diff --git a/lib/user-settings.ts b/lib/user-settings.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..86621fd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/user-settings.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,83 @@
+import { z } from 'zod'
+
+const PriorityFilter = z.union([
+  z.number().int().min(1).max(4),
+  z.literal('all'),
+])
+
+const SortDir = z.enum(['asc', 'desc'])
+
+const SprintBacklogPrefs = z.object({
+  filterPriority: PriorityFilter.optional(),
+  filterStatus: z.enum(['OPEN', 'IN_SPRINT', 'DONE', 'all']).optional(),
+  sort: z.enum(['priority', 'status', 'code']).optional(),
+  sortDir: SortDir.optional(),
+  collapsedPbis: z.array(z.string()).optional(),
+  filterPopoverOpen: z.boolean().optional(),
+}).strict()
+
+const PbiListPrefs = z.object({
+  sort: z.enum(['priority', 'code', 'date']).optional(),
+  filterPriority: PriorityFilter.optional(),
+  filterStatus: z.enum(['ready', 'blocked', 'done', 'all']).optional(),
+  sortDir: SortDir.optional(),
+}).strict()
+
+const StoryPanelPrefs = z.object({
+  sort: z.enum(['priority', 'code', 'date']).optional(),
+}).strict()
+
+const JobsColumnPrefs = z.object({
+  kinds: z.array(z.string()),
+  statuses: z.array(z.string()),
+}).strict()
+
+const ViewsPrefs = z.object({
+  sprintBacklog: SprintBacklogPrefs.optional(),
+  pbiList: PbiListPrefs.optional(),
+  storyPanel: StoryPanelPrefs.optional(),
+  jobsColumns: z.record(z.string(), JobsColumnPrefs).optional(),
+}).strict()
+
+const DevToolsPrefs = z.object({
+  debugMode: z.boolean().optional(),
+}).strict()
+
+export const UserSettingsSchema = z.object({
+  views: ViewsPrefs.optional(),
+  devTools: DevToolsPrefs.optional(),
+}).strict()
+
+export type UserSettings = z.infer<typeof UserSettingsSchema>
+
+export const DEFAULT_USER_SETTINGS: UserSettings = {}
+
+function isPlainObject(value: unknown): value is Record<string, unknown> {
+  return typeof value === 'object' && value !== null && !Array.isArray(value)
+}
+
+export function mergeSettings(
+  prev: UserSettings,
+  patch: Partial<UserSettings>,
+): UserSettings {
+  const out: Record<string, unknown> = { ...prev }
+  for (const [key, patchValue] of Object.entries(patch)) {
+    if (patchValue === undefined) continue
+    const prevValue = (prev as Record<string, unknown>)[key]
+    if (isPlainObject(patchValue) && isPlainObject(prevValue)) {
+      out[key] = mergeSettings(
+        prevValue as UserSettings,
+        patchValue as Partial<UserSettings>,
+      )
+    } else {
+      out[key] = patchValue
+    }
+  }
+  return out as UserSettings
+}
+
+export function parseUserSettings(raw: unknown): UserSettings {
+  if (raw === null || raw === undefined) return DEFAULT_USER_SETTINGS
+  const result = UserSettingsSchema.safeParse(raw)
+  return result.success ? result.data : DEFAULT_USER_SETTINGS
+}