import type { ProjectConfig } from "./types.js";
/**
 * Walk up from `startDir` (up to {@link MAX_WALK_LEVELS} levels) looking for
 * `.vally.yaml`, parse it, and merge onto defaults.
 *
 * Returns the default config (with empty `dir`) when no config file is found.
 * Throws a descriptive error with line info for malformed YAML.
 */
export declare function loadProjectConfig(startDir: string): Promise<ProjectConfig>;
/**
 * Overlay non-zero/non-undefined values from `file` onto `defaults`.
 * Performs a shallow merge per section: any key present in the file section
 * overrides the corresponding default.
 */
export declare function mergeConfig(defaults: ProjectConfig, file: Record<string, unknown>): ProjectConfig;
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