Environment and configuration reference

Patchmill combines CLI commands, repository configuration, host-provider authentication, and Pi runtime state.

Files and directories

Path	Purpose
patchmill.config.json	Repository-level Patchmill configuration.
.patchmill/skills/	Project-local managed or custom skills.
.patchmill/pi-agent/	Patchmill-owned repo-local Pi provider state.
.patchmill/runs/	Local run-state records.
.patchmill/triage-runs/	Local triage-run records.

Common commands

Command	Purpose
patchmill init	Create or repair local Patchmill configuration and recommended skills.
patchmill auth	Configure or repair repo-local Pi runtime authentication.
patchmill doctor	Run read-only checks for repository readiness.
patchmill triage --dry-run	Preview issue triage without mutating issues.
patchmill triage	Run issue triage with configured provider behavior.
patchmill run-once	Advance one ready issue through the configured production line.
patchmill skills update	Update Patchmill-managed project-local skills.

Environment variables

Patchmill inherits provider and runtime environment from the shell and the configured CLIs. Use patchmill auth for Patchmill-owned Pi runtime setup and provider-specific CLI commands such as gh auth status or tea login list for host access checks.

Variable	Purpose
PATCHMILL_HOST_LOGIN	Host account/login override for providers with named-login support, such as forgejo-tea; ignored by github-gh.

Git configuration notes

git.baseBranch controls the pull-request target branch used by run-once. If it is omitted, Patchmill checks refs/remotes/<git.remote>/HEAD, then the current branch upstream when it tracks the same remote, and finally falls back to main.

Set git.baseBranch explicitly when local git metadata cannot identify the PR target or when repository policy requires a fixed branch. Explicit values are authoritative.

Verification command

Run this after changing configuration, credentials, skills, or local paths:

patchmill doctor