Settings Reference

Status: Current Last updated: 2026-04-16 13:37 EDT

All extension settings are accessible via File > Preferences > Settings (Cmd+, on macOS, Ctrl+, on Windows/Linux) and searching for “talkbank”. Settings can also be edited directly in settings.json.

Transcription

Setting	Type	Default	Description
`talkbank.transcription.defaultSpeaker`	string	`"CHI"`	Speaker code inserted on new utterance lines during transcription mode. Change this when transcribing a conversation where the primary speaker is not the child (e.g., set to `"PAR"` for participant).
`talkbank.transcription.rewindSeconds`	number	`2`	Number of seconds to rewind when pressing `F8`. Range: 0.5–30.

Walker and Playback

Setting	Type	Default	Description
`talkbank.walker.autoPlay`	boolean	`true`	Automatically play the media segment when stepping through utterances with the walker (`Alt+Down` / `Alt+Up`). Set to `false` for silent navigation.
`talkbank.walker.loopCount`	integer	`1`	Number of times to loop each segment during walker playback. Range: 0–50. Set to `0` to loop indefinitely until the next step command.
`talkbank.walker.pauseSeconds`	number	`0`	Seconds to pause between segments during continuous playback or walker stepping. Range: 0–10. Set to `0` for no pause.
`talkbank.walker.walkLength`	integer	`0`	Number of utterances to play during continuous walker mode. Range: 0–100. Set to `0` to play all remaining segments to the end of the file.
`talkbank.media.defaultSpeed`	integer	`100`	Default playback speed as a percentage. Values: 25, 50, 75, 100, 125, 150, 175, 200. `100` = normal speed, `50` = half speed, `200` = double speed. The media panel toolbar also provides a speed slider for on-the-fly adjustment.

Display

Setting	Type	Default	Description
`talkbank.bullets.display`	string	`"dim"`	How timing bullets (`15320_18450`) are displayed in the editor. Options: `"dim"` (35% opacity – the default, keeps bullets visible but unobtrusive), `"hidden"` (completely invisible – useful when bullets are distracting during reading), `"normal"` (full visibility – useful when editing bullet values).
`talkbank.inlayHints.enabled`	boolean	`true`	Show inlay hints for alignment count mismatches (e.g., `[alignment: 3 main <> 2 mor]`) and timing durations. Disable if you find the inline annotations distracting.

Validation

Setting	Type	Default	Description
`talkbank.validation.severity`	string	`"all"`	Filter which validation diagnostics are displayed in the editor. Options: `"all"` (show errors, warnings, and informational diagnostics), `"errorsOnly"` (show only errors – useful for large files with many warnings), `"errorsAndWarnings"` (show errors and warnings, hide informational diagnostics).

Advanced

Setting	Type	Default	Description
`talkbank.lsp.binaryPath`	string	`""` (empty)	Absolute path to the standalone `chatter-lsp` binary. When empty (the default), the extension searches: (1) bundled binary at `<extension>/server/chatter-lsp[.exe]` (shipped with platform-specific VSIXes), (2) system PATH via `which chatter-lsp`, (3) dev-tree builds at `<extension>/../target/{debug,release}/chatter-lsp`. If none are found, an actionable error notification is shown. Set this only if you need to override the search.

Settings in JSON

To edit settings directly in settings.json, add entries like:

{
  "talkbank.transcription.defaultSpeaker": "PAR",
  "talkbank.transcription.rewindSeconds": 3,
  "talkbank.walker.autoPlay": true,
  "talkbank.walker.loopCount": 2,
  "talkbank.media.defaultSpeed": 75,
  "talkbank.bullets.display": "hidden",
  "talkbank.inlayHints.enabled": false,
  "talkbank.validation.severity": "errorsOnly",
  "talkbank.lsp.binaryPath": "/usr/local/bin/chatter-lsp"
}

Workspace vs. User Settings

All TalkBank settings can be set at either the User level (applies to all workspaces) or the Workspace level (applies only to the current workspace). Workspace settings override user settings.

This is useful when different corpora need different configurations. For example, a corpus where the primary speaker is the parent might have a workspace-level setting of "talkbank.transcription.defaultSpeaker": "PAR", while your user-level default remains "CHI".

Keyboard Shortcuts – keybinding customization
Cache Management – cache location and clearing
Troubleshooting: Common Issues – resolving configuration problems

Keyboard shortcuts

Batchalign