Configuration Guide Json

The JSON configuration file is located at:

%USERPROFILE%\Documents\SSMS EnvTabs\TabGroupConfig.json

Most users should start with the UI guide: Configuration Guide. Use this page when editing JSON directly through Open JSON or a text editor.

Structure

{
  "description": "Configuration for SSMS EnvTabs.",
  "help": "https://github.com/Blake-goofy/SSMS-EnvTabs/wiki/Configuration-Guide",
  "version": "2.2.5",
  "settings": {},
  "manualRegexLines": null,
  "serverAlias": {},
  "connectionGroups": []
}

Settings

Setting	Type	Description
enableLogging	Bool	Writes runtime log entries.
enableVerboseLogging	Bool	Writes extra detail for troubleshooting. The UI logging switch enables both logging settings together.
enableAutoRename	Bool	Renames matching query tabs using the configured style templates.
enableAutoColor	Bool	Writes SSMS regex tab-color configuration so matching groups are colored.
enableConfigurePrompt	Bool	Shows the new-connection configure prompt when autoConfigure creates a rule.
enableConnectionPolling	Bool	Polls SSMS for connection changes so tabs update after connection/database changes. Advanced setting; not exposed in the current UI.
enableColorWarning	Bool	Warns when a color is already assigned to another group. Advanced setting; see Configuration Prompts.
enableServerAliasPrompt	Bool	Prompts to add a friendly alias when a server has no alias configured.
enableUpdateChecks	Bool	Checks GitHub Releases for new versions when SSMS launches.
autoConfigure	String	Rule creation mode: "server", "server db", or "off". Unknown values fall back to "server db".
suggestedGroupNameStyle	String	Format for auto-created group names. Supports [server], [serverAlias], [db].
newQueryRenameStyle	String	Format for new/unsaved query tabs. Supports [filename], [groupName], [server], [serverAlias], [db], [#].
savedFileRenameStyle	String	Format for saved files and manually renamed tabs. Supports [filename], [groupName], [server], [serverAlias], [db], [#].
enableRemoveDotSql	Bool	Removes a trailing .sql from captions and from [filename] when possible.
initialLineIndicatorColor	Bool	Default value for enableLineIndicatorColor on newly created connection groups.
initialStatusBarColor	Bool	Default value for enableStatusBarColor on newly created connection groups.

Rename Tokens

Token	Meaning
[filename]	Query/file name. For saved files this comes from the file path; for new queries it comes from the captured SSMS caption.
[groupName]	Name of the matched connection group.
[server]	Connected server name as SSMS reports it.
[serverAlias]	Alias from serverAlias; falls back to [server] when no alias exists.
[db]	Connected database name.
[#]	Per-group query index while tabs are open.

suggestedGroupNameStyle only supports [server], [serverAlias], and [db].

Server Aliases

serverAlias is an object where each key is the real server name and each value is the friendly name.

{
  "serverAlias": {
    "(localdb)\\MSSQLLocalDB": "Local",
    "MY-APP-SERVER": "AppServer"
  }
}

Aliases affect [serverAlias] in style templates and suggested group names. When an alias changes, EnvTabs can update group names that were generated from the suggested group-name style.

Connection Groups

connectionGroups contains server/database matching rules.

Field	Type	Description
groupName	String or null	Name used by [groupName]. null creates a silent rule that suppresses future prompts without renaming or coloring.
server	String or null	Exact server name or % wildcard pattern.
database	String or null	Exact database name or % wildcard pattern.
priority	Number	Lower numbers match first.
colorIndex	Number or null	Color index 0-15, or null for no tab color. See Color Reference.
enableLineIndicatorColor	Bool or null	Per-group override for the editor line indicator color. null falls back to initialLineIndicatorColor.
enableStatusBarColor	Bool or null	Per-group override for the SSMS status bar color. null falls back to initialStatusBarColor.

Example:

{
  "connectionGroups": [
    {
      "groupName": "Local master",
      "server": "(localdb)\\MSSQLLocalDB",
      "database": "master",
      "priority": 10,
      "colorIndex": 0,
      "enableLineIndicatorColor": true,
      "enableStatusBarColor": true
    }
  ]
}

Matching notes:

• server and database are case-insensitive.
• % works as a wildcard, as in SQL LIKE patterns. See Wildcard Patterns.
• A rule must have at least server or database.
• The first matching rule wins after sorting by priority, then groupName.

Manual Regex Lines

manualRegexLines is for file/path-based matching instead of connection-based matching. Use it when a saved script should be grouped by its path or file name. See Manual Regex.

{
  "manualRegexLines": [
    {
      "groupName": "Deploy Scripts",
      "pattern": ".*\\\\Deploy\\\\.*\\.sql$",
      "priority": 20,
      "colorIndex": 6
    }
  ]
}

Complete Example

{
  "settings": {
    "enableLogging": false,
    "enableVerboseLogging": false,
    "enableAutoRename": true,
    "enableAutoColor": true,
    "enableConfigurePrompt": true,
    "enableConnectionPolling": true,
    "enableColorWarning": true,
    "enableServerAliasPrompt": true,
    "enableUpdateChecks": true,
    "autoConfigure": "server db",
    "suggestedGroupNameStyle": "[serverAlias] [db]",
    "newQueryRenameStyle": "[#]. [groupName]",
    "savedFileRenameStyle": "[filename]",
    "enableRemoveDotSql": true,
    "initialLineIndicatorColor": true,
    "initialStatusBarColor": true
  },
  "serverAlias": {
    "(localdb)\\MSSQLLocalDB": "Local"
  },
  "connectionGroups": [
    {
      "groupName": "Local master",
      "server": "(localdb)\\MSSQLLocalDB",
      "database": "master",
      "priority": 10,
      "colorIndex": 0,
      "enableLineIndicatorColor": true,
      "enableStatusBarColor": true
    }
  ]
}