diff --git a/src/core/config.rs b/src/core/config.rs
index 080dfb0..39182f1 100644
--- a/src/core/config.rs
+++ b/src/core/config.rs
@@ -181,6 +181,9 @@ pub struct Config {
     pub gitlab: GitLabConfig,
     pub projects: Vec<ProjectConfig>,
 
+    #[serde(rename = "defaultProject")]
+    pub default_project: Option<String>,
+
     #[serde(default)]
     pub sync: SyncConfig,
 
@@ -240,10 +243,32 @@ impl Config {
             });
         }
 
+        if let Some(ref dp) = config.default_project {
+            let matched = config.projects.iter().any(|p| {
+                p.path.eq_ignore_ascii_case(dp)
+                    || p.path
+                        .to_ascii_lowercase()
+                        .ends_with(&format!("/{}", dp.to_ascii_lowercase()))
+            });
+            if !matched {
+                return Err(LoreError::ConfigInvalid {
+                    details: format!(
+                        "defaultProject '{}' does not match any configured project path",
+                        dp
+                    ),
+                });
+            }
+        }
+
         validate_scoring(&config.scoring)?;
 
         Ok(config)
     }
+
+    /// Return the effective project filter: CLI flag wins, then config default.
+    pub fn effective_project<'a>(&'a self, cli_project: Option<&'a str>) -> Option<&'a str> {
+        cli_project.or(self.default_project.as_deref())
+    }
 }
 
 fn validate_scoring(scoring: &ScoringConfig) -> Result<()> {
@@ -269,6 +294,8 @@ fn validate_scoring(scoring: &ScoringConfig) -> Result<()> {
 pub struct MinimalConfig {
     pub gitlab: MinimalGitLabConfig,
     pub projects: Vec<ProjectConfig>,
+    #[serde(rename = "defaultProject", skip_serializing_if = "Option::is_none")]
+    pub default_project: Option<String>,
 }
 
 #[derive(Debug, serde::Serialize)]
@@ -314,6 +341,31 @@ mod tests {
         path
     }
 
+    fn write_config_with_default_project(
+        dir: &TempDir,
+        default_project: Option<&str>,
+    ) -> std::path::PathBuf {
+        let path = dir.path().join("config.json");
+        let dp_field = match default_project {
+            Some(dp) => format!(r#","defaultProject": "{dp}""#),
+            None => String::new(),
+        };
+        let config = format!(
+            r#"{{
+  "gitlab": {{
+    "baseUrl": "https://gitlab.example.com",
+    "tokenEnvVar": "GITLAB_TOKEN"
+  }},
+  "projects": [
+    {{ "path": "group/project" }},
+    {{ "path": "other/repo" }}
+  ]{dp_field}
+}}"#
+        );
+        fs::write(&path, config).unwrap();
+        path
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn test_load_rejects_negative_author_weight() {
         let dir = TempDir::new().unwrap();
@@ -383,4 +435,130 @@ mod tests {
         let msg = err.to_string();
         assert!(msg.contains("scoring.noteBonus"), "unexpected error: {msg}");
     }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_effective_project_cli_overrides_default() {
+        let config = Config {
+            gitlab: GitLabConfig {
+                base_url: "https://gitlab.example.com".to_string(),
+                token_env_var: "GITLAB_TOKEN".to_string(),
+            },
+            projects: vec![ProjectConfig {
+                path: "group/project".to_string(),
+            }],
+            default_project: Some("group/project".to_string()),
+            sync: SyncConfig::default(),
+            storage: StorageConfig::default(),
+            embedding: EmbeddingConfig::default(),
+            logging: LoggingConfig::default(),
+            scoring: ScoringConfig::default(),
+        };
+        assert_eq!(
+            config.effective_project(Some("other/repo")),
+            Some("other/repo")
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_effective_project_falls_back_to_default() {
+        let config = Config {
+            gitlab: GitLabConfig {
+                base_url: "https://gitlab.example.com".to_string(),
+                token_env_var: "GITLAB_TOKEN".to_string(),
+            },
+            projects: vec![ProjectConfig {
+                path: "group/project".to_string(),
+            }],
+            default_project: Some("group/project".to_string()),
+            sync: SyncConfig::default(),
+            storage: StorageConfig::default(),
+            embedding: EmbeddingConfig::default(),
+            logging: LoggingConfig::default(),
+            scoring: ScoringConfig::default(),
+        };
+        assert_eq!(config.effective_project(None), Some("group/project"));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_effective_project_none_when_both_absent() {
+        let config = Config {
+            gitlab: GitLabConfig {
+                base_url: "https://gitlab.example.com".to_string(),
+                token_env_var: "GITLAB_TOKEN".to_string(),
+            },
+            projects: vec![ProjectConfig {
+                path: "group/project".to_string(),
+            }],
+            default_project: None,
+            sync: SyncConfig::default(),
+            storage: StorageConfig::default(),
+            embedding: EmbeddingConfig::default(),
+            logging: LoggingConfig::default(),
+            scoring: ScoringConfig::default(),
+        };
+        assert_eq!(config.effective_project(None), None);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_load_with_valid_default_project() {
+        let dir = TempDir::new().unwrap();
+        let path = write_config_with_default_project(&dir, Some("group/project"));
+        let config = Config::load_from_path(&path).unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(config.default_project.as_deref(), Some("group/project"));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_load_rejects_invalid_default_project() {
+        let dir = TempDir::new().unwrap();
+        let path = write_config_with_default_project(&dir, Some("nonexistent/project"));
+        let err = Config::load_from_path(&path).unwrap_err();
+        let msg = err.to_string();
+        assert!(msg.contains("defaultProject"), "unexpected error: {msg}");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_load_default_project_suffix_match() {
+        let dir = TempDir::new().unwrap();
+        let path = write_config_with_default_project(&dir, Some("project"));
+        let config = Config::load_from_path(&path).unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(config.default_project.as_deref(), Some("project"));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_minimal_config_omits_null_default_project() {
+        let config = MinimalConfig {
+            gitlab: MinimalGitLabConfig {
+                base_url: "https://gitlab.example.com".to_string(),
+                token_env_var: "GITLAB_TOKEN".to_string(),
+            },
+            projects: vec![ProjectConfig {
+                path: "group/project".to_string(),
+            }],
+            default_project: None,
+        };
+        let json = serde_json::to_string(&config).unwrap();
+        assert!(
+            !json.contains("defaultProject"),
+            "null default_project should be omitted: {json}"
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_minimal_config_includes_default_project_when_set() {
+        let config = MinimalConfig {
+            gitlab: MinimalGitLabConfig {
+                base_url: "https://gitlab.example.com".to_string(),
+                token_env_var: "GITLAB_TOKEN".to_string(),
+            },
+            projects: vec![ProjectConfig {
+                path: "group/project".to_string(),
+            }],
+            default_project: Some("group/project".to_string()),
+        };
+        let json = serde_json::to_string(&config).unwrap();
+        assert!(
+            json.contains("defaultProject"),
+            "set default_project should be present: {json}"
+        );
+    }
 }