Configuration Reference

RivetOS uses a single YAML config file for all settings. API keys and secrets go in .env, never in the config file.

Config file locations (checked in order):

1. --config CLI flag
2. ./config.yaml (current directory)
3. ~/.rivetos/config.yaml

Validate without starting: rivetos config validate

---

Quick Example

runtime:
  workspace: ./workspace
  default_agent: opus

agents:
  opus:
    provider: anthropic
    default_thinking: medium

providers:
  anthropic:
    model: claude-sonnet-4-20250514
    max_tokens: 8192

channels:
  discord:
    channel_bindings:
      "123456789": opus

memory:
  postgres: {}

---

Environment Variable Resolution

Any string value can reference environment variables with ${VAR_NAME}:

providers:
  anthropic:
    api_key: ${ANTHROPIC_API_KEY}

memory:
  postgres:
    connection_string: ${RIVETOS_PG_URL}

Unset variables resolve to empty strings. Recommended: put all secrets in .env and reference them.

---

runtime

Top-level runtime configuration.

Key	Type	Default	Description
workspace	string	required	Path to workspace directory containing CORE.md, USER.md, etc.
default_agent	string	required	Agent to use when no channel binding matches. Must match a key in agents.
max_tool_iterations	number	100	Maximum tool call iterations per turn. Safety cap to prevent runaway loops.
skill_dirs	string[]	[]	Directories to scan for skills (in addition to built-in skills/).
plugin_dirs	string[]	[]	Additional directories to scan for plugins beyond the default plugins/.

runtime.heartbeats

Array of scheduled agent tasks. Each heartbeat triggers the agent periodically.

runtime:
  heartbeats:
    - agent: opus
      schedule: "*/30 * * * *"    # Every 30 minutes
      prompt: "Check for unread emails and calendar events."
      output_channel: discord:123456789
      timezone: America/New_York
      quiet_hours:
        start: 23
        end: 8

Key	Type	Default	Description
agent	string	required	Which agent runs this heartbeat. Must match a key in agents.
schedule	string	required	Cron expression (e.g., */30 * * * * = every 30 min).
prompt	string	required	The message sent to the agent on each heartbeat tick.
output_channel	string	—	Channel to deliver output (format: platform:channel_id).
timezone	string	UTC	Timezone for schedule evaluation.
quiet_hours.start	number	—	Hour (0-23) to start quiet period (no heartbeats).
quiet_hours.end	number	—	Hour (0-23) to end quiet period.

runtime.coding_pipeline

Configuration for the multi-agent build → review → validate coding loop.

runtime:
  coding_pipeline:
    builder_agent: grok
    validator_agent: opus
    max_build_loops: 3
    max_validation_loops: 2
    auto_commit: true

Key	Type	Default	Description
builder_agent	string	—	Agent that writes code. Must match a key in agents.
validator_agent	string	—	Agent that reviews code. Must match a key in agents.
max_build_loops	number	3	Max build-fix iterations before giving up.
max_validation_loops	number	2	Max validation rounds per build.
auto_commit	boolean	true	Auto-commit on successful validation.

runtime.fallbacks

Provider fallback chains. When a provider fails (429, 503, timeout), try the next one.

runtime:
  fallbacks:
    - providerId: anthropic
      fallbacks:
        - "google:gemini-2.5-pro"
        - "xai:grok-3"

Key	Type	Description
providerId	string	Primary provider ID.
fallbacks	string[]	Ordered list of fallback providers. Format: provider_id or provider_id:model.

runtime.safety

Safety hooks configuration.

runtime:
  safety:
    shellDanger: true
    audit: true
    workspaceFence:
      allowedDirs:
        - /home/user/projects
        - /tmp
      alwaysAllow:
        - /usr/bin
      tools:
        - shell
        - file_write
        - file_edit

Key	Type	Default	Description
shellDanger	boolean	true	Block dangerous shell commands (rm -rf /, etc.).
audit	boolean	true	Log all tool executions to audit log.
workspaceFence	object	—	Restrict file/shell operations to specific directories.
workspaceFence.allowedDirs	string[]	required if fence enabled	Directories the agent can access.
workspaceFence.alwaysAllow	string[]	[]	Paths always allowed regardless of fence.
workspaceFence.tools	string[]	all tools	Which tools the fence applies to.

runtime.auto_actions

Automatic post-tool actions. Run after tool executions complete.

runtime:
  auto_actions:
    format: true
    lint: false
    test: false
    gitCheck: true

Key	Type	Default	Description
format	boolean	false	Auto-format files after edits.
lint	boolean	false	Auto-lint files after edits.
test	boolean	false	Auto-run tests after code changes.
gitCheck	boolean	false	Check git status after file operations.

---

agents

Named agent definitions. Each agent maps to a provider and has optional configuration.

agents:
  opus:
    provider: anthropic
    default_thinking: medium
    fallbacks:
      - "google:gemini-2.5-pro"
    tools:
      exclude:
        - shell
  grok:
    provider: xai
  local:
    provider: ollama
    local: true

Key	Type	Default	Description
provider	string	required	Provider ID. Must match a key in providers.
default_thinking	string	off	Default thinking level: off, low, medium, high.
fallbacks	string[]	[]	Provider fallback chain for this agent specifically.
local	boolean	false	If true, uses extended workspace context (includes CAPABILITIES.md, daily notes). Use for local models where tokens are free.
tools.exclude	string[]	[]	Tool names to block for this agent.
tools.include	string[]	all	If set, only these tools are available to this agent.

---

providers

LLM provider configuration. Each key is a provider ID referenced by agents.

Anthropic

providers:
  anthropic:
    model: claude-sonnet-4-20250514
    max_tokens: 8192

Key	Type	Default	Description
model	string	claude-sonnet-4-20250514	Model identifier.
max_tokens	number	8192	Maximum output tokens.
api_key	string	${ANTHROPIC_API_KEY}	API key. Prefer env var.
temperature	number	—	Sampling temperature (0-1).

Auth: Set ANTHROPIC_API_KEY in .env, or use OAuth: rivetos login

xAI (Grok)

providers:
  xai:
    model: grok-3

Key	Type	Default	Description
model	string	grok-3	Model identifier.
api_key	string	${XAI_API_KEY}	API key.
max_tokens	number	4096	Maximum output tokens.
temperature	number	—	Sampling temperature.
live_search	boolean	—	Enable Grok’s live search.

Google (Gemini)

providers:
  google:
    model: gemini-2.5-pro

Key	Type	Default	Description
model	string	gemini-2.5-pro	Model identifier.
api_key	string	${GOOGLE_API_KEY}	API key.
max_tokens	number	8192	Maximum output tokens.

Ollama

providers:
  ollama:
    model: qwen2.5:32b
    base_url: http://localhost:11434

Key	Type	Default	Description
model	string	required	Model name (must be pulled locally).
base_url	string	http://localhost:11434	Ollama API endpoint.
temperature	number	—	Sampling temperature.
num_ctx	number	—	Context window size.

OpenAI-Compatible

Works with llama-server, vLLM, LM Studio, OpenRouter, Together AI, etc.

providers:
  llama-server:
    base_url: http://localhost:8000/v1
    model: local-model

Key	Type	Default	Description
base_url	string	required	API endpoint (must end with /v1).
model	string	required	Model identifier sent with requests.
api_key	string	—	API key (if required by the endpoint).
max_tokens	number	4096	Maximum output tokens.
temperature	number	—	Sampling temperature.

---

channels

Messaging channel configuration. Each key is a channel ID.

Discord

channels:
  discord:
    channel_bindings:
      "123456789012345678": opus
      "987654321098765432": grok
    owner_id: "111222333444555666"

Key	Type	Default	Description
channel_bindings	object	required	Maps Discord channel IDs to agent names.
owner_id	string	—	Discord user ID for owner-only features.
bot_token	string	${DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN}	Bot token. Prefer env var.

Setup: Create a bot at discord.com/developers, copy the token, invite the bot to your server.

Telegram

channels:
  telegram:
    owner_id: "123456789"

Key	Type	Default	Description
owner_id	string	required	Telegram user ID. Only this user can talk to the bot.
bot_token	string	${TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN}	Bot token from @BotFather.

Agent (HTTP)

Inter-agent communication channel. Enables delegation between agents and mesh networking.

channels:
  agent:
    port: 3100
    secret: ${RIVETOS_AGENT_SECRET}

Key	Type	Default	Description
port	number	3100	HTTP port for agent-to-agent messaging.
secret	string	—	Shared secret for authenticating peer agents.

---

memory

Memory backend configuration. Currently supports PostgreSQL.

PostgreSQL

memory:
  postgres:
    connection_string: ${RIVETOS_PG_URL}

Key	Type	Default	Description
connection_string	string	${RIVETOS_PG_URL}	PostgreSQL connection URL.

Required extensions: pgvector (for embedding storage and similarity search).

The memory plugin handles schema creation and migration automatically on first boot.

---

mcp

Model Context Protocol server connections. RivetOS can connect to MCP servers and expose their tools to agents.

mcp:
  servers:
    memory:
      transport: stdio
      command: npx
      args: ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-memory"]
      toolPrefix: mcp_memory

    github:
      transport: streamable-http
      url: http://localhost:8080/mcp
      connectTimeout: 5000
      autoReconnect: true

MCP Server Config

Key	Type	Default	Description
transport	string	required	stdio, streamable-http, or sse.
command	string	—	Command to launch (stdio transport).
args	string[]	[]	Command arguments (stdio transport).
env	object	{}	Environment variables for the spawned process.
cwd	string	—	Working directory for the spawned process.
url	string	—	Server URL (HTTP/SSE transport).
toolPrefix	string	—	Prefix for tool names (prevents collisions between servers).
connectTimeout	number	10000	Connection timeout in milliseconds.
autoReconnect	boolean	true	Auto-reconnect on disconnect.

---

deployment

Optional. When present, drives containerized deployment via rivetos infra up.

deployment:
  target: docker

  datahub:
    postgres: true
    shared_storage: true
    shared_mount_path: /shared

  image:
    build_from_source: true

  docker:
    network: rivetos-net
    postgres_port: 5432

Top-Level

Key	Type	Default	Description
target	string	required	docker, proxmox, kubernetes, or manual.

deployment.datahub

Key	Type	Default	Description
postgres	boolean	true	Include PostgreSQL in the datahub container.
postgres_version	string	16	PostgreSQL major version.
shared_storage	boolean	true	Create shared storage volume.
shared_mount_path	string	/shared	Mount path for shared storage inside containers.

deployment.image

Key	Type	Default	Description
build_from_source	boolean	true	Build container images from local source tree.
registry	string	—	Container registry for pre-built images (e.g., ghcr.io/philbert440).
agent_image	string	rivetos-agent	Agent image name.
datahub_image	string	rivetos-datahub	Datahub image name.
tag	string	latest	Image tag.

deployment.docker

Key	Type	Default	Description
network	string	rivetos-net	Docker network name.
postgres_port	number	5432	Host port for PostgreSQL.
project_name	string	rivetos	Docker Compose project name.

deployment.proxmox

Key	Type	Default	Description
api_url	string	—	Proxmox API URL (e.g., https://10.4.20.1:8006).
nodes	array	—	Node definitions (see below).
network.bridge	string	vmbr0	Network bridge.
network.subnet	string	—	Subnet for container IPs.
network.gateway	string	—	Default gateway.

Node definition:

Key	Type	Description
name	string	Node name (e.g., pve1).
host	string	Node IP or hostname.
role	string	datahub, agents, or both.
ctid_start	number	Starting container ID.

deployment.kubernetes

Key	Type	Default	Description
namespace	string	rivetos	Kubernetes namespace.
storage_class	string	—	Storage class for PVCs.
resources.cpu	string	500m	CPU request per agent pod.
resources.memory	string	512Mi	Memory request per agent pod.

---

Environment Variables

These are typically set in .env:

Variable	Used By	Description
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY	provider-anthropic	Anthropic API key
XAI_API_KEY	provider-xai	xAI API key
GOOGLE_API_KEY	provider-google	Google AI API key
DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN	channel-discord	Discord bot token
TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN	channel-telegram	Telegram bot token
RIVETOS_PG_URL	memory-postgres	PostgreSQL connection string
RIVETOS_AGENT_SECRET	channel-agent	Shared secret for agent mesh
RIVETOS_LOG_LEVEL	core	Log level: error, warn, info, debug
RIVETOS_LOG_FORMAT	core	Log format: pretty (default) or json
GOOGLE_CSE_ID	tool-web-search	Google Custom Search Engine ID
GOOGLE_CSE_KEY	tool-web-search	Google CSE API key
OPENAI_API_KEY	memory-postgres (embeddings)	OpenAI API key for embeddings

---

Full Annotated Example

See config.example.yaml in the repository root for a complete annotated config file with all options commented.