diff --git a/popmon/__init__.py b/popmon/__init__.py
index bc734eac..ecd13edb 100644
--- a/popmon/__init__.py
+++ b/popmon/__init__.py
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@
 # pandas/spark dataframe decorators
 from popmon import decorators
 
+from .config import Settings
 from .pipeline.metrics import df_stability_metrics, stability_metrics
 from .pipeline.report import df_stability_report, stability_report
 from .stitching import stitch_histograms
@@ -44,4 +45,5 @@
     "stability_report",
     "stitch_histograms",
     "__version__",
+    "Settings",
 ]
diff --git a/popmon/config.py b/popmon/config.py
index 0c118456..fe4db4ea 100644
--- a/popmon/config.py
+++ b/popmon/config.py
@@ -74,6 +74,12 @@ class HistogramSectionModel(BaseModel):
     plot_hist_n: plot histograms for last 'n' periods. default is 2 (optional)
     """
     plot_hist_n: int = 2
+
+    """
+    top_n: plot heatmap for top 'n' categories. default is 20 (optional)
+    """
+    top_n: int = 20
+
     """
     cmap: colormap for histogram heatmaps
     """
@@ -165,11 +171,6 @@ class Report(BaseModel):
         "*max_prob_diff*",
     ]
 
-    """
-    top_n: limit of number of categorical items to plot (default: 20)
-    """
-    top_n: int = 20
-
     section: Section = Section()
 
 
diff --git a/popmon/pipeline/metrics.py b/popmon/pipeline/metrics.py
index b6b72d85..d0a7f654 100644
--- a/popmon/pipeline/metrics.py
+++ b/popmon/pipeline/metrics.py
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@
     make_histograms,
 )
 
+from ..config import Settings
 from ..pipeline.metrics_pipelines import create_metrics_pipeline
 
 logging.basicConfig(
@@ -37,13 +38,10 @@
 
 def stability_metrics(
     hists,
+    settings: Settings,
     reference_type="self",
     reference=None,
     time_axis="",
-    window=10,
-    shift=1,
-    monitoring_rules=None,
-    pull_rules=None,
     features=None,
     **kwargs,
 ):
@@ -54,47 +52,6 @@ def stability_metrics(
         default is 'self'.
     :param reference: histograms used as reference. default is None
     :param str time_axis: name of datetime feature, used as time axis, eg 'date'. auto-guessed when not provided.
-    :param int window: size of rolling window and/or trend detection. default is 10.
-    :param int shift: shift of time-bins in rolling/expanding window. default is 1.
-    :param dict monitoring_rules: monitoring rules to generate traffic light alerts.
-        The default setting is:
-
-        .. code-block:: python
-
-            monitoring_rules = {
-                "*_pull": [7, 4, -4, -7],
-                "*_zscore": [7, 4, -4, -7],
-                "[!p]*_unknown_labels": [0.5, 0.5, 0, 0],
-            }
-
-        Note that the (filename based) wildcards such as * apply to all statistic names matching that pattern.
-        For example, ``"*_pull"`` applies for all features to all statistics ending on "_pull".
-        You can also specify rules for specific features and/or statistics by leaving out wildcard and putting the
-        feature name in front. E.g.
-
-        .. code-block:: python
-
-            monitoring_rules = {
-                "featureA:*_pull": [5, 3, -3, -5],
-                "featureA:nan": [4, 1, 0, 0],
-                "*_pull": [7, 4, -4, -7],
-                "nan": [8, 1, 0, 0],
-            }
-
-        In case of multiple rules could apply for a feature's statistic, the most specific one applies.
-        So in case of the statistic "nan": "featureA:nan" is used for "featureA", and the other "nan" rule
-        for all other features.
-    :param dict pull_rules: red and yellow (possibly dynamic) boundaries shown in plots in the report.
-        Default is:
-
-        .. code-block:: python
-
-            pull_rules = {"*_pull": [7, 4, -4, -7]}
-
-        This means that the shown yellow boundaries are at -4, +4 standard deviations around the (reference) mean,
-        and the shown red boundaries are at -7, +7 standard deviations around the (reference) mean.
-        Note that the (filename based) wildcards such as * apply to all statistic names matching that pattern.
-        (The same string logic applies as for monitoring_rules.)
     :param list features: histograms to pick up from the 'hists' dictionary (default is all keys)
     :param kwargs: residual keyword arguments passed on to report pipeline.
     :return: dict with results of metrics pipeline
@@ -103,15 +60,6 @@ def stability_metrics(
     if not isinstance(hists, dict):
         raise TypeError("hists should be a dict of histogrammar histograms.")
 
-    if not isinstance(monitoring_rules, dict):
-        monitoring_rules = {
-            "*_pull": [7, 4, -4, -7],
-            "*_zscore": [7, 4, -4, -7],
-            "[!p]*_unknown_labels": [0.5, 0.5, 0, 0],
-        }
-    if not isinstance(pull_rules, dict):
-        pull_rules = {"*_pull": [7, 4, -4, -7]}
-
     if (isinstance(time_axis, str) and len(time_axis) == 0) or (
         isinstance(time_axis, bool) and time_axis
     ):
@@ -119,16 +67,15 @@ def stability_metrics(
         first_cols = [k.split(":")[0] for k in list(hists.keys())]
         time_axis = max(set(first_cols), key=first_cols.count)
 
+    if reference_type == "external" and "ref_hists_key" not in kwargs:
+        kwargs["ref_hists_key"] = "ref_hists"
+
     pipeline = create_metrics_pipeline(
+        settings=settings,
         reference_type=reference_type,
         reference=reference,
         hists_key="hists",
-        ref_hists_key="ref_hists",
         time_axis=time_axis,
-        window=window,
-        shift=shift,
-        monitoring_rules=monitoring_rules,
-        pull_rules=pull_rules,
         features=features,
         **kwargs,
     )
@@ -143,6 +90,7 @@ def stability_metrics(
 def df_stability_metrics(
     df,
     time_axis,
+    settings: Settings = None,
     features=None,
     binning="auto",
     bin_specs=None,
@@ -151,10 +99,6 @@ def df_stability_metrics(
     var_dtype=None,
     reference_type="self",
     reference=None,
-    window=10,
-    shift=1,
-    monitoring_rules=None,
-    pull_rules=None,
     **kwargs,
 ):
     """Create a data stability monitoring html datastore for given pandas or spark dataframe.
@@ -204,50 +148,12 @@ def df_stability_metrics(
     :param reference_type: type or reference used for comparisons. Options [self, external, rolling, expanding].
         default is 'self'.
     :param reference: reference dataframe or histograms. default is None
-    :param int window: size of rolling window and/or trend detection. default is 10.
-    :param int shift: shift of time-bins in rolling/expanding window. default is 1.
-    :param dict monitoring_rules: monitoring rules to generate traffic light alerts.
-        The default setting is:
-
-        .. code-block:: python
-
-            monitoring_rules = {
-                "*_pull": [7, 4, -4, -7],
-                "*_zscore": [7, 4, -4, -7],
-                "[!p]*_unknown_labels": [0.5, 0.5, 0, 0],
-            }
-
-        Note that the (filename based) wildcards such as * apply to all statistic names matching that pattern.
-        For example, ``"*_pull"`` applies for all features to all statistics ending on "_pull".
-        You can also specify rules for specific features and/or statistics by leaving out wildcard and putting the
-        feature name in front. E.g.
-
-        .. code-block:: python
-
-            monitoring_rules = {
-                "featureA:*_pull": [5, 3, -3, -5],
-                "featureA:nan": [4, 1, 0, 0],
-                "*_pull": [7, 4, -4, -7],
-                "nan": [8, 1, 0, 0],
-            }
-
-        In case of multiple rules could apply for a feature's statistic, the most specific one applies.
-        So in case of the statistic "nan": "featureA:nan" is used for "featureA", and the other "nan" rule
-        for all other features.
-    :param dict pull_rules: red and yellow (possibly dynamic) boundaries shown in plots in the report.
-        Default is:
-
-        .. code-block:: python
-
-            pull_rules = {"*_pull": [7, 4, -4, -7]}
-
-        This means that the shown yellow boundaries are at -4, +4 standard deviations around the (reference) mean,
-        and the shown red boundaries are at -7, +7 standard deviations around the (reference) mean.
-        Note that the (filename based) wildcards such as * apply to all statistic names matching that pattern.
-        (The same string logic applies as for monitoring_rules.)
     :param kwargs: residual keyword arguments, passed on to stability_report()
     :return: dict with results of metrics pipeline
     """
+    if settings is None:
+        settings = Settings()
+
     # basic checks on presence of time_axis
     if not (isinstance(time_axis, str) and len(time_axis) > 0) and not (
         isinstance(time_axis, bool) and time_axis
@@ -304,7 +210,6 @@ def df_stability_metrics(
         }
         bin_specs[time_axis] = time_specs
 
-    reference_hists = None
     if reference is not None:
         reference_type = "external"
         if isinstance(reference, dict):
@@ -331,6 +236,7 @@ def df_stability_metrics(
                 var_dtype,
                 ret_specs=True,
             )
+        kwargs["reference_hists"] = reference_hists
 
     # use the same features, bin_specs, time_axis, etc as for reference hists
     hists = make_histograms(
@@ -345,13 +251,9 @@ def df_stability_metrics(
     # generate data stability report
     return stability_metrics(
         hists,
-        reference_type,
-        reference_hists,
-        time_axis,
-        window,
-        shift,
-        monitoring_rules,
-        pull_rules,
-        features,
+        settings=settings,
+        reference_type=reference_type,
+        time_axis=time_axis,
+        features=features,
         **kwargs,
     )
diff --git a/popmon/pipeline/metrics_pipelines.py b/popmon/pipeline/metrics_pipelines.py
index b1122d0f..f3c8ef31 100644
--- a/popmon/pipeline/metrics_pipelines.py
+++ b/popmon/pipeline/metrics_pipelines.py
@@ -68,12 +68,12 @@ def get_metrics_pipeline_class(reference_type, reference):
 
 
 def create_metrics_pipeline(
+    settings: Settings,
     reference_type="self",
     reference=None,
     hists_key="hists",
     time_axis="",
     features=None,
-    settings: Settings = None,
     **kwargs,
 ):
     # configuration and datastore for report pipeline
@@ -212,20 +212,16 @@ def get_trend_modules(window) -> List[Union[Module, Pipeline]]:
 class SelfReferenceMetricsPipeline(Pipeline):
     def __init__(
         self,
-        hists_key="test_hists",
-        time_axis="date",
-        features=None,
-        settings: Settings = None,
+        settings: Settings,
+        hists_key,
+        time_axis,
+        features,
     ):
         """Example metrics pipeline for comparing test data with itself (full test set)
 
         :param str hists_key: key to test histograms in datastore. default is 'test_hists'
         :param str time_axis: name of datetime feature. default is 'date'
-        :param int window: window size for trend detection. default is 10
-        :param dict monitoring_rules: traffic light rules
-        :param dict pull_rules: pull rules to determine dynamic boundaries
         :param list features: features of histograms to pick up from input data (optional)
-        :param kwargs: residual keyword arguments
         :return: assembled self reference pipeline
         """
         from popmon.analysis.comparison.comparison_registry import Comparisons
@@ -274,22 +270,18 @@ def __init__(
 class ExternalReferenceMetricsPipeline(Pipeline):
     def __init__(
         self,
+        settings: Settings,
         hists_key="test_hists",
         ref_hists_key="ref_hists",
         time_axis="date",
         features=None,
-        settings: Settings = None,
     ):
         """Example metrics pipeline for comparing test data with other (full) external reference set
 
         :param str hists_key: key to test histograms in datastore. default is 'test_hists'
         :param str ref_hists_key: key to reference histograms in datastore. default is 'ref_hists'
         :param str time_axis: name of datetime feature. default is 'date' (column should be timestamp, date(time) or numeric batch id)
-        :param int window: window size for trend detection. default is 10
-        :param dict monitoring_rules: traffic light rules
-        :param dict pull_rules: pull rules to determine dynamic boundaries
         :param list features: features of histograms to pick up from input data (optional)
-        :param kwargs: residual keyword arguments
         :return: assembled external reference pipeline
         """
         from popmon.analysis.comparison.comparison_registry import Comparisons
@@ -343,21 +335,16 @@ def __init__(
 class RollingReferenceMetricsPipeline(Pipeline):
     def __init__(
         self,
+        settings: Settings,
         hists_key="test_hists",
         time_axis="date",
         features=None,
-        settings: Settings = None,
     ):
         """Example metrics pipeline for comparing test data with itself (rolling test set)
 
         :param str hists_key: key to test histograms in datastore. default is 'test_hists'
         :param str time_axis: name of datetime feature. default is 'date'
-        :param int window: size of rolling window and for trend detection. default is 10
-        :param int shift: shift in rolling window. default is 1
-        :param dict monitoring_rules: traffic light rules
-        :param dict pull_rules: pull rules to determine dynamic boundaries
         :param list features: features of histograms to pick up from input data (optional)
-        :param kwargs: residual keyword arguments
         :return: assembled rolling reference pipeline
         """
         from popmon.analysis.comparison.comparison_registry import Comparisons
@@ -409,21 +396,16 @@ def __init__(
 class ExpandingReferenceMetricsPipeline(Pipeline):
     def __init__(
         self,
+        settings: Settings,
         hists_key="test_hists",
         time_axis="date",
         features=None,
-        settings: Settings = None,
     ):
         """Example metrics pipeline for comparing test data with itself (expanding test set)
 
         :param str hists_key: key to test histograms in datastore. default is 'test_hists'
         :param str time_axis: name of datetime feature. default is 'date'
-        :param int window: window size for trend detection. default is 10
-        :param int shift: shift in expanding window. default is 1
-        :param dict monitoring_rules: traffic light rules
-        :param dict pull_rules: pull rules to determine dynamic boundaries
         :param list features: features of histograms to pick up from input data (optional)
-        :param kwargs: residual keyword arguments
         :return: assembled expanding reference pipeline
         """
         from popmon.analysis.comparison.comparison_registry import Comparisons
diff --git a/popmon/pipeline/report.py b/popmon/pipeline/report.py
index e70c0312..7039a73a 100644
--- a/popmon/pipeline/report.py
+++ b/popmon/pipeline/report.py
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@
 
 
 import logging
-from collections import defaultdict
+from typing import Optional
 
 import pandas as pd
 from histogrammar.dfinterface.make_histograms import (
@@ -40,11 +40,11 @@
 
 def stability_report(
     hists,
+    settings: Optional[Settings] = None,
     reference_type="self",
     reference=None,
     time_axis="",
     features=None,
-    **kwargs,
 ):
     """Create a data stability monitoring html report for given dict of input histograms.
 
@@ -53,57 +53,13 @@ def stability_report(
         default is 'self'.
     :param reference: histograms used as reference. default is None
     :param str time_axis: name of datetime feature, used as time axis, eg 'date'. auto-guessed when not provided.
-    :param int window: size of rolling window and/or trend detection. default is 10.
-    :param int shift: shift of time-bins in rolling/expanding window. default is 1.
-    :param dict monitoring_rules: monitoring rules to generate traffic light alerts.
-        The default setting is:
-
-        .. code-block:: python
-
-            monitoring_rules = {
-                "*_pull": [7, 4, -4, -7],
-                "*_zscore": [7, 4, -4, -7],
-                "[!p]*_unknown_labels": [0.5, 0.5, 0, 0],
-            }
-
-        Note that the (filename based) wildcards such as * apply to all statistic names matching that pattern.
-        For example, ``"*_pull"`` applies for all features to all statistics ending on "_pull".
-        You can also specify rules for specific features and/or statistics by leaving out wildcard and putting the
-        feature name in front. E.g.
-
-        .. code-block:: python
-
-            monitoring_rules = {
-                "featureA:*_pull": [5, 3, -3, -5],
-                "featureA:nan": [4, 1, 0, 0],
-                "*_pull": [7, 4, -4, -7],
-                "nan": [8, 1, 0, 0],
-            }
-
-        In case of multiple rules could apply for a feature's statistic, the most specific one applies.
-        So in case of the statistic "nan": "featureA:nan" is used for "featureA", and the other "nan" rule
-        for all other features.
-    :param dict pull_rules: red and yellow (possibly dynamic) boundaries shown in plots in the report.
-        Default is:
-
-        .. code-block:: python
-
-            pull_rules = {"*_pull": [7, 4, -4, -7]}
-
-        This means that the shown yellow boundaries are at -4, +4 standard deviations around the (reference) mean,
-        and the shown red boundaries are at -7, +7 standard deviations around the (reference) mean.
-        Note that the (filename based) wildcards such as * apply to all statistic names matching that pattern.
-        (The same string logic applies as for monitoring_rules.)
     :param list features: histograms to pick up from the 'hists' dictionary (default is all keys)
-    :param bool skip_empty_plots: if false, also show empty plots in report with only nans or zeroes (optional)
-    :param int last_n: plot statistic data for last 'n' periods (optional)
-    :param int plot_hist_n: plot histograms for last 'n' periods. default is 2 (optional)
-    :param str report_filepath: the file path where to output the report (optional)
-    :param bool extended_report: if True, show all the generated statistics in the report (optional)
-    :param list show_stats: list of statistic name patterns to show in the report. If None, show all (optional)
-    :param kwargs: residual keyword arguments passed on to report pipeline.
     :return: dict with results of reporting pipeline
     """
+
+    if settings is None:
+        settings = Settings()
+
     # perform basic input checks
     if not isinstance(hists, dict):
         raise TypeError("hists should be a dict of histogrammar histograms.")
@@ -114,20 +70,6 @@ def stability_report(
         first_cols = [k.split(":")[0] for k in list(hists.keys())]
         time_axis = max(set(first_cols), key=first_cols.count)
 
-    # parse the kwargs
-    keys = Settings.get_keys()
-    data = defaultdict(dict)
-    for k, m in keys.items():
-        if k in kwargs:
-            if isinstance(m, tuple):
-                data[m[0]][m[1]] = kwargs.pop(k)
-            else:
-                data[m] = kwargs.pop(k)
-    if len(kwargs) > 0:
-        raise ValueError(f"kwargs not supported {kwargs}")
-
-    settings = Settings(**data)
-
     # configuration and datastore for report pipeline
     cfg = {
         "hists_key": "hists",
@@ -169,6 +111,7 @@ def set_time_axis(df):
 def df_stability_report(
     df,
     time_axis,
+    settings: Settings = None,
     features=None,
     binning="auto",
     bin_specs=None,
@@ -177,7 +120,6 @@ def df_stability_report(
     var_dtype=None,
     reference_type="self",
     reference=None,
-    **kwargs,
 ):
     """Create a data stability monitoring html report for given pandas or spark dataframe.
 
@@ -226,56 +168,12 @@ def df_stability_report(
     :param reference_type: type or reference used for comparisons. Options [self, external, rolling, expanding].
         default is 'self'.
     :param reference: reference dataframe or histograms. default is None
-    :param int window: size of rolling window and/or trend detection. default is 10.
-    :param int shift: shift of time-bins in rolling/expanding window. default is 1.
-    :param dict monitoring_rules: monitoring rules to generate traffic light alerts.
-        The default setting is:
-
-        .. code-block:: python
-
-            monitoring_rules = {
-                "*_pull": [7, 4, -4, -7],
-                "*_zscore": [7, 4, -4, -7],
-                "[!p]*_unknown_labels": [0.5, 0.5, 0, 0],
-            }
-
-        Note that the (filename based) wildcards such as * apply to all statistic names matching that pattern.
-        For example, ``"*_pull"`` applies for all features to all statistics ending on "_pull".
-        You can also specify rules for specific features and/or statistics by leaving out wildcard and putting the
-        feature name in front. E.g.
-
-        .. code-block:: python
-
-            monitoring_rules = {
-                "featureA:*_pull": [5, 3, -3, -5],
-                "featureA:nan": [4, 1, 0, 0],
-                "*_pull": [7, 4, -4, -7],
-                "nan": [8, 1, 0, 0],
-            }
-
-        In case of multiple rules could apply for a feature's statistic, the most specific one applies.
-        So in case of the statistic "nan": "featureA:nan" is used for "featureA", and the other "nan" rule
-        for all other features.
-    :param dict pull_rules: red and yellow (possibly dynamic) boundaries shown in plots in the report.
-        Default is:
-
-        .. code-block:: python
-
-            pull_rules = {"*_pull": [7, 4, -4, -7]}
-
-        This means that the shown yellow boundaries are at -4, +4 standard deviations around the (reference) mean,
-        and the shown red boundaries are at -7, +7 standard deviations around the (reference) mean.
-        Note that the (filename based) wildcards such as * apply to all statistic names matching that pattern.
-        (The same string logic applies as for monitoring_rules.)
-    :param bool skip_empty_plots: if false, also show empty plots in report with only nans or zeroes (optional)
-    :param int last_n: plot statistic data for last 'n' periods (optional)
-    :param int plot_hist_n: plot histograms for last 'n' periods. default is 2 (optional)
-    :param str report_filepath: the file path where to output the report (optional)
-    :param bool extended_report: if True, show all the generated statistics in the report (optional)
-    :param list show_stats: list of statistic name patterns to show in the report. If None, show all (optional)
-    :param kwargs: residual keyword arguments, passed on to stability_report()
     :return: dict with results of reporting pipeline
     """
+
+    if settings is None:
+        settings = Settings()
+
     # basic checks on presence of time_axis
     if not (isinstance(time_axis, str) and len(time_axis) > 0) and not (
         isinstance(time_axis, bool) and time_axis
@@ -361,12 +259,12 @@ def df_stability_report(
 
     # generate data stability report
     return stability_report(
-        hists,
-        reference_type,
-        reference_hists,
-        time_axis,
-        features,
-        **kwargs,
+        hists=hists,
+        settings=settings,
+        reference_type=reference_type,
+        reference=reference_hists,
+        time_axis=time_axis,
+        features=features,
     )
 
 
@@ -446,22 +344,14 @@ def to_notebook_iframe(self, width="100%", height="100%"):
 
     def regenerate(
         self,
-        store_key="html_report",
-        sections_key="report_sections",
-        **kwargs,
+        store_key: str = "html_report",
+        sections_key: str = "report_sections",
+        report_settings: Report = None,
     ):
         """Regenerate HTML report with different plot settings
-
-        :param int last_n: plot statistic data for last 'n' periods (optional)
-        :param int skip_first_n: in plot skip first 'n' periods. last_n takes precedence (optional)
-        :param int skip_last_n: in plot skip last 'n' periods. last_n takes precedence (optional)
-        :param int plot_hist_n: plot histograms for last 'n' periods. default is 2 (optional)
-        :param bool skip_empty_plots: if false, also show empty plots in report with only nans or zeroes (optional)
-        :param str report_filepath: the file path where to output the report (optional)
         :param str sections_key: key to store sections data in the datastore. default is 'report_sections'.
         :param str store_key: key to store the HTML report data in the datastore. default is 'html_report'
-        :param bool extended_report: if True, show all the generated statistics in the report (optional)
-        :param list show_stats: list of statistic name patterns to show in the report. If None, show all (optional)
+        :param Report report_settings: configuration to regenerate the report
         :return HTML: HTML report in an iframe
         """
         # basic checks
@@ -474,12 +364,12 @@ def regenerate(
             del self.datastore[sections_key]
         if store_key in self.datastore:
             del self.datastore[store_key]
-
-        settings = Report(**kwargs)
+        if report_settings is None:
+            report_settings = Report()
 
         pipeline = ReportPipe(
             sections_key=sections_key,
-            settings=settings,
+            settings=report_settings,
         )
         result = pipeline.transform(self.datastore)
 
diff --git a/popmon/pipeline/report_pipelines.py b/popmon/pipeline/report_pipelines.py
index ea00baeb..8373ec86 100644
--- a/popmon/pipeline/report_pipelines.py
+++ b/popmon/pipeline/report_pipelines.py
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@
 from pathlib import Path
 
 from ..base import Pipeline
-from ..config import Report
+from ..config import Report, Settings
 from ..io import FileWriter
 from ..pipeline.metrics_pipelines import (
     ExpandingReferenceMetricsPipeline,
@@ -58,33 +58,24 @@ def get_report_pipeline_class(reference_type, reference):
 class SelfReference(Pipeline):
     def __init__(
         self,
-        hists_key="test_hists",
-        time_axis="date",
-        features=None,
-        settings=None,
+        settings: Settings,
+        features: list,
+        hists_key: str = "test_hists",
+        time_axis: str = "date",
     ):
         """Example pipeline for comparing test data with itself (full test set)
 
         :param str hists_key: key to test histograms in datastore. default is 'test_hists'
         :param str time_axis: name of datetime feature. default is 'date' (column should be timestamp, date(time) or numeric batch id)
-        :param int window: window size for trend detection. default is 10
-        :param dict monitoring_rules: traffic light rules
-        :param dict pull_rules: pull rules to determine dynamic boundaries
         :param list features: features of histograms to pick up from input data (optional)
-        :param bool skip_empty_plots: if false, also show empty plots in report with only nans or zeroes (optional)
-        :param int last_n: plot statistic data for last 'n' periods (optional)
-        :param int plot_hist_n: plot histograms for last 'n' periods. default is 1 (optional)
-        :param str report_filepath: the file path where to output the report (optional)
-        :param list show_stats: list of statistic name patterns to show in the report. If None, show all (optional)
-        :param kwargs: residual keyword arguments
         :return: assembled self reference pipeline
         """
         modules = [
             SelfReferenceMetricsPipeline(
-                hists_key,
-                time_axis,
-                features,
-                settings,
+                hists_key=hists_key,
+                time_axis=time_axis,
+                features=features,
+                settings=settings,
             ),
             ReportPipe(
                 sections_key="report_sections",
@@ -99,36 +90,28 @@ def __init__(
 class ExternalReference(Pipeline):
     def __init__(
         self,
-        hists_key="test_hists",
-        ref_hists_key="ref_hists",
-        time_axis="date",
+        settings: Settings,
+        hists_key: str = "test_hists",
+        ref_hists_key: str = "ref_hists",
+        time_axis: str = "date",
         features=None,
-        settings=None,
     ):
         """Example pipeline for comparing test data with other (full) external reference set
 
         :param str hists_key: key to test histograms in datastore. default is 'test_hists'
         :param str ref_hists_key: key to reference histograms in datastore. default is 'ref_hists'
         :param str time_axis: name of datetime feature. default is 'date' (column should be timestamp, date(time) or numeric batch id)
-        :param int window: window size for trend detection. default is 10
-        :param dict monitoring_rules: traffic light rules
-        :param dict pull_rules: pull rules to determine dynamic boundaries
         :param list features: features of histograms to pick up from input data (optional)
-        :param bool skip_empty_plots: if false, show empty plots in report with only nans or zeroes (optional)
-        :param int last_n: plot statistic data for last 'n' periods (optional)
-        :param int plot_hist_n: plot histograms for last 'n' periods. default is 1 (optional)
-        :param str report_filepath: the file path where to output the report (optional)
-        :param list show_stats: list of statistic name patterns to show in the report. If None, show all (optional)
         :param kwargs: residual keyword arguments
         :return: assembled external reference pipeline
         """
         modules = [
             ExternalReferenceMetricsPipeline(
-                hists_key,
-                ref_hists_key,
-                time_axis,
-                features,
-                settings,
+                hists_key=hists_key,
+                ref_hists_key=ref_hists_key,
+                time_axis=time_axis,
+                features=features,
+                settings=settings,
             ),
             ReportPipe(
                 sections_key="report_sections",
@@ -143,34 +126,24 @@ def __init__(
 class RollingReference(Pipeline):
     def __init__(
         self,
-        hists_key="test_hists",
-        time_axis="date",
+        settings: Settings,
+        hists_key: str = "test_hists",
+        time_axis: str = "date",
         features=None,
-        settings=None,
     ):
         """Example pipeline for comparing test data with itself (rolling test set)
 
         :param str hists_key: key to test histograms in datastore. default is 'test_hists'
         :param str time_axis: name of datetime feature. default is 'date' (column should be timestamp, date(time) or numeric batch id)
-        :param int window: size of rolling window and for trend detection. default is 10
-        :param int shift: shift in rolling window. default is 1
-        :param dict monitoring_rules: traffic light rules
-        :param dict pull_rules: pull rules to determine dynamic boundaries
         :param list features: features of histograms to pick up from input data (optional)
-        :param bool skip_empty_plots: if false, show empty plots in report with only nans or zeroes (optional)
-        :param int last_n: plot statistic data for last 'n' periods (optional)
-        :param int plot_hist_n: plot histograms for last 'n' periods. default is 1 (optional)
-        :param str report_filepath: the file path where to output the report (optional)
-        :param list show_stats: list of statistic name patterns to show in the report. If None, show all (optional)
-        :param kwargs: residual keyword arguments
         :return: assembled rolling reference pipeline
         """
         modules = [
             RollingReferenceMetricsPipeline(
-                hists_key,
-                time_axis,
-                features,
-                settings,
+                settings=settings,
+                hists_key=hists_key,
+                time_axis=time_axis,
+                features=features,
             ),
             ReportPipe(
                 sections_key="report_sections",
@@ -185,34 +158,24 @@ def __init__(
 class ExpandingReference(Pipeline):
     def __init__(
         self,
-        hists_key="test_hists",
-        time_axis="date",
+        settings: Settings,
+        hists_key: str = "test_hists",
+        time_axis: str = "date",
         features=None,
-        settings=None,
     ):
         """Example pipeline for comparing test data with itself (expanding test set)
 
         :param str hists_key: key to test histograms in datastore. default is 'test_hists'
         :param str time_axis: name of datetime feature. default is 'date' (column should be timestamp, date(time) or numeric batch id)
-        :param int window: window size for trend detection. default is 10
-        :param int shift: shift in expanding window. default is 1
-        :param dict monitoring_rules: traffic light rules
-        :param dict pull_rules: pull rules to determine dynamic boundaries
         :param list features: features of histograms to pick up from input data (optional)
-        :param bool skip_empty_plots: if false, show empty plots in report with only nans or zeroes (optional)
-        :param int last_n: plot statistic data for last 'n' periods (optional)
-        :param int plot_hist_n: plot histograms for last 'n' periods. default is 1 (optional)
-        :param str report_filepath: the file path where to output the report (optional)
-        :param list show_stats: list of statistic name patterns to show in the report. If None, show all (optional)
-        :param kwargs: residual keyword arguments
         :return: assembled expanding reference pipeline
         """
         modules = [
             ExpandingReferenceMetricsPipeline(
-                hists_key,
-                time_axis,
-                features,
-                settings,
+                hists_key=hists_key,
+                time_axis=time_axis,
+                features=features,
+                settings=settings,
             ),
             ReportPipe(
                 sections_key="report_sections",
@@ -229,26 +192,14 @@ class ReportPipe(Pipeline):
 
     def __init__(
         self,
-        sections_key="report_sections",
-        store_key="html_report",
-        settings: Report = None,
+        settings: Report,
+        sections_key: str = "report_sections",
+        store_key: str = "html_report",
     ):
         """Initialize an instance of Report.
 
         :param str sections_key: key to store sections data in the datastore
         :param str store_key: key to store the HTML report data in the datastore
-        :param str profiles_section: name for the profile data section. default is 'Profiles'
-        :param str comparisons_section: name for the comparison data section. default is 'Comparisons'
-        :param str traffic_lights_section: name for the traffic light section. default is 'Traffic Lights'
-        :param str alerts_section: name for the alerts section. default is 'Alerts'
-        :param str histograms_section: name for the histograms section. default is 'Histograms'
-        :param str report_filepath: the file path where to output the report (optional)
-        :param bool skip_empty_plots: if false, also show empty plots in report with only nans or zeroes (optional)
-        :param int last_n: plot statistic data for last 'n' periods (optional)
-        :param int skip_first_n: when plotting data skip first 'n' periods. last_n takes precedence (optional)
-        :param int skip_last_n: when plotting data skip last 'n' periods. last_n takes precedence (optional)
-        :param int plot_hist_n: plot histograms for last 'n' periods. default is 1 (optional)
-        :param list show_stats: list of statistic name patterns to show in the report. If None, show all (optional)
         """
         self.store_key = store_key
 
@@ -264,7 +215,6 @@ def __init__(
                 store_key=sections_key,
                 hist_name_starts_with="histogram",
                 settings=settings.section.histograms,
-                top_n=settings.top_n,
             ),
             # section showing all traffic light alerts of monitored statistics
             TrafficLightSectionGenerator(
diff --git a/popmon/visualization/histogram_section.py b/popmon/visualization/histogram_section.py
index b678eb7c..11ddc722 100644
--- a/popmon/visualization/histogram_section.py
+++ b/popmon/visualization/histogram_section.py
@@ -51,7 +51,6 @@ def __init__(
         ignore_features=None,
         hist_names=None,
         hist_name_starts_with="histogram",
-        top_n=None,
     ):
         """Initialize an instance of SectionGenerator.
 
@@ -59,7 +58,6 @@ def __init__(
         :param str store_key: key for output data to be stored in the datastore
         :param list features: list of features to pick up from input data (optional)
         :param list ignore_features: ignore list of features, if present (optional)
-        :param int top_n: plot heatmap for top 'n' categories. default is 20 (optional)
         :param list hist_names: list of histogram names to plot
         :param str hist_name_starts_with: find histograms in case hist_names is empty. default is histogram.
         """
@@ -72,8 +70,6 @@ def __init__(
         self.hist_names = hist_names or []
         self.hist_name_starts_with = hist_name_starts_with
 
-        self.top_n = top_n
-
         # section specific
         self.section_name = settings.name
         self.descriptions = settings.descriptions
@@ -81,6 +77,7 @@ def __init__(
         self.hist_names = settings.hist_names
         self.hist_names_formatted = settings.hist_names_formatted
         self.plot_hist_n = settings.plot_hist_n
+        self.top_n = settings.top_n
         self.cmap = settings.cmap
 
     def get_description(self):
diff --git a/popmon/visualization/overview_section.py b/popmon/visualization/overview_section.py
index 46c6e31a..da268a88 100644
--- a/popmon/visualization/overview_section.py
+++ b/popmon/visualization/overview_section.py
@@ -44,9 +44,9 @@ def __init__(
         self,
         read_key,
         store_key,
+        settings: Report,
         features=None,
         ignore_features=None,
-        settings: Report = None,
         static_bounds=None,
         dynamic_bounds=None,
         prefix="traffic_light_",
@@ -57,22 +57,13 @@ def __init__(
 
         :param str read_key: key of input data to read from the datastore and use for plotting
         :param str store_key: key for output data to be stored in the datastore
-        :param str section_name: key of output data to store in the datastore
         :param list features: list of features to pick up from input data (optional)
         :param list ignore_features: ignore list of features, if present (optional)
-        :param int last_n: plot statistic data for last 'n' periods (optional)
-        :param int skip_first_n: when plotting data skip first 'n' periods. last_n takes precedence (optional)
-        :param int skip_last_n: in plot skip last 'n' periods. last_n takes precedence (optional)
         :param str static_bounds: key to static traffic light bounds key in datastore (optional)
         :param str dynamic_bounds: key to dynamic traffic light bounds key in datastore (optional)
         :param str prefix: dynamic traffic light prefix. default is ``'traffic_light_'`` (optional)
         :param str suffices: dynamic traffic light suffices. (optional)
         :param list ignore_stat_endswith: ignore stats ending with any of list of suffices. (optional)
-        :param bool skip_empty_plots: if false, also show empty plots in report with only nans or zeroes (optional)
-        :param str description: description of the section. default is empty (optional)
-        :param list show_stats: list of statistic name patterns to show in the report. If None, show all (optional)
-        :param bool plot_overview: heatmap overview of traffic lights (features x time)
-        :param bool plot_metrics: individual plot per feature
         """
         super().__init__()
         self.read_key = read_key
@@ -82,12 +73,13 @@ def __init__(
 
         self.features = features or []
         self.ignore_features = ignore_features or []
-        self.last_n = settings.last_n
-        self.skip_first_n = settings.skip_first_n
-        self.skip_last_n = settings.skip_last_n
         self.prefix = prefix
         self.suffices = suffices
         self.ignore_stat_endswith = ignore_stat_endswith or []
+
+        self.last_n = settings.last_n
+        self.skip_first_n = settings.skip_first_n
+        self.skip_last_n = settings.skip_last_n
         self.skip_empty_plots = settings.skip_empty_plots
         self.show_stats = settings.show_stats if not settings.extended_report else None
         self.section_name = settings.section.overview.name
diff --git a/popmon/visualization/section_generator.py b/popmon/visualization/section_generator.py
index 71ce72f9..437acc2b 100644
--- a/popmon/visualization/section_generator.py
+++ b/popmon/visualization/section_generator.py
@@ -81,9 +81,9 @@ def __init__(
         read_key,
         store_key,
         section_name,
+        settings: Report,
         features=None,
         ignore_features=None,
-        settings: Report = None,
         static_bounds=None,
         dynamic_bounds=None,
         prefix="traffic_light_",