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

# Settings

> Configure language, writing style, field targeting, and advanced options.

All settings are available under **AltTextLab → Settings** in your Craft CMS control panel.

## Auto-generate alt text for new assets

When enabled, the plugin automatically generates alt text for every newly uploaded image. Generation takes a few seconds, so the alt text may not appear immediately after upload.

## Multi-site

| Setting                                | Description                                                                                                                                    |
| -------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Automatically use each site's language | When enabled, alt text is generated in the language configured for each Craft site. When disabled, the Language dropdown applies to all sites. |

When multi-site mode is active:

1. The plugin reads the locale from each site's configuration (e.g. `en-US`, `de`, `fr`).
2. Sites that share the same language are grouped together — only one API call is made per unique language.
3. Alt text is saved separately for every site so each localized version of an asset gets its own description.

<Warning>
  For multi-site mode to work, the target alt text field must have its **Translation Method** set to *Translate for each site* or *Translate for each language*. Configure this in **Settings → Assets** (for the native `alt` field) or **Settings → Fields** (for custom fields).
</Warning>

## Language

Choose a language for generated alt text from the **Language** dropdown (130+ languages available). This setting is ignored when **Automatically use each site's language** is enabled.

See [Supported languages](/features/supported-languages) for the full list.

## Model type

Controls the tone and length of generated descriptions.

| Option              | Description                                                   |
| ------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Use account default | Uses the writing style configured in your AltTextLab account. |
| Descriptive         | Rich, detailed descriptions.                                  |
| Neutral             | Balanced tone without subjective language.                    |
| Matter-of-fact      | Concise, objective descriptions.                              |
| Minimal             | Shortest possible descriptions.                               |

See [Writing styles](/features/writing-styles) for examples.

## Field for Alt Text

Choose which field the plugin writes alt text to. By default, the native **Alt** field is used. You can also select any **Plain Text** custom field attached to your asset volume's field layout.

If you change this setting after assets have already been processed, run **Bulk Generation** to re-generate alt text into the new field.

## System

| Setting                                         | Description                                                                                                                                                                                 |
| ----------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| This site is reachable over the public internet | When enabled, the plugin fetches images by URL — faster and images are not transferred to AltTextLab servers. Disable for local or private sites; images will be uploaded directly instead. |

## Commerce

If you have Craft Commerce installed and enabled, a **Commerce** section appears at the bottom of the settings page. See [Craft Commerce](/integrations/craftcms/commerce) for the full configuration reference.

## Exclude assets by volume

Use the **Disable volumes** setting to select one or more Asset Volumes to exclude from alt text generation. Assets stored in excluded volumes are skipped during both automatic and bulk generation.

## Exclude images by regex

For finer control, exclude files by matching their full file system path with a regular expression. Set the `ALT_TEXT_LAB_EXCLUDE_REGEX` environment variable in your `.env` file:

```bash title="Example: exclude thumbnails and icons" theme={null}
ALT_TEXT_LAB_EXCLUDE_REGEX=~/(thumbnails|icons)/~i
```

```bash title="Example: exclude uploads/tmp directory" theme={null}
ALT_TEXT_LAB_EXCLUDE_REGEX=~/uploads/tmp/~
```

```bash title="Example: exclude SVGs in the branding folder" theme={null}
ALT_TEXT_LAB_EXCLUDE_REGEX=~branding/.+\.svg$~i
```

The pattern is applied against the asset's full local path, including the volume file system path, optional subpath, and the asset filename. You may provide a PCRE pattern with delimiters (e.g. `~/pattern/~i`); if you omit delimiters, the plugin will attempt to wrap your pattern automatically. Regex exclusions apply to both automatic generation and bulk operations.