder.

• Type: string or object
• Default: ""

Info

More information on how to use it can be found in the media dashboard section.

frontMatter.content.filters

Specify the filters you want to use for your content dashboard.

• Type: object[]
• Default: ["contentFolders", "tags", "categories"]

Info

More information on how to use it can be found in the Content View - Filters section.

frontMatter.content.sorting

Define the sorting options for your dashboard content.

• Type: object[]
• Default: []

Info

More information on how to use it can be found in the Content View - Sorting section.

frontMatter.content.supportedFileTypes

Specify the file types that you want to use in Front Matter.

• Type: array
• Default: [md, mdx, markdown]

frontMatter.content.wysiwyg

Specifies if you want to enable/disable the What You See, Is What You Get (WYSIWYG) markdown controls.

• Type: boolean
• Default: true

frontMatter.contentHealth.enabled

Enable or disable the Content Health section in the editor panel.

• Type: boolean
• Default: true

frontMatter.contentHealth.checkExternalLinks

Enable external link validation in Content Health.

When enabled, Front Matter performs HTTP HEAD requests for external URLs. This can slow down panel updates for articles with many external links.

• Type: boolean
• Default: false

frontMatter.contentHealth.freshnessThreshold

Define after how many days content should be flagged as stale in Content Health.

Set this to 0 to disable freshness warnings.

• Type: number
• Default: 180

frontMatter.contentHealth.minReadability

Define the minimum Flesch Reading Ease score (0-100) before Content Health shows a readability warning.

Set this to 0 to disable readability threshold warnings.

• Type: number
• Default: 0

frontMatter.custom.scripts

Specify the path to a Node.js script to execute. The current file path will be provided as an argument.

• Type: object[]
• Default: []

Sample:

{
  "frontMatter.custom.scripts": [
    {
      "title": "Generate social image",
      "script": "./scripts/social-img.js",
      "nodeBin": "~/.nvm/versions/node/v14.15.5/bin/node"
    }
  ]
}

Info

Check the create your own custom scripts section for more information.

frontMatter.copilot.enabled

Specify if you want to enable GitHub Copilot AI suggestions. This requires the GitHub Copilot extension to be installed.

• Type: boolean
• Default: true

Info

More information on how to use it can be found in the AI features section.

frontMatter.copilot.family

Specify the LLM family of the GitHub Copilot model you want to use for your project.

• Type: string
• Default: gpt-5-mini

Info

More information on how to use it can be found in the AI features section.

frontMatter.dashboard.content.cardTags

Specify the name of the metadata field that will be used to show the tags on the content card. When empty or null, it will hide the tags from the card.

• Type: string
• Default: tags

Info

Check the card tags section for more information.

frontMatter.dashboard.content.card.fields.date

Specify if you want to show the date on the content card view.

• Type: boolean
• Default: true

frontMatter.dashboard.content.card.fields.description

Specify the name of the metadata field that will be used to show the description on the content card. When empty or null, it uses the description field.

• Type: string
• Default: ""

frontMatter.dashboard.content.card.fields.state

Specify if you want to show the state on the content card view.

• Type: boolean
• Default: true

frontMatter.dashboard.content.card.fields.title

Specify the name of the metadata field that will be used to show the title on the content card. When empty or null, it uses the title field.

• Type: string
• Default: ""

frontMatter.dashboard.content.pagination

Specify if you want to enable/disable pagination for your content.

• Type: boolean or number
• Default: true
• Maximum: 52

frontMatter.dashboard.content.defaults

Configure the default opening state of the contents dashboard, including sorting, grouping, and filters.

• Type: object
• Default: {}

Properties:

• sorting: The default sorting option for the contents dashboard. Use a built-in sort ID like LastModifiedDesc or a custom sorting option ID from frontMatter.content.sorting.
• grouping: The default grouping for the contents dashboard. Use Year, Draft, None, or a custom grouping field name from frontMatter.content.grouping.
• filters: The default filter values for the contents dashboard. Keys can be contentFolders, tags, categories, or the name of a custom filter.

Example dashboard defaults

{
  "frontMatter.dashboard.content.defaults": {
    "sorting": "LastModifiedDesc",
    "grouping": "Year",
    "filters": {
      "contentFolders": "docs",
      "tags": "release",
      "categories": "guides",
      "fmContentType": "documentation"
    }
  }
}

Info

These defaults are applied to the contents dashboard when it opens, making it easier to start from a preferred view.

frontMatter.dashboard.openOnStart

Specify if you want to open the dashboard when you start VS Code.

• Type: boolean | null
• Default: null

frontMatter.data.files

Specify the data files you want to use for your website.

• Type: array
• Default: “

More information on how to use it can be found in the data files view section.

frontMatter.data.folders

Specify the data files you want to use for your website.

• Type: array
• Default: “

More information on how to use it can be found in the data files view section.

frontMatter.data.types

Specify the data types. These types can be used in for your data files.

• Type: array
• Default: “

More information on how to use it can be found in the data files view section.

frontMatter.extensibility.scripts

Specify the list of scripts to load in the Front Matter CMS.

• Type: array<string>
• Default: []

Info

More information on how to use it can be found in the UI extensibility section.

frontMatter.experimental

Specify if you want to enable the experimental features.

• Type: boolean
• Default: false

Info

More information on how to use it can be found in the experimental features section.

frontMatter.extends

Specify the list of paths/URLs to extend the Front Matter CMS config.

• Type: array<string>
• Default: []

Info

More information on how to use it can be found in the extending settings section.

frontMatter.file.preserveCasing

Specify if you want to preserve the casing of your file names from the title.

• Type: boolean
• Default: false

Info

More information on how to use it can be found in the preserve the casing for your file names section.

frontMatter.file.slugSeparator

Specify the separator character used between words when generating slugs and file names from titles.

• Type: string
• Default: -

frontMatter.framework.id

Specify the ID of your static site generator or framework you are using for your website.

• Type: string
• Default: ""

frontMatter.framework.startCommand

Specify the command you want to use to start your static site generator or framework.

• Type: string
• Default: null (when using a known framework, it will be set automatically)

frontMatter.git.enabled

Specify if you want to use the Git actions for your website.

• Type: boolean
• Default: false

frontMatter.git.commitMessage

Specify the commit message you want to use for the sync.

• Type: string
• Default: Synced by Front Matter

frontMatter.git.disableOnBranches

Specify the branches on which you want to disable the Git actions.

• Type: array
• Default: []

frontMatter.git.requiresCommitMessage

Specify the branches on which you want to require a commit message.

• Type: array
• Default: []

frontMatter.git.submodule.push

Specify if you want to push the submodule changes to the remote repository.

• Type: boolean
• Default: false

frontMatter.git.submodule.pull

Specify if you want to pull the submodule changes from the remote repository.

• Type: boolean
• Default: false

frontMatter.git.submodule.branch

Specify the branch to use for the submodule. This will be the branch Front Matter CMS will try to checkout and sync.

• Type: string
• Default: ""

frontMatter.git.submodule.folder

Specify the folder where the submodule is located. This is handy when you have multiple submodules.

• Type: string
• Default: ""

frontMatter.global.activeMode

Specify the activated mode of Front Matter.

• Type: string, null

Info

Check the view mode documentation section for more information.

frontMatter.global.modes

Specify the modes you want to use for Front Matter.

• Type: array
• Default: “

Info

Check the view mode documentation section for more information.

frontMatter.global.disabledNotifications

This is an array with the notifications types that can be disabled for Front Matter CMS.

• Type: array<string>
• Default: []
• Options:
  • requiredFieldValidation

frontMatter.global.notifications

Specifies which type of notifications you want to see or which you want to hide.

• Type: array<string>
• Default: ["info", "warning", "error"]

frontMatter.global.timezone

Specify the timezone you want to use for your date formatting.

• Type: string
• Default: UTC

frontMatter.media.contentTypes

Specify the content types you want to use for your media files.

• Type: array
• Default: “

Info

More information on how to use it can be found in the media content types section.

frontMatter.media.defaultSorting

Specify the default sorting option for the media dashboard.

• Type: string
• Default: ""

Options:

• LastModifiedAsc
• LastModifiedDesc
• FileNameAsc
• FileNameDesc

frontMatter.media.supportedMimeTypes

Specify the mime types to support for the media files.

• Type: array
• Default: image/*, video/*, audio/*

frontMatter.panel.actions.disabled

Specify the actions you want to disable in the panel.

• Type: array<string>
• Default: []

Options:

• openDashboard
• createContent
• optimizeSlug
• preview
• openOnWebsite
• startStopServer
• customActions

frontMatter.panel.freeform

Specifies whether the tag picker should allow unknown tags and categories. When enabled, you can enter new values and save them afterward.

• Type: boolean
• Default: true

Info

This setting also controls front matter validation for tags and categories. When freeform is enabled (the default), values that are not part of your known taxonomy are allowed and will not be flagged as validation errors. When disabled, the generated schema restricts these fields to the known taxonomy values.

frontMatter.panel.openOnSupportedFile

Specifies if you want to open the panel when opening a supported file.

• Type: boolean
• Default: false

frontMatter.preview.host

Specify the host URL (example: http://localhost:1313) to be used when opening the preview.

• Type: string
• Default: ""

frontMatter.preview.pathName

Specify the path you want to add after the host and before your slug. This can be used for instance to include the year/month like: {{date\|yyyy-MM}}. The date will be generated based on the article its date field value.

• Type: string
• Default: ""

frontMatter.preview.trailingSlash

Specify if you want to add a trailing slash to the preview URL.

• Type: boolean
• Default: false

frontMatter.projects

Allows you to specify a list of projects you want to manage with Front Matter CMS. Each project can override the global configuration.

• Type: array<project>
• Default: []

Info

More information on how to use it can be found in the projects section.

frontMatter.site.baseURL

Specify the base URL of your site, this will be used for SEO checks.

• Type: string
• Default: ""

Info

Example for this site it would be: https://frontmatter.codes.

frontMatter.snippets.wrapper.enabled

Specify if you want to enable/disable the snippet wrapper functionality.

• Type: boolean
• Default: true

Info

More information on how to use it can be found in the snippet wrapper section.

frontMatter.taxonomy.alignFilename

Align the filename with the new slug when it gets generated.

• Type: boolean
• Default: false

frontMatter.taxonomy.categories

Specifies the categories which can be used in the Front Matter.

• Type: string[]
• Default: []

Important

Tags and categories are now moved to a separate database file (.frontmatter/database/taxonomyDb.json). The setting can still be used to predefine the categories. Once the project gets initialized, the tags will be moved to the database file.

frontMatter.taxonomy.commaSeparatedFields

Specify the fields names that Front Matter should treat as a comma-separated array.

• Type: string[]
• Default: []
• Example: ["tags", "categories"]

Info

As some site generators expect arrays in YAML to be comma-separated like Pelican. You can use this setting to define which of the front matter properties should be treated as an comma-separated array.

frontMatter.taxonomy.contentTypes

Specify the type of contents you want to use for your articles/pages/etc. Make sure the type is correctly set in your front matter.

• Type: array, null
• Default: check default content type

frontMatter.taxonomy.customTaxonomy

Specify the custom taxonomy field data.

• Type: array[object]
• Default: []

Sample:

"frontMatter.taxonomy.customTaxonomy": [
    {
      "id": "customTaxonomy",
      "options": [
        "Option 1",
        "Option 2",
        "Option 3"
      ]
    }
  ]

Info

Check the custom taxonomy section for more information.

frontMatter.taxonomy.dateFormat

Specify the date format for your articles. Check date-fns formating for more information.

• Type: string
• Default: iso

frontMatter.taxonomy.fieldGroups

Define the field groups you want to use for your block fields.

• Type: array[object]
• Default: []

More information on how to use this setting can be found on the block field section of content creation.

frontMatter.taxonomy.frontMatterType

Specify which Front Matter language you want to use. The extension supports YAML (default), TOML, and JSON.

• Type: enum: YAML | TOML | JSON
• Default: YAML

frontMatter.taxonomy.indentArrays

Specify if arrays in front matter of the markdown files are indented.

• Type: boolean
• Default: true

frontMatter.taxonomy.noPropertyValueQuotes

Specify the property names of which you want to remove the quotes in the output value. Warning: only use this when you know what you are doing. If you’re going to, for instance, remove the quotes from the date property, you can add the following:

{
  "frontMatter.taxonomy.noPropertyValueQuotes": ["date"]
}

• Type: string[]
• Default: []

frontMatter.taxonomy.seoContentLengh

Specifies the optimal minimum length for your articles. Between 1,760 words – 2,400 is the absolute ideal article length for SEO in 2021. (set to -1 to turn it off).

• Type: number
• Default: 1760

frontMatter.taxonomy.seoDescriptionField

Specifies the name of the SEO description field for your page.

• Type: string
• Default: description

Important

if you would use another field in your content types, be sure to remap this setting.

frontMatter.taxonomy.seoDescriptionLength

Specifies the optimal description length for SEO (set to -1 to turn it off).

• Type: number
• Default: 160

frontMatter.taxonomy.seoSlugLength

Specifies the optimal slug length for SEO (set to -1 to turn it off).

• Type: number
• Default: 75

frontMatter.taxonomy.seoTitleField

Specifies the name of the SEO title field for your page.

• Type: string
• Default: title

frontMatter.taxonomy.seoTitleLength

Specifies the optimal title length for SEO (set to -1 to turn it off).

• Type: number
• Default: 60

frontMatter.taxonomy.slugPrefix

Specify a prefix for the slug.

• Type: string
• Default: ""

frontMatter.taxonomy.slugSuffix

Specify a suffix for the slug.

• Type: string
• Default: ""

frontMatter.taxonomy.slugTemplate

Specify the template for the slug.

• Type: string
• Default: “

Info

More information on how to use it can be found in the slug section.

frontMatter.taxonomy.tags

Specifies the tags which can be used in the Front Matter.

• Type: string[]
• Default: []

Important

Tags and categories are now moved to a separate database file (.frontmatter/database/taxonomyDb.json). The setting can still be used to predefine the tags. Once the project gets initialized, the tags will be moved to the database file.

frontMatter.taxonomy.quoteStringValues

Specify if you always want to wrap string values in quotes.

• Type: boolean
• Default: false

frontMatter.telemetry.disable

Specify if you want to disable the telemetry.

Important

No user data is tracked, we only use telemetry to see what is used, and what isn’t. This allows us to make accurate decisions on what to add or enhance to the extension.

• Type: boolean
• Default: false

frontMatter.templates.enabled

Specify if you want to use templates functionality.

• Type: boolean
• Default: false

frontMatter.templates.folder

Specify the folder to use for your article templates.

• Type: string
• Default: .frontmatter/templates

Important

In version 5 of Front Matter, we moved the default location from .templates to .frontmatter/templates.

frontMatter.templates.prefix

Specify the prefix you want to add for your new article filenames.

• Type: string
• Default: {{date|yyyy-MM-dd}}

frontMatter.validation.enabled

Specify if you want to enable front matter validation. When enabled, the extension validates your front matter against the active content type schema.

• Type: boolean
• Default: true

frontMatter.website.host

Specify the host URL of your website.

• Type: string
• Default: ""

Deprecated settings

---

Removed settings

frontMatter.content.folders

This setting has been deprecated since version 3.1.0 in favour of the newly introduced frontMatter.content.pageFolders setting.

frontMatter.dashboard.mediaSnippet

This setting is deprecated in version 7.3.0 and and will be removed in the next major version. Please define your media snippet in the frontMatter.content.snippets setting.

frontMatter.taxonomy.dateField

This setting is used to define the publishing date field of your articles.

• Type: string
• Default: date

Important

Use the new isPublishDate datetime field setting for content types instead.

frontMatter.taxonomy.modifiedField

This setting is used to define the modified date field of your articles.

• Type: string
• Default: lastmod

Important

Use the new isModifiedDate datetime field setting for content types instead.

frontMatter.sponsors.ai.enabled

This setting was removed in version 10.10.0. Sponsor AI functionality has been discontinued.

• Type: boolean
• Default: false

Info

This setting was previously used to enable AI suggestions for sponsors. It is no longer supported.