### Frontmatter
The whole hunk
from line 87, old and new numbered
/
lines
from line 87
8787
8888[Plugins](/docs/en/plugins-reference) can also ship output styles in an `output-styles/` directory.
8989
90### Frontmatter
90<h3 id="frontmatter">
91 Frontmatter reference
92</h3>
9193
92Output style files support these frontmatter fields:
94Configure an output style with YAML [frontmatter](/docs/en/glossary#frontmatter) between `---` markers at the top of the file. All fields are optional, and field names use lowercase words separated by hyphens. A misspelled field is ignored without an error. If the YAML doesn't parse, the style still loads under its file name with no fields set; run `claude --debug` to see the parse error.
9395
94| Frontmatter | Purpose | Default |
95| :------------------------- | :------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | :---------------------- |
96| `name` | Name of the output style, if not the file name | Inherits from file name |
97| `description` | Description of the output style, shown in the `/config` picker | None |
98| `keep-coding-instructions` | Keep Claude Code's built-in software engineering instructions | `false` |
99| `force-for-plugin` | Plugin output styles only: apply this style automatically whenever the plugin is enabled, without requiring users to select it. Overrides the user's `outputStyle` setting. If multiple enabled plugins set this, Claude Code uses the first one loaded. | `false` |
96| Field | Required | Description |
97| :------------------------- | :------- | :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
98| `name` | No | Name of the output style, shown in the `/config` picker. Default: the file name |
99| `description` | No | Description of the output style, shown in the `/config` picker |
100| `keep-coding-instructions` | No | Set to `true` to keep Claude Code's built-in software engineering instructions alongside your style. Default: `false` |
101| `force-for-plugin` | No | Plugin output styles only. Set to `true` to apply this style automatically whenever the plugin is enabled, without requiring users to select it. Overrides the user's `outputStyle` setting. If multiple enabled plugins set this, Claude Code uses the first one loaded. Default: `false` |
100102
101103## How output styles work
102104