Defaults and inheritance

Defaults and inheritance

A top-level defaults block supplies values for every space. A space overrides what it sets and inherits the rest, so a shared browser, schedule, or workspace count is written once instead of repeated per space.

{
  "defaults": {
    "browser": { "command": "brave" },
    "workspaces": { "count": 10 },
    "notifications": {
      "allowUnassigned": false,
      "schedule": [
        { "from": "22:00", "to": "08:00", "allowFrom": [], "allowUnassigned": false }
      ]
    }
  },
  "spaces": [
    { "id": "personal", "browser": { "profile": "Default" } },
    { "id": "work", "browser": { "profile": "Profile 1" } }
  ]
}

Both spaces get Brave, the overnight silence, and ten slots. Each sets only its own profile.

The merge rules

Objects merge one key at a time, recursively. personal above ends up with browser.command from defaults and browser.profile of its own.

Arrays and scalars are replaced whole. A space that sets apps replaces the default list rather than adding to it. A half-inherited list is harder to reason about than an explicit one, and appending has no obvious way to remove an entry.

Identity is never inherited. id, name, icon, and color belong to a space, and putting them in defaults does nothing.

Editing it

The Defaults page in the config app uses the same form as a space, minus the identity fields. A space whose values come from defaults says so under its name in the header.

One thing to watch

defaults.apps reaches every space that does not define its own apps. If two spaces both inherit it, both claim the same apps, and the first one in the list wins. omarchy-spaces validate says so plainly:

warn: app 'shared' is claimed by personal and work; personal wins

That is usually a sign the app belongs in one space's own list rather than in defaults.

Turning it off

Delete the defaults block. Nothing else changes, and every space keeps whatever it set explicitly.