> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.ironbee.ai/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Runtime Files > What IronBee writes to disk which are global state, project config, and per-session runtime data. IronBee stores its state in a few places: a global directory in your home folder, an `.ironbee/` directory inside each project, and a per-session runtime tree that by default lives **outside** the project. This page is a reference for what lives where, and what's safe to commit. *** ## Global (`~/.ironbee/`) Machine-wide state, shared across all your projects: | Path | What it holds | | ------------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `config.json` | Global config for your defaults across all projects. `ironbee login` writes your collector credentials here. | | `projects.json` | The project inventory, the set of project paths IronBee is installed in. Powers `install --all` / `uninstall --all`. | | `install-snapshots.json` | Backups of any statusline config IronBee overwrote, so `uninstall` can restore your original. | | `projects//` | **Per-session runtime data** for each project, in the default `external` [runtime location](#where-per-session-data-lives). `` is derived from the project's path, so each project gets its own folder. Holds the same `sessions//` tree described below. | *** ## Project (`/.ironbee/`) Created by `ironbee install` in each project: | Path | What it holds | Commit? | | ------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------ | | `config.json` | Project config, team settings, shared with the repo | ✅ Yes | | `config.local.json` | Personal overrides, your machine only | ❌ Gitignored | | `scenarios/` | Saved [verification scenarios](/cli/guides/scenarios) — reusable, parametric test scripts authored via `/ironbee-manage-scenario`. A single flat store (older installs used per-cycle subfolders `bdt`/`ndt`/`bedt`/`adt`/`tdt`, still read for back-compat) | ✅ Yes | | `VERIFICATION.md` | Area-specific [verification guidance](/cli/guides/verification-context), in any directory | ✅ Yes | | `sessions//` | Per-session runtime data — **only when [`runtime.location`](#where-per-session-data-lives) is `in-project`** | ❌ Gitignored | | `otel/` | Local OTEL collector daemon log (`daemon.log`) and raw OTLP bodies awaiting processing into `session_context` events. See [OTEL collector](/cli/clients/claude-code#otel-collector). Always in-project, even in `external` mode | ❌ Gitignored | `ironbee install` adds `.ironbee/sessions/`, `.ironbee/otel/`, and `.ironbee/config.local.json` to your project's `.gitignore` automatically. These are machine-local runtime state and personal overrides, not something you commit. The committed `config.json`, `scenarios/`, and any `VERIFICATION.md` files are what your teammates pick up when they run `ironbee install`. *** ## Where per-session data lives The per-session runtime tree (`sessions//`) is controlled by [`runtime.location`](/cli/configuration/configuration#runtime): | `runtime.location` | Per-session data lives at | Notes | | ---------------------- | -------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `external` *(default)* | `~/.ironbee/projects//sessions//` | Kept **out of the project tree** so a project never accumulates a growing `sessions/` folder, even though it's gitignored. `` is a stable hash of the project's real path. | | `in-project` | `/.ironbee/sessions//` | The legacy layout — runtime data sits beside your config, under the gitignored `sessions/` folder. | Either way the contents of `sessions//` are identical — only the base directory differs. **Committed config (`config.json`, `config.local.json`, `scenarios/`, `VERIFICATION.md`) and the transient `otel/` dir always stay in-project**, regardless of `runtime.location`. Switch layouts with `ironbee config set runtime.location in-project` or the [`IRONBEE_RUNTIME_LOCATION`](/cli/configuration/environment-variables#advanced) env var; it takes effect on the next session. *** ## Per-session (`sessions//`) Each agent task gets its own directory, keeping concurrent sessions isolated (see [How verification works](/cli/concepts/how-it-works#session-isolation)): | File | What it holds | | --------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `actions.jsonl` | The session event log: file edits, tool calls, and verification markers. The source of truth for what happened. | | `state.json` | The session's current state: phase, active cycle, verification status, and the project dir it belongs to. | | `verdict.json` | The latest verdict for the session (`status`, `checks`, `issues`, `fixes`). | | `retries` | The current verification retry count. | | `analytics/` | Per-session analytics state (`state.json`) and log (`analytics.log`) used to derive session metrics. | | `statusline/` | Chained-statusline state (`state.json`) for the Claude statusline integration. | | `queue/` | Pending Collector jobs not yet shipped (and any dead-letter entries). See [Job queue](/cli/advanced/job-queue). | | `session.log` | Diagnostic log of the session's hook activity. | | `imported.json` | A marker written by [`ironbee import`](/cli/guides/importing-sessions) so a session isn't re-imported. | Not every file is present in every session: `retries`, `queue/`, and `imported.json` appear only when relevant. These persist after a session ends (they aren't auto-deleted). You rarely touch them directly: use [`ironbee status`](/cli/advanced/inspecting-sessions#ironbee-status) to read verdicts and [`ironbee queue`](/cli/advanced/job-queue) to inspect pending sends. *** ## What's next? Every key you can set in the config files. Overrides that take precedence over the config files.