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.morphsettings

The .morphsettings file controls compiler-enforced source code rules for every Morph project. These rules are not suggestions — they are hard constraints checked at compile time.

Why These Rules Exist​

.morphsettings is the project's immune system.

These rules serve two critical purposes:

1. Developer Discipline​

Without enforced rules, projects naturally degrade over time:

  • Files grow to thousands of lines
  • Methods become impossible to understand
  • Naming conventions drift into chaos
  • Documentation falls behind

.morphsettings prevents this by making violations compile errors, not warnings. Bad code simply cannot enter the project.

2. AI Agent Protection​

This is equally important: when AI coding assistants (Copilot, Cursor, Claude, etc.) generate or modify code in a Morph project, they MUST follow these rules or the compiler will reject their output.

Without .morphsettings:

  • An agent might dump 500 lines into a single method
  • An agent might create utilities.mx with 12 classes inside
  • An agent might skip documentation entirely
  • An agent might place .mx files directly in the project root

With .morphsettings, none of this compiles. The rules act as a guardrail that protects the project's quality regardless of who — or what — writes the code.

Default Configuration​

# ── Structure ──
max_classes_per_file = 1
max_lines_per_file = 1000
forbid_root_scripts = true

# ── Naming ──
enforce_strict_file_naming = true
min_method_name_length = 4
require_const_uppercase = true

# ── Visibility ──
require_class_explicit_visibility = true
require_property_explicit_visibility = true

# ── Complexity ──
max_lines_per_method = 50
max_lines_per_block_statement = 20
max_nesting_depth = 3

# ── Documentation ──
require_script_docs = true
require_script_docs_exclude = ["Test*"]
require_script_docs_min_lines = 5
require_public_method_docs = true

# ── Testing ──
max_auto_test_duration_ms = 5000

# ── Agent Integration ──
agent_hints = true

Disabling Rules​

Set a rule to 0 or false to disable it:

max_lines_per_method = 0
require_script_docs = false

⚠️ Warning: Disabling rules removes protection. Use with caution.

Rules by Category​