diff --git a/docs/_static/css/theme.css b/docs/_static/css/theme.css
index 368e93f..d8b8495 100644
--- a/docs/_static/css/theme.css
+++ b/docs/_static/css/theme.css
@@ -17,6 +17,19 @@ html[data-theme="dark"] {
   max-width: 100%;
 }
 
+html[data-theme=dark] .bd-content div.cell_output .text_html,
+html[data-theme=dark] .bd-content div.cell_output img {
+  background: unset !important;
+  color: unset !important;
+}
+
+div.cell_output table  {
+  color: unset !important;
+}
+
+div.cell_output tbody tr:nth-child(odd) {
+  background-color: unset !important;
+}
 /* sphinx-design */
 .sd-tab-content {
   border-top: solid 1px var(--pst-color-border);
diff --git a/docs/index.md b/docs/index.md
index 1e31620..63f8422 100644
--- a/docs/index.md
+++ b/docs/index.md
@@ -7,5 +7,5 @@
 ```{toctree}
 :maxdepth: 2
 graph
-logs
+work
 ```
diff --git a/docs/logs.ipynb b/docs/logs.ipynb
deleted file mode 100644
index 6879d3f..0000000
--- a/docs/logs.ipynb
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,239 +0,0 @@
-{
- "cells": [
-  {
-   "cell_type": "markdown",
-   "id": "4c81215c-7cdf-4145-b29f-2da5bbe11486",
-   "metadata": {
-    "editable": true,
-    "slideshow": {
-     "slide_type": ""
-    },
-    "tags": []
-   },
-   "source": [
-    "# work logs"
-   ]
-  },
-  {
-   "cell_type": "code",
-   "execution_count": null,
-   "id": "6f8e1570-478c-4ab3-9902-ff3832b88800",
-   "metadata": {
-    "editable": true,
-    "slideshow": {
-     "slide_type": ""
-    },
-    "tags": [
-     "remove-cell"
-    ]
-   },
-   "outputs": [],
-   "source": [
-    "import json\n",
-    "from pathlib import Path\n",
-    "\n",
-    "import jinja2\n",
-    "from IPython.display import HTML, Markdown, display\n",
-    "from nbconvert.filters import ansi2html"
-   ]
-  },
-  {
-   "cell_type": "code",
-   "execution_count": null,
-   "id": "f34a0361-32db-4fb7-9d3a-068e911b00d5",
-   "metadata": {
-    "editable": true,
-    "slideshow": {
-     "slide_type": ""
-    },
-    "tags": [
-     "remove-cell"
-    ]
-   },
-   "outputs": [],
-   "source": [
-    "LOGS = sorted(\n",
-    "    (Path.cwd() / \"../work/build/logs/\").resolve().glob(\"*.json\"),\n",
-    "    key=lambda x: x.stat().st_mtime,\n",
-    ")"
-   ]
-  },
-  {
-   "cell_type": "code",
-   "execution_count": null,
-   "id": "676e76d1-1f75-4f0d-bbdd-217c8e0a229d",
-   "metadata": {
-    "editable": true,
-    "slideshow": {
-     "slide_type": ""
-    },
-    "tags": [
-     "remove-input"
-    ]
-   },
-   "outputs": [],
-   "source": [
-    "HTML(\n",
-    "    \"\"\"\n",
-    "<style>\n",
-    ".doit-log { width: 100% !important; }\n",
-    ".doit-log td { text-align: left !important; }\n",
-    ".doit-log th { text-align: left !important; }\n",
-    ".doit-log .elapsed { text-align: right !important; width: 5em;}\n",
-    ".doit-log .result { width: 5em;}\n",
-    ".doit-log th.name { width: 15em;}\n",
-    "details pre {padding: 1em !important;}\n",
-    "</style>\n",
-    "\"\"\"\n",
-    ")"
-   ]
-  },
-  {
-   "cell_type": "code",
-   "execution_count": null,
-   "id": "74089506-8627-4c3b-afa1-dfddd34ee629",
-   "metadata": {
-    "editable": true,
-    "slideshow": {
-     "slide_type": ""
-    },
-    "tags": [
-     "remove-cell"
-    ]
-   },
-   "outputs": [],
-   "source": [
-    "TMPL = jinja2.Template(\n",
-    "    \"\"\"\n",
-    "<h2>{{ log.stem }}</h2>\n",
-    "<table class=\"doit-log\">\n",
-    "    <thead>\n",
-    "        <tr>\n",
-    "            {% for h in headers %}<th class=\"{{h}}\">{{ h }}</th>{% endfor %}\n",
-    "            {% for f in fields %}<td class=\"{{f}}\">{{ f }}</td>{% endfor %}\n",
-    "            {% for d in details %}<td class=\"{{d}}\">{{ d }}</td>{% endfor %}\n",
-    "        </tr>\n",
-    "    </thead>\n",
-    "    <tbody>\n",
-    "        {% for t in tasks %}\n",
-    "        <tr>\n",
-    "            {% for h in headers %}\n",
-    "            <th >\n",
-    "                {% if h == \"name\" %}\n",
-    "                {{ t[h].replace(\"shave:\", \"\") }}\n",
-    "                {% else %}\n",
-    "                {{ t[h] }}\n",
-    "                {% endif %}\n",
-    "            </th>\n",
-    "            {% endfor %}\n",
-    "            {% for f in fields %}<td class=\"{{ f }}\">\n",
-    "                {% if f == \"elapsed\" and t[f] %}\n",
-    "                    {{ (t[f]) | round(1) }} s\n",
-    "                {% else %}\n",
-    "                    {{ t[f] or \"\" }}\n",
-    "                {% endif %}\n",
-    "            </td>\n",
-    "            {% endfor %}\n",
-    "            {% for d in details %}<td width=\"100%\">\n",
-    "                {% if t[d] %}\n",
-    "                <details class=\"jp-RenderedText\">\n",
-    "                    <summary>{{ t[d] | count }} lines</summary>\n",
-    "                    <pre>{{ ansi2html(\"\".join(t[d])) }}</pre>\n",
-    "                </details>\n",
-    "                {% endif %}\n",
-    "            </td>{% endfor %}\n",
-    "        </tr>\n",
-    "        {% endfor %}\n",
-    "    </tbody>\n",
-    "</table>\n",
-    "\"\"\"\n",
-    ")"
-   ]
-  },
-  {
-   "cell_type": "code",
-   "execution_count": null,
-   "id": "aa0c4339-1992-48cb-99c5-9837d00cc938",
-   "metadata": {
-    "editable": true,
-    "slideshow": {
-     "slide_type": ""
-    },
-    "tags": [
-     "remove-cell"
-    ]
-   },
-   "outputs": [],
-   "source": [
-    "HEADERS = [\"result\", \"name\"]\n",
-    "FIELDS = [\"elapsed\"]\n",
-    "DETAILS = [\"out\", \"err\"]\n",
-    "CONTEXT = dict(headers=HEADERS, fields=FIELDS, details=DETAILS, ansi2html=ansi2html)"
-   ]
-  },
-  {
-   "cell_type": "code",
-   "execution_count": null,
-   "id": "9515d74a-c5b7-4cfc-9172-cad89c39f669",
-   "metadata": {
-    "editable": true,
-    "slideshow": {
-     "slide_type": ""
-    },
-    "tags": [
-     "remove-input"
-    ]
-   },
-   "outputs": [],
-   "source": [
-    "for log in LOGS:\n",
-    "    try:\n",
-    "        tasks = [\n",
-    "            t\n",
-    "            for t in json.loads(log.read_text(encoding=\"utf-8\"))[\"tasks\"]\n",
-    "            if t[\"elapsed\"]\n",
-    "        ]\n",
-    "    except:\n",
-    "        continue\n",
-    "    display(HTML(TMPL.render(log=log, tasks=tasks, **CONTEXT)))\n",
-    "else:\n",
-    "    display(Markdown(\"> No work logs were created\"))"
-   ]
-  },
-  {
-   "cell_type": "code",
-   "execution_count": null,
-   "id": "57db93ba-aa38-4498-861c-5a3340ceb9fe",
-   "metadata": {
-    "editable": true,
-    "slideshow": {
-     "slide_type": ""
-    },
-    "tags": []
-   },
-   "outputs": [],
-   "source": []
-  }
- ],
- "metadata": {
-  "kernelspec": {
-   "display_name": "Python 3 (ipykernel)",
-   "language": "python",
-   "name": "python3"
-  },
-  "language_info": {
-   "codemirror_mode": {
-    "name": "ipython",
-    "version": 3
-   },
-   "file_extension": ".py",
-   "mimetype": "text/x-python",
-   "name": "python",
-   "nbconvert_exporter": "python",
-   "pygments_lexer": "ipython3",
-   "version": "3.11.6"
-  }
- },
- "nbformat": 4,
- "nbformat_minor": 5
-}
diff --git a/docs/work.ipynb b/docs/work.ipynb
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..de006cb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/work.ipynb
@@ -0,0 +1,407 @@
+{
+ "cells": [
+  {
+   "attachments": {},
+   "cell_type": "markdown",
+   "id": "8d00fa48-db19-4f3b-9f41-6946f7c3e41a",
+   "metadata": {},
+   "source": [
+    "# work\n",
+    "\n",
+    "This site was built with the following [configuration](#configuration), and may have generated some [logs](#logs)."
+   ]
+  },
+  {
+   "cell_type": "code",
+   "execution_count": null,
+   "id": "a1af23f2-46ee-4cf2-ad1a-943785533bce",
+   "metadata": {
+    "editable": true,
+    "slideshow": {
+     "slide_type": ""
+    },
+    "tags": [
+     "remove-cell"
+    ]
+   },
+   "outputs": [],
+   "source": [
+    "import json\n",
+    "import subprocess\n",
+    "from pathlib import Path\n",
+    "\n",
+    "import importnb\n",
+    "import jinja2\n",
+    "from IPython.display import HTML, display\n",
+    "from nbconvert.filters import ansi2html, markdown2html\n",
+    "\n",
+    "with importnb.Notebook():\n",
+    "    from jupyak.tasks import load_tasks\n",
+    "    from jupyak.tasks._yak import Repo, Yak"
+   ]
+  },
+  {
+   "cell_type": "code",
+   "execution_count": null,
+   "id": "676e76d1-1f75-4f0d-bbdd-217c8e0a229d",
+   "metadata": {
+    "editable": true,
+    "slideshow": {
+     "slide_type": ""
+    },
+    "tags": [
+     "remove-input"
+    ]
+   },
+   "outputs": [],
+   "source": [
+    "HTML(\n",
+    "    \"\"\"\n",
+    "<style>\n",
+    ".jpyk-log { width: 100% !important; }\n",
+    ".jpyk-log td { text-align: left !important; }\n",
+    ".jpyk-log th { text-align: left !important; }\n",
+    ".jpyk-log .elapsed { text-align: right !important; width: 5em;}\n",
+    ".jpyk-log .result { width: 5em;}\n",
+    ".jpyk-log th.name { width: 15em;}\n",
+    "details pre {padding: 1em !important;}\n",
+    "</style>\n",
+    "\"\"\"\n",
+    ")"
+   ]
+  },
+  {
+   "cell_type": "code",
+   "execution_count": null,
+   "id": "e25d6b1a-4be5-4577-af1c-e0624f3601de",
+   "metadata": {
+    "editable": true,
+    "slideshow": {
+     "slide_type": ""
+    },
+    "tags": [
+     "remove-cell"
+    ]
+   },
+   "outputs": [],
+   "source": [
+    "load_tasks()\n",
+    "yak = Yak(conf_dir=str(Path.cwd().parent))"
+   ]
+  },
+  {
+   "cell_type": "code",
+   "execution_count": null,
+   "id": "c1592b77-9ea7-4584-90f6-4993f0aa3515",
+   "metadata": {
+    "editable": true,
+    "slideshow": {
+     "slide_type": ""
+    },
+    "tags": [
+     "remove-cell"
+    ]
+   },
+   "outputs": [],
+   "source": [
+    "def ref_link(url: str, repo: Repo, attrs=\"\", loop=None):\n",
+    "    ref = last = url.split(\"#\")[0].split(\"?\")[0].split(\"/\")[-1]\n",
+    "    if \"/pull/\" in url:\n",
+    "        last = f\"#{last}\"\n",
+    "        ref = f\"pr-{ref}\"\n",
+    "    try:\n",
+    "        commit, log = (\n",
+    "            subprocess.check_output(\n",
+    "                [\"git\", \"log\", \"-1\", \"--pretty=%H: %B\", ref],\n",
+    "                cwd=str(repo.work_path),\n",
+    "                encoding=\"utf-8\",\n",
+    "            )\n",
+    "            .splitlines()[0]\n",
+    "            .split(\":\", 1)\n",
+    "        )\n",
+    "    except Exception as err:\n",
+    "        print(err)\n",
+    "        log = \"...\"\n",
+    "        commit = \"\"\n",
+    "    cols = f\"\"\"\n",
+    "        <td {attrs}>\n",
+    "            <a href=\"{url}\">{last}</a>\n",
+    "        </td>\n",
+    "        <td {attrs}>\n",
+    "            <a href=\"{repo.github.url}/commit/{commit}\"><code>{commit[:7]}</code></a>\n",
+    "        </td>\n",
+    "        <td {attrs}>\n",
+    "        {log}\n",
+    "        </td>\n",
+    "    \"\"\"\n",
+    "\n",
+    "    if loop and loop.length > 1:\n",
+    "        if not loop.index0:\n",
+    "            cols += \"</tr>\"\n",
+    "        else:\n",
+    "            cols = \"<tr>\" + cols\n",
+    "    return cols"
+   ]
+  },
+  {
+   "cell_type": "code",
+   "execution_count": null,
+   "id": "d9671048-269e-4cd4-a9cf-7f80ae3d835c",
+   "metadata": {
+    "editable": true,
+    "slideshow": {
+     "slide_type": ""
+    },
+    "tags": [
+     "remove-cell"
+    ]
+   },
+   "outputs": [],
+   "source": [
+    "YAK_TMPL = jinja2.Template(\n",
+    "    \"\"\"\n",
+    "<h3>{{ yak.pr.title }}</h3>\n",
+    "\n",
+    "{{ md2h(yak.pr.description) }}\n",
+    "\n",
+    "<h4>repos</h4>\n",
+    "\n",
+    "<table class=\"jpyk-log\">\n",
+    "    <thead>\n",
+    "        <tr>\n",
+    "            <th rowspan=\"2\">repo</th>\n",
+    "            <th colspan=\"3\">baseline</th>\n",
+    "            <th colspan=\"3\">merged with...</th>\n",
+    "        </tr>\n",
+    "        <tr>\n",
+    "            {% for i in range(2) %}\n",
+    "            <th>branch/ref</th>\n",
+    "            <th>commit</th>\n",
+    "            <th>log</th>\n",
+    "            {% endfor %}\n",
+    "        </tr>\n",
+    "    </thead>\n",
+    "    <tbody>\n",
+    "        {% for name, r in yak.repos.items() -%}{%- set gh = r.github -%}\n",
+    "        <tr>\n",
+    "            {% set attrs = \"\" %}\n",
+    "            {% if (gh.merge_with | length) > 1 %}\n",
+    "                {% set attrs = 'rowspan=\"' ~ (gh.merge_with | length) ~ '\"' %}\n",
+    "            {% endif %}\n",
+    "            <th {{ attrs }}>\n",
+    "                <a href=\"{{r.url}}\">{{r.name}}</a>\n",
+    "            </th>\n",
+    "            {{ ref(gh.baseline, r, attrs=attrs) -}}\n",
+    "            {% for m in gh.merge_with %}\n",
+    "                {{ ref(m, r, loop=loop) }}</li>\n",
+    "            {%- endfor -%}\n",
+    "        </tr>\n",
+    "        {% endfor %}\n",
+    "    </tbody>\n",
+    "</table>\n",
+    "\"\"\"\n",
+    ")"
+   ]
+  },
+  {
+   "cell_type": "markdown",
+   "id": "884bdf38-4e6f-428c-b791-eeef651e73ba",
+   "metadata": {},
+   "source": [
+    "## configuration"
+   ]
+  },
+  {
+   "cell_type": "code",
+   "execution_count": null,
+   "id": "6a4e3848-2d60-4d69-8141-269314435517",
+   "metadata": {
+    "editable": true,
+    "slideshow": {
+     "slide_type": ""
+    },
+    "tags": [
+     "remove-input"
+    ]
+   },
+   "outputs": [],
+   "source": [
+    "HTML(YAK_TMPL.render(yak=yak, ref=ref_link, md2h=markdown2html))"
+   ]
+  },
+  {
+   "cell_type": "markdown",
+   "id": "07b20709-c22a-4122-ae2a-e45a2f3a1cb8",
+   "metadata": {},
+   "source": [
+    "## logs"
+   ]
+  },
+  {
+   "cell_type": "code",
+   "execution_count": null,
+   "id": "f34a0361-32db-4fb7-9d3a-068e911b00d5",
+   "metadata": {
+    "editable": true,
+    "slideshow": {
+     "slide_type": ""
+    },
+    "tags": [
+     "remove-cell"
+    ]
+   },
+   "outputs": [],
+   "source": [
+    "LOGS = sorted(\n",
+    "    (Path.cwd() / \"../work/build/logs/\").resolve().glob(\"*.json\"),\n",
+    "    key=lambda x: x.stat().st_mtime,\n",
+    ")"
+   ]
+  },
+  {
+   "cell_type": "code",
+   "execution_count": null,
+   "id": "74089506-8627-4c3b-afa1-dfddd34ee629",
+   "metadata": {
+    "editable": true,
+    "slideshow": {
+     "slide_type": ""
+    },
+    "tags": [
+     "remove-cell"
+    ]
+   },
+   "outputs": [],
+   "source": [
+    "TMPL = jinja2.Template(\n",
+    "    \"\"\"\n",
+    "<h2>{{ log.stem }}</h2>\n",
+    "<table class=\"jpyk-log\">\n",
+    "    <thead>\n",
+    "        <tr>\n",
+    "            {% for h in headers %}<th class=\"{{h}}\">{{ h }}</th>{% endfor %}\n",
+    "            {% for f in fields %}<td class=\"{{f}}\">{{ f }}</td>{% endfor %}\n",
+    "            {% for d in details %}<td class=\"{{d}}\">{{ d }}</td>{% endfor %}\n",
+    "        </tr>\n",
+    "    </thead>\n",
+    "    <tbody>\n",
+    "        {% for t in tasks %}\n",
+    "        <tr>\n",
+    "            {% for h in headers %}\n",
+    "            <th >\n",
+    "                {% if h == \"name\" %}\n",
+    "                {{ t[h].replace(\"shave:\", \"\") }}\n",
+    "                {% else %}\n",
+    "                {{ t[h] }}\n",
+    "                {% endif %}\n",
+    "            </th>\n",
+    "            {% endfor %}\n",
+    "            {% for f in fields %}<td class=\"{{ f }}\">\n",
+    "                {% if f == \"elapsed\" and t[f] %}\n",
+    "                    {{ (t[f]) | round(1) }} s\n",
+    "                {% else %}\n",
+    "                    {{ t[f] or \"\" }}\n",
+    "                {% endif %}\n",
+    "            </td>\n",
+    "            {% endfor %}\n",
+    "            {% for d in details %}<td width=\"100%\">\n",
+    "                {% if t[d] %}\n",
+    "                <details class=\"jp-RenderedText\">\n",
+    "                    <summary>{{ t[d] | count }} lines</summary>\n",
+    "                    <pre>{{ ansi2html(\"\".join(t[d])) }}</pre>\n",
+    "                </details>\n",
+    "                {% endif %}\n",
+    "            </td>{% endfor %}\n",
+    "        </tr>\n",
+    "        {% endfor %}\n",
+    "    </tbody>\n",
+    "</table>\n",
+    "\"\"\"\n",
+    ")"
+   ]
+  },
+  {
+   "cell_type": "code",
+   "execution_count": null,
+   "id": "aa0c4339-1992-48cb-99c5-9837d00cc938",
+   "metadata": {
+    "editable": true,
+    "slideshow": {
+     "slide_type": ""
+    },
+    "tags": [
+     "remove-cell"
+    ]
+   },
+   "outputs": [],
+   "source": [
+    "HEADERS = [\"result\", \"name\"]\n",
+    "FIELDS = [\"elapsed\"]\n",
+    "DETAILS = [\"out\", \"err\"]\n",
+    "CONTEXT = dict(headers=HEADERS, fields=FIELDS, details=DETAILS, ansi2html=ansi2html)"
+   ]
+  },
+  {
+   "cell_type": "code",
+   "execution_count": null,
+   "id": "9515d74a-c5b7-4cfc-9172-cad89c39f669",
+   "metadata": {
+    "editable": true,
+    "slideshow": {
+     "slide_type": ""
+    },
+    "tags": [
+     "remove-input"
+    ]
+   },
+   "outputs": [],
+   "source": [
+    "for log in LOGS:\n",
+    "    try:\n",
+    "        tasks = [\n",
+    "            t\n",
+    "            for t in json.loads(log.read_text(encoding=\"utf-8\"))[\"tasks\"]\n",
+    "            if t[\"elapsed\"]\n",
+    "        ]\n",
+    "    except:\n",
+    "        continue\n",
+    "    display(HTML(TMPL.render(log=log, tasks=tasks, **CONTEXT)))"
+   ]
+  },
+  {
+   "cell_type": "code",
+   "execution_count": null,
+   "id": "57db93ba-aa38-4498-861c-5a3340ceb9fe",
+   "metadata": {
+    "editable": true,
+    "slideshow": {
+     "slide_type": ""
+    },
+    "tags": []
+   },
+   "outputs": [],
+   "source": []
+  }
+ ],
+ "metadata": {
+  "kernelspec": {
+   "display_name": "Python 3 (ipykernel)",
+   "language": "python",
+   "name": "python3"
+  },
+  "language_info": {
+   "codemirror_mode": {
+    "name": "ipython",
+    "version": 3
+   },
+   "file_extension": ".py",
+   "mimetype": "text/x-python",
+   "name": "python",
+   "nbconvert_exporter": "python",
+   "pygments_lexer": "ipython3",
+   "version": "3.11.6"
+  }
+ },
+ "nbformat": 4,
+ "nbformat_minor": 5
+}
diff --git a/src/jupyak/tasks/_yak.ipynb b/src/jupyak/tasks/_yak.ipynb
index db3afbf..89ecb94 100644
--- a/src/jupyak/tasks/_yak.ipynb
+++ b/src/jupyak/tasks/_yak.ipynb
@@ -594,6 +594,7 @@
    "outputs": [],
    "source": [
     "class Yak(T.HasTraits):\n",
+    "    conf_dir = T.Unicode().tag(sync=True)\n",
     "    work_dir = T.Unicode().tag(sync=True)\n",
     "    pr = InstanceDict(PullRequest)\n",
     "    repos = T.Dict(value_trait=InstanceDict(Repo))\n",
@@ -604,7 +605,7 @@
     "    _default_repos: dict[tuple[str, tuple[str]], TRepoFactory] = {}\n",
     "\n",
     "    def __init__(self, issue: dict | None = None, **kwargs):\n",
-    "        issue = issue or Yak.find_config()\n",
+    "        issue = issue or Yak.find_config(conf_dir=kwargs.get(\"conf_dir\"))\n",
     "\n",
     "        kwargs[\"issue\"] = deepcopy(\n",
     "            nested_update({\"repos\": {}, \"pr\": {}, \"env\": {}, \"lite\": {}}, issue)\n",
@@ -686,13 +687,15 @@
     "        return _ensure\n",
     "\n",
     "    @classmethod\n",
-    "    def find_config(cls):\n",
+    "    def find_config(cls, conf_dir: str):\n",
     "        issue_path = None\n",
+    "        conf_path = Path(conf_dir or Path.cwd())\n",
     "        for candidate in [os.environ.get(W.ENV_VAR_CONFIG), *W.JPYK_CONFIGS]:\n",
     "            if not candidate:\n",
     "                continue\n",
-    "            if Path(candidate).exists():\n",
-    "                issue_path = Path(candidate).resolve()\n",
+    "            issue_path = (conf_path / candidate).resolve()\n",
+    "            if issue_path.exists():\n",
+    "                break\n",
     "        if issue_path and issue_path.exists():\n",
     "            issue_text = issue_path.read_text(encoding=\"utf-8\")\n",
     "            suffix = issue_path.suffix\n",