> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.clustr-ai.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Matching settings

> What your workspace counts as a path, set once for everyone

Matching settings decide what Clustr counts as a path to someone: which kinds of
evidence may show one, and what "small company", "recent" and "same place" mean.
There is one set per workspace. It applies everywhere at once: every table, Slack
and webhook deliveries, the weekly digest, calendar briefings and Ask Clustr.

Admins change them in the app under **Settings > Matching**, or with the
`update_matching_settings` [MCP tool](/mcp-server). Everyone in the workspace can
read them. Every change is logged with who made it and when, and any earlier
version can be restored.

A workspace that has never saved follows Clustr's defaults, including any later
change to a default. Once you save, your values stay yours.

## What counts as a path

Five kinds of evidence. All are on by default. A path whose only evidence is a
kind you switch off is not shown, and a switched-off kind never makes a path warm.

| Setting           | Evidence                                                                           |
| ----------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `interactions`    | A recorded interaction between the two: a like, comment, share, message or meeting |
| `recommendations` | A LinkedIn recommendation between the two, either way                              |
| `workedTogether`  | The two worked at the same company at the same time                                |
| `studiedTogether` | The two studied at the same school at the same time                                |
| `samePlace`       | The two worked in the same place, as **Same place** below defines it               |

Paths with no interaction and no recommendation are shown only in workspaces that
include them, and only when the two worked together at a small enough employer in
the same place. Switching off `workedTogether` or `samePlace` hides those paths.

## Definitions

| Setting                    | Default | Meaning                                                                                                                                                                                                |
| -------------------------- | ------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| `smallCompanyMaxEmployees` | `500`   | The largest headcount that counts as a small company. Read from the exact headcount when Clustr has one, else from the LinkedIn size band, counting a band only when all of it fits. `-1` for no limit |
| `overlapMaxYearsAgo`       | `10`    | How many years ago a shared job or school may have ended and still count. `0` for no limit                                                                                                             |
| `samePlaceLevel`           | `metro` | What same place means: `city` (the same city), `metro` (the same city or metro area), `region` (within about 80 km, or the same state or region), or `country`                                         |

## Client companies

`hideClientCompanies` (on by default) hides people who work at one of your
[client companies](/client-companies) everywhere Clustr shows paths. A saved view
or a request can still show them: a request that names
`exclude_client_companies` uses its own value, and one that names nothing
follows this setting.

## Reading and changing them

`get_matching_settings` returns the current settings, their version, whether the
workspace has saved at all, and the defaults.

`update_matching_settings` takes a `config` object with only the fields you want
to change, and an optional `reason` kept in the log:

```json theme={null}
{
  "config": {
    "samePlaceLevel": "city",
    "evidence": { "studiedTogether": false }
  },
  "reason": "Only count people who sat in the same city"
}
```

A value out of range is refused with every failing field named, and nothing is
saved. Workspace admins only.