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Persistent State: setup.json

AutocleanEEG saves a few preferences between runs (for example, your active task and source) in a per-user JSON file called setup.json. This makes common workflows faster while remaining easy to reset.

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Location

Stored under your user profile in a standard OS location:
  • macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/autoclean/setup.json
  • Windows: %APPDATA%\autoclean\setup.json (typically C:\Users\<you>\AppData\Roaming\autoclean\setup.json)
  • Linux: $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/autoclean/setup.json or ~/.config/autoclean/setup.json
Tip (macOS): 
open "$HOME/Library/Application Support/autoclean"

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Contents

Here’s a representative example of the file contents: 
{
  "version": "1.0",
  "setup_date": "2025-08-31T08:47:30.250928",
  "config_directory": "/Users/ernie/Documents/Autoclean-EEG",
  "active_task": "RestingState_EGI",
  "active_source": "/Users/ernie/Documents/ExampleData 2/Resting/128_Rest_EyesOpen_D1004.raw"
}
  • version: internal format version of this file
  • setup_date: when the state file was first created
  • config_directory: your Autoclean Workspace directory (where tasks/ and output/ live)
  • active_task: the Task used when you don’t pass one on the CLI
  • active_source: default file or directory used when you don’t pass one on the CLI

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How It’s Used

  • Loaded on startup to apply your saved defaults.
  • Updated by CLI commands (e.g., task set, source set).
  • Missing values fall back to prompts or sensible defaults.

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Reset & Maintenance

  • To reset saved defaults, remove or rename setup.json (AutocleanEEG recreates it):
# macOS
rm -i "$HOME/Library/Application Support/autoclean/setup.json"

# Windows (PowerShell)
Remove-Item "$env:APPDATA\autoclean\setup.json"

# Linux
rm -i "${XDG_CONFIG_HOME:-$HOME/.config}/autoclean/setup.json"
  • Prefer using the CLI to change values rather than editing the file directly:
autocleaneeg-pipeline task set <TaskName>
autocleaneeg-pipeline source set
For paths and defaults at a higher level, see the Basics section: Workspace, Tasks, Source, and Fallbacks.

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Troubleshooting

  • Not seeing expected defaults? Check autocleaneeg-pipeline task show and source show.
  • Confirm the setup.json path for your OS and ensure it’s valid JSON.
  • If values look stale or the file is corrupted, delete it and re-run task set / source set.