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: ~/.rivetos/workspace
  default_agent: opus

agents:
  opus:
    provider: anthropic
    default_thinking: medium

providers:
  anthropic:
    model: claude-sonnet-4-6
    max_tokens: 8192

channels:
  # social channels removed Phase 5 — use RivetHub

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.
turn_timeout	number	900	Wall-clock timeout for a single agent turn, in seconds.
context	object	—	Context-management tuning. context.soft_nudge_pct (number[]) and context.hard_nudge_pct (number) control when the agent is nudged to compact as the window fills.
skill_dirs	string[]	[~/.rivetos/workspace/skills]	Directories to scan for 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: ""  # no social channel output
      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.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
    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.
model	string	provider default	Model override — use a specific model from this provider instead of its default. Lets several agents share one provider at different models.
default_thinking	string	off	Default thinking level: off, low, medium, high.
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-4-6
    max_tokens: 8192

Key	Type	Default	Description
model	string	claude-opus-4-7	Model identifier.
max_tokens	number	8192	Maximum output tokens.
api_key	string	${ANTHROPIC_API_KEY}	API key. Prefer env var.
context_window	number	—	Override the model’s context-window size (advanced; for budgeting).
max_output_tokens	number	—	Hard cap on output tokens, independent of max_tokens.

Auth: Set ANTHROPIC_API_KEY in .env. For subscription/OAuth auth instead of an API key, use the claude-cli provider (below), which delegates auth to the claude binary.

xAI (Grok)

providers:
  xai:
    model: grok-4.20-reasoning

Key	Type	Default	Description
model	string	grok-4.20-reasoning	Model identifier. (grok-4-1-fast-reasoning is a cheaper tier good for compaction.)
api_key	string	${XAI_API_KEY}	API key.
max_tokens	number	4096	Maximum output tokens.
temperature	number	—	Sampling temperature.
context_window	number	—	Override the model’s context-window size (advanced).
max_output_tokens	number	—	Hard cap on output tokens.

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.
context_window	number	—	Override the model’s context-window size (advanced).
max_output_tokens	number	—	Hard cap on 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 passed to Ollama.
keep_alive	string	—	How long Ollama keeps the model loaded between requests (e.g. 5m, -1 for always).
context_window	number	—	Override the context-window size reported to the runtime (advanced).
max_output_tokens	number	—	Hard cap on output tokens.

vllm

Dedicated provider for a vLLM server. Exposes the full vLLM surface.

• Folds any post-first system message into a user message with a [SYSTEM NOTICE] prefix (vLLM/Qwen/Llama templates reject mid-conversation system messages)
• Consumes vLLM’s native reasoning_content field when a --reasoning-parser is configured server-side
• model: default auto-discovers the served model (and its context window) from /v1/models

providers:
  vllm:
    base_url: http://vllm.local:8000      # trailing /v1 optional
    model: default
    top_k: 40
    min_p: 0.05
    # api_key: ${VLLM_API_KEY}            # only if vLLM started with --api-key

Key	Type	Default	Description
base_url	string	required	vLLM server URL (/v1 optional).
model	string	default	Served model id; default auto-discovers.
api_key	string	${VLLM_API_KEY}	Bearer token (only if --api-key set).
max_tokens	number	4096	Maximum output tokens.
temperature	number	0.7	Sampling temperature.
top_p	number	0.95	Nucleus sampling.
top_k	number	—	vLLM sampling extension.
min_p	number	—	vLLM sampling extension.
presence_penalty	number	—	Standard OpenAI penalty.
frequency_penalty	number	—	Standard OpenAI penalty.
repetition_penalty	number	—	vLLM extension.
min_tokens	number	—	vLLM extension; minimum output tokens.
stop	string[]	—	Stop sequences.
seed	number	—	Reproducible sampling seed.
context_window	number	—	Context-window size reported to the runtime.
max_output_tokens	number	—	Hard cap on output tokens.
default_tool_choice	string	auto	auto, none, or required.
verify_model_on_init	boolean	false	Probe /v1/models at boot to confirm the model is served.
name	string	—	Display name for the provider.
mm_processor_kwargs	object	—	vLLM multimodal processor kwargs (passthrough).
chat_template_kwargs	object	—	vLLM chat-template kwargs (passthrough).
extra_body	object	—	Arbitrary JSON merged into the request body (vLLM passthrough).

llama-server

Dedicated provider for llama.cpp’s llama-server. Lean by design: standard OpenAI sampling plus llama.cpp’s top_k / min_p and a generic extra_body escape hatch. None of the vLLM-only machinery (no mm_processor_kwargs, chat_template_kwargs, repetition_penalty, min_tokens, or video).

For native <think> reasoning, start llama-server with --reasoning-format deepseek.

providers:
  llama-server:
    base_url: http://localhost:8080
    model: default
    top_k: 40
    min_p: 0.05

Key	Type	Default	Description
base_url	string	required	llama-server URL (/v1 optional).
model	string	default	Served model id; default auto-discovers.
api_key	string	${LLAMA_SERVER_API_KEY}	Bearer token (only if --api-key set).
max_tokens	number	4096	Maximum output tokens.
temperature	number	0.7	Sampling temperature.
top_p	number	0.95	Nucleus sampling.
top_k	number	—	llama.cpp sampling extension.
min_p	number	—	llama.cpp sampling extension.
presence_penalty	number	—	Standard OpenAI penalty.
frequency_penalty	number	—	Standard OpenAI penalty.
stop	string[]	—	Stop sequences.
seed	number	—	Reproducible sampling seed.
context_window	number	—	Context-window size reported to the runtime.
max_output_tokens	number	—	Hard cap on output tokens.
default_tool_choice	string	auto	auto, none, or required.
verify_model_on_init	boolean	false	Probe /v1/models at boot to confirm the model is served.
name	string	—	Display name for the provider.
extra_body	object	—	Arbitrary JSON merged into the request body (e.g. grammar, n_probs).

claude-cli

Drives the local claude binary (Claude Code CLI) using the user’s subscription OAuth token, the sanctioned third-party-harness pattern per Anthropic’s April 2026 policy. The CLI owns auth, session caching, and the wire protocol; this provider drives it via stream-json and brings up a per-spawn embedded MCP server that exposes every executable RivetOS tool to claude-cli through --mcp-config.

providers:
  claude-cli:
    binary: claude            # path or name on PATH
    model: claude-opus-4-7    # optional — defaults to whatever the CLI picks

Key	Type	Default	Description
binary	string	claude	Path to the claude binary.
model	string	—	Model alias to pass to the CLI.
extra_args	string[]	[]	Additional CLI flags (advanced).

Auth: claude login (via the CLI itself). RivetOS does not handle the OAuth flow; the CLI does.

---

channels

Messaging channel configuration. Each key is a channel type / plugin name.

Phase 5: Telegram, Discord, and voice-discord channel plugins were removed. Human UX is RivetHub. Optional remaining first-party channel: channels.agent (mesh). Stale channels.telegram: / channels.discord: / channels.voice* in fleet config yields an unknown channel type warning at boot; registration is skipped; nodes do not crash-loop.

Agent (HTTP)

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

Note: for cross-node (mesh) auth, secret is superseded by mutual TLS (mesh.tls) as of Phase 0.5; configure mesh: for node-to-node traffic. The standalone channels.agent plugin still enforces its bearer secret when configured; it is deprecated, not dead. The plugin’s fate is decided when the gateway subsumes agent HTTP ingress (phase 1/5).

channels:
  agent:
    port: 3100
    secret: ${AGENT_CHANNEL_SECRET}  # still enforced by this plugin when set

Key	Type	Default	Description
port	number	3100	HTTPS port for agent-to-agent messaging.
secret	string	—	Deprecated but enforced. Bearer token checked by the standalone agent channel plugin when set. Mesh node-to-node auth uses mTLS via mesh.tls instead.

---

mesh

Multi-node mesh networking. Allows agents on different nodes to delegate tasks to each other via mTLS. See docs/mesh.md for full documentation.

mesh:
  enabled: true
  node_name: ct110        # must match the cert CN
  tls: true               # use default cert paths derived from node_name
  agent_channel_port: 3000
  storage_dir: /rivet-shared
  heartbeat_interval_ms: 30000
  stale_threshold_ms: 90000
  discovery:
    mode: seed
    seed_host: ct110.mesh   # use .mesh DNS — matches cert SAN
    seed_port: 3000

Key	Type	Default	Description
mesh.enabled	bool	false	Enable mesh networking.
mesh.node_name	string	hostname	Node name — must match cert CN.
mesh.tls	bool | object	—	mTLS config. Required when mesh.enabled: true.
mesh.tls.ca_path	string	/rivet-shared/rivet-ca/intermediate/ca-chain.pem	CA chain PEM.
mesh.tls.cert_path	string	/rivet-shared/rivet-ca/issued/<node_name>.crt	Node cert PEM.
mesh.tls.key_path	string	/rivet-shared/rivet-ca/issued/<node_name>.key	Node private key PEM.
mesh.agent_channel_port	number	3000	HTTPS port for the agent channel.
mesh.storage_dir	string	/rivet-shared	Directory containing mesh.json.
mesh.heartbeat_interval_ms	number	30000	Heartbeat write interval.
mesh.stale_threshold_ms	number	90000	Age before a node is marked stale.
mesh.discovery.mode	string	—	seed | static | mdns.
mesh.discovery.seed_host	string	—	Seed node hostname (use <nodeName>.mesh).
mesh.discovery.seed_port	number	3100	Seed node port.
mesh.secret	string	—	Ignored — mesh agent-channel auth is mTLS only. Accepted with a warning for back-compat; remove it from your config.

---

memory

Memory backend configuration. Currently supports PostgreSQL.

PostgreSQL

memory:
  postgres:
    connection_string: ${RIVETOS_PG_URL}
    # Optional — point the background memory loop at your own endpoints:
    # embed_endpoint: http://your-embed-host:9402/v1
    # delegation_tracking: true

Key	Type	Default	Description
connection_string	string	${RIVETOS_PG_URL}	PostgreSQL connection URL.
embed_endpoint	string	—	OpenAI-compatible embeddings endpoint used by the embedding worker. Overrides the built-in default.
delegation_tracking	boolean	false	Persist delegation events into memory (ros_messages, channel delegation) for auditing.

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

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

---

tasks

Durable task engine (phase 1). The embedded run-task runner starts when Postgres is configured and the 0002_ros_tasks migration has been applied (rivetos-memory-migrate); on unmigrated nodes it logs a warning and stays inert instead of failing boot.

Key	Type	Default	Description
enabled	boolean	true	Start the embedded task runner. Inert while nothing creates tasks.

Env knobs: RIVETOS_TASKS_CONCURRENCY (default 4), RIVETOS_TASKS_POLL_MS (default 2000).

transports

Inbound surfaces that expose RivetOS tools to external clients. Currently: the MCP server transport (@rivetos/mcp-server), a StreamableHTTP MCP server that exposes memory_*, web_*, skill_*, and runtime tools to any MCP-speaking client (Claude Code, Cursor, etc.).

transports:
  mcp:
    port: 4321
    bind: 127.0.0.1           # default localhost
    tls:                      # optional mTLS
      ca_path: /rivet-shared/rivet-ca/intermediate/ca-chain.pem
      cert_path: /rivet-shared/rivet-ca/issued/<node>.crt
      key_path: /rivet-shared/rivet-ca/issued/<node>.key

The transport is only activated when the matching transports.<name> slice is present. The MCP server can also run standalone via the rivetos-mcp-server bin shipped by @rivetos/mcp-server.

---

mcp

Outbound Model Context Protocol. RivetOS connects to external MCP servers and exposes their tools to agents (the inverse of the transports.mcp plugin above).

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. Declares the intended deployment target so tooling (rivetos update, rivetos config) can choose the right path. Provisioning itself is driven by the Compose files under infra/docker/ and the scripts under infra/scripts/. Only target is read; any other key under deployment is warned as unknown.

deployment:
  target: docker

Keys

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

---

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
RIVETOS_PG_URL	memory-postgres	PostgreSQL connection string
RIVETOS_AGENT_SECRET	channel-agent	Deprecated — was the bearer secret for agent mesh. No longer used for agent-channel auth (replaced by mTLS).
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.