Configuration Reference (.env)

ChatCLI is extensively configurable through environment variables. Create a .env file in the project root or in your HOME directory.

Priority Order

Command-line flags

E.g.: --provider, --model (highest priority)

System Environment Variables

export LLM_PROVIDER=OPENAI

Variables in the .env file

LLM_PROVIDER=OPENAI

Default Values

ChatCLI internal defaults (lowest priority)

General Configuration

Variable	Description	Default
`CHATCLI_ENV`	Logging mode: `dev` (colored console + file), `prod` (file-only JSON). Backward-compatible with legacy `ENV`.	`prod`
`LLM_PROVIDER`	Sets the default AI provider to use. Valid values: `OPENAI`, `OPENAI_ASSISTANT`, `CLAUDEAI`, `BEDROCK`, `GOOGLEAI`, `XAI`, `ZAI`, `MINIMAX`, `MOONSHOT`, `OPENROUTER`, `STACKSPOT`, `OLLAMA`, `COPILOT`, `GITHUB_MODELS`.	`"OPENAI"`
`CHATCLI_LANG`	Sets the interface language. Values: `pt-BR`, `en-US`. If not set, it will attempt to detect the system language.	`en-US`
`LOG_LEVEL`	Log level. Options: `debug`, `info`, `warn`, `error`.	`"info"`
`LOG_FILE`	Path to the log file. Default: `$HOME/.chatcli/app.log`	`"$HOME/.chatcli/app.log"`
`LOG_MAX_SIZE`	Maximum log file size before rotation. Accepts `100MB`, `50KB`, etc.	`"100MB"`
`HISTORY_MAX_SIZE`	Maximum history file (`.chatcli_history`) size before rotation.	`"100MB"`
`HISTORY_FILE`	Custom path for the history file (supports `~`; by default it creates the history where chatcli was executed).	`".chatcli_history"`
`CHATCLI_DOTENV`	Custom path for your `.env` file.	`".env"`
`CHATCLI_IGNORE`	Path to ignore file (e.g., `.chatignore`). When set, it takes priority over project/global ignore.	`""`
`CHATCLI_CODER_UI`	Timeline style for `/coder` and `/agent` modes (cross-mode since v1.119): `full` · `compact` · `minimal`. See UI Styles.	`"full"`
`CHATCLI_CODER_BANNER`	Display the `/coder` quick cheat sheet when entering the session (`true`/`false`).	`"true"`
`CHATCLI_THEME`	Color theme for the whole interface (chat, cards, markdown, spinners). 11 themes: `dark`, `light` + 9 community palettes. Switch at runtime via `/config ui theme`. See the Color Theme section.	`"dark"`

Color Theme

CHATCLI_THEME selects the color palette that re-skins the entire interface — chat, /coder and /agent cards, borders, markdown, code blocks, and spinners. Unlike CHATCLI_CODER_UI, the theme is process-global state, so a switch applies on the next render, with no restart. There are 11 themes: dark and light (ChatCLI’s calibrated variants) + nine community palettes — dracula, nord, tokyo-night, solarized-dark, solarized-light, gruvbox, catppuccin-mocha, monokai, one-dark. Real-color previews of each are in the Theme System.

/config ui                     # show the active theme + detected color profile
/config ui theme dark          # switch to the dark theme
/config ui theme dracula       # switch by name (any of the 11)
/config theme tokyo-night      # shorthand equivalent

Autocomplete: /config ui theme <TAB> (or /config theme <TAB>) offers all 11 themes.

The switch applies only to the current process. To persist it, add CHATCLI_THEME=light to your .env — the mutator prints this hint after every switch and never rewrites your .env on its own. In pipes, CI, or colorless terminals (NO_COLOR, dumb), output degrades to clean plain text. Full details in the Theme System.

UI Styles

CHATCLI_CODER_UI controls how /coder and /agent modes render tool calls, reasoning and results in the timeline. Before v1.119 it only affected /coder; from that version onward it applies to /agent too — anyone with CHATCLI_CODER_UI=compact already set will see /agent go compact as well.

Value	Appearance	When to use
`full` (default)	Full bordered cards `╭── ICON TITLE ─────╮ … ╰─────╯`. Each action is a visible block.	`/agent` supervised — plan-and-approve.
`compact`	Inline lines `↻ Read(main.go)` / `✓ Read(main.go) 0.3s`. Short messages, no cards.	`/coder` with long sessions (20+ tool calls).
`minimal`	Smaller cards with truncated content. Middle ground.	Mixed sessions in narrow terminals.

Switch the UI at runtime

Since v1.119 you can swap the style without restarting ChatCLI, right from the prompt:

/config agent ui              # show current style + options
/config agent ui compact      # switch to compact (takes effect on the next /coder or /agent)
/config agent ui full         # back to the default
/config agent ui minimal      # middle ground

Full autocomplete — type /config agent <TAB> and then /config agent ui <TAB> to see full | compact | minimal.

The change applies only to the current process. To persist across sessions, add CHATCLI_CODER_UI=compact (or any other value) to your .env — the mutator prints that hint right after every switch.

Parallel visual changes (v1.119)

Card footers now end at the content width (╰────╯) instead of stretching to the terminal edge.
Errors in true red (✗, ❌ EXECUTION FAILED) instead of purple. If your terminal maps ANSI 31 to a non-red color via theme, adjust the palette.
Unified banner for /coder and /agent: same entry card with Objective/Task, Workspace and Policy.
/agent menu reorganized into 3 columns (Execution · Edit & Context · View) — was a 12-line vertical list before.
Prompt prefix groups all badges ([🌐 ⏵ ▶2⏳1 🅿1]) instead of listing [remote] [watch] [jobs:…] [🅿️ resume:…] separately.
Chat turn header: new envelope ╭─ model ─── 1.4s · 312↑ 1800↓ ─╮ … ╰─╯ in chat mode, with latency and estimated tokens.

Context and Output Compression

Runtime control of Context Compression (CCR) and output-token reduction. Changes take effect immediately; set the variables in .env for a permanent default.

# Input compression (tool output, logs, diffs, JSON, prose)
/config compression            # panorama: mode, threshold, CCR store, savings
/config compression lossy      # full reduction, reversible via @recall (default)
/config compression lossless   # lossless reductions only (no line dropping)
/config compression off        # disable
/config compression stats      # per-strategy savings summary

# Output-token reduction
/config output                 # panorama: verbosity + effort routing
/config output concise         # trim ceremony, keep substance (default)
/config output minimal         # fewest correct tokens
/config output full            # no steering
/config output effort on|off   # complexity-based effort routing (opt-in)

The @compress/@recall tools expose on-demand compression to the model. See the Context Compression page for details, environment variables and never-degrade guarantees.

OAuth Authentication

In addition to traditional API keys, ChatCLI supports OAuth authentication for OpenAI, Anthropic, and GitHub Copilot. With OAuth, you can use your existing plan (ChatGPT Plus, Codex, Claude Pro, GitHub Copilot) without generating API keys.

Variable	Description	Default
`CHATCLI_AUTH_DIR`	Directory where OAuth credentials are stored.	`~/.chatcli/`
`CHATCLI_OPENAI_CLIENT_ID`	Allows overriding the OpenAI OAuth client ID.	(internal)
`CHATCLI_COPILOT_CLIENT_ID`	Allows overriding the GitHub Copilot OAuth client ID.	(internal)

Credentials are stored with AES-256-GCM encryption in ~/.chatcli/auth-profiles.json. The encryption key is automatically generated and saved in ~/.chatcli/.auth-key (permission 0600).

Use /auth login openai-codex, /auth login anthropic, or /auth login github-copilot in interactive mode to start the OAuth flow. See the full OAuth documentation for more details.

Provider Configuration

OpenAI

Variable	Description	Required?
`OPENAI_API_KEY`	Your secret OpenAI API key. Alternative: use `/auth login openai-codex` for OAuth.	Yes*
`OPENAI_MODEL`	The model to use. E.g.: `gpt-5.6-sol`, `gpt-5.6-luna`, `gpt-5.4`, `gpt-4o`.	No
`OPENAI_ASSISTANT_MODEL`	The model to use specifically for the Assistants API.	No
`OPENAI_USE_RESPONSES`	Set to `true` to force the `v1/responses` API for every model. Setting `false` does not force `v1/chat/completions`: OAuth sessions and models whose catalog entry prefers the Responses API (e.g. `gpt-5.4`) still use it.	No
`OPENAI_API_URL`	Custom Chat Completions endpoint. Must be the full URL ending in `/chat/completions`; the `/models` listing URL is derived from it. With a custom host the model listing is not filtered by family, and `OPENAI_API_KEY` is still sent as the Bearer token (set it to the gateway’s key).	No
`OPENAI_RESPONSES_API_URL`	Custom Responses API endpoint. Set both URLs when redirecting the provider to an OpenAI-compatible endpoint.	No
`OPENAI_MAX_TOKENS`	Sets the maximum tokens to use in the session (depends on model)	No

Anthropic (Claude)

Variable	Description	Required?
`ANTHROPIC_API_KEY`	Your secret Anthropic API key. Alternative: use `/auth login anthropic` for OAuth.	Yes*
`ANTHROPIC_MODEL`	The model to use. E.g.: `claude-opus-4-8`, `claude-opus-4-7`, `claude-sonnet-4-6`.	No
`ANTHROPIC_API_VERSION`	The Anthropic API version to use in headers.	No
`ANTHROPIC_MAX_TOKENS`	Sets the maximum tokens to use in the session (depends on model)	No
`ANTHROPIC_SPEED`	Set to `fast` to opt in to Opus 4.8 fast mode (research preview, premium pricing).	No

Google (Gemini)

Variable	Description	Required?
`GOOGLEAI_API_KEY`	Your Google AI Studio API key.	Yes
`GOOGLEAI_MODEL`	The model to use. E.g.: `gemini-2.5-pro`, `gemini-2.5-flash`.	No
`GOOGLEAI_MAX_TOKENS`	Sets the maximum tokens to use in the session (depends on model)	No

xAI (Grok)

Variable	Description	Required?
`XAI_API_KEY`	Your secret xAI API key.	Yes
`XAI_MODEL`	The model to use. E.g.: `grok-4-1`, `grok-4-fast`, `grok-3`.	No
`XAI_MAX_TOKENS`	Sets the maximum tokens to use in the session (depends on model)	No

Ollama (Local)

Variable	Description	Required?
`OLLAMA_ENABLED`	Set to `true` to enable the Ollama provider.	Yes
`OLLAMA_BASE_URL`	Base URL of your local Ollama server.	No
`OLLAMA_MODEL`	The name of the local model to use (e.g., `llama3`, `codellama`).	No
`OLLAMA_FILTER_THINKING`	Filters intermediate reasoning in responses (e.g., for `Qwen3`, `llama3` default `true`…).	No
`OLLAMA_MAX_TOKENS`	Sets the maximum tokens for the Ollama provider.	No

StackSpot

Variable	Description	Required?
`CLIENT_ID`	StackSpot client ID credential.	Yes
`CLIENT_KEY`	StackSpot client key credential.	Yes
`STACKSPOT_REALM`	Your organization’s `realm` (tenant) on StackSpot.	Yes
`STACKSPOT_AGENT_ID`	The ID of the specific agent to use.	Yes

ZAI (Zhipu AI)

Variable	Description	Required?
`ZAI_API_KEY`	Your ZAI (Zhipu AI) API key. Accepts plain Bearer token or `id.secret` format for automatic JWT.	Yes
`ZAI_MODEL`	The model to use. E.g.: `glm-5.2`, `glm-5`, `glm-4.7`, `codegeex-4`.	No
`ZAI_MAX_TOKENS`	Sets the maximum tokens to use in the session (depends on model)	No

Automatic JWT rotation: Keys in id.secret format automatically enable JWT token generation (HMAC-SHA256) with custom header {"alg": "HS256", "sign_type": "SIGN"}. Tokens are cached for 30 minutes and regenerated with a 5-minute safety margin. Keys without ”.” continue to work as traditional Bearer tokens. Fully automatic, no additional configuration needed.

MiniMax

Variable	Description	Required?
`MINIMAX_API_KEY`	Your MiniMax API key.	Yes
`MINIMAX_MODEL`	The model to use. E.g.: `MiniMax-M2.7`, `MiniMax-M2.5` (case-sensitive).	No
`MINIMAX_MAX_TOKENS`	Sets the maximum tokens to use in the session (depends on model)	No
`MINIMAX_API_COMPAT`	Compatibility mode: `anthropic` to use MiniMax’s Anthropic Messages endpoint.	No

Anthropic-compatible endpoint: Set MINIMAX_API_COMPAT=anthropic to use https://api.minimax.io/anthropic/v1/messages with Anthropic Messages format (system as top-level field, content blocks). The anthropic-version: 2023-06-01 header is added automatically. Same Bearer token auth is used. Native tool calling is disabled in this mode (falls back to XML). Also available via Helm (secrets.minimaxApiCompat: "anthropic") or Docker (MINIMAX_API_COMPAT=anthropic).

Alternative approach (recommended by MiniMax): Per the official MiniMax documentation, you can use MiniMax models directly through the CLAUDEAI provider without needing MINIMAX_API_COMPAT. Simply configure the Anthropic base URL to point to MiniMax:

LLM_PROVIDER=CLAUDEAI
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=your-minimax-key
ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL=https://api.minimax.io/anthropic
ANTHROPIC_MODEL=MiniMax-M2.7

This works because MiniMax’s api.minimax.io/anthropic endpoint is 100% compatible with the Anthropic API. Use this approach to leverage Anthropic’s native tool calling with MiniMax models.

Moonshot (Kimi)

Variable	Description	Required?
`MOONSHOT_API_KEY`	Bearer token API key from Moonshot AI.	Yes
`MOONSHOT_MODEL`	Model to use (`kimi-k2.6`, `kimi-k2.5`, `kimi-latest`, `kimi-thinking-preview`, `moonshot-v1-128k`, `moonshot-v1-32k`, `moonshot-v1-8k`).	No
`MOONSHOT_MAX_TOKENS`	Sets the maximum response tokens.	No
`MOONSHOT_THINKING`	Reasoning mode: `enabled`, `disabled`, `auto`. Models without the `thinking` capability ignore the flag.	No
`MOONSHOT_API_URL`	Custom endpoint. Default: `https://api.moonshot.ai/v1/chat/completions`. With a custom host, the model listing is not filtered by family.	No

Thinking vs Instant mode: Default auto lets the model choose; enabled forces explicit reasoning (higher latency, more tokens); disabled forces direct response. Useful for switching between tasks that benefit from chain-of-thought and fast responses (extraction, classification). The flag is injected via extra_body.thinking.type in the OpenAI-compatible payload.

OpenRouter

Variable	Description	Required?
`OPENROUTER_API_KEY`	Your OpenRouter API key from openrouter.ai.	Yes
`OPENROUTER_API_URL`	Custom API endpoint URL.	No
`OPENROUTER_MAX_TOKENS`	Sets the maximum tokens for the response.	No
`OPENROUTER_FALLBACK_MODELS`	Comma-separated fallback models for server-side routing (e.g., `anthropic/claude-sonnet-4,google/gemini-2.5-flash`).	No
`OPENROUTER_PROVIDER_ORDER`	Comma-separated preferred provider ordering (e.g., `Anthropic,Google`).	No
`OPENROUTER_TRANSFORMS`	Message transforms (e.g., `middle-out` for context overflow).	No
`OPENROUTER_HTTP_REFERER`	Attribution HTTP Referer header.	No
`OPENROUTER_APP_TITLE`	Attribution app title.	No
`OPENROUTER_TOOLS`	JSON array of tool definitions to inject.	No

OpenRouter is a multi-provider API gateway that provides access to 200+ models from all major providers through a single API key. Models use the provider/model-name format (e.g., openai/gpt-4o, anthropic/claude-sonnet-4). The default model is openai/gpt-4o.

LLM_PROVIDER=OPENROUTER
OPENROUTER_API_KEY="sk-or-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"

# (Optional) Model — default: openai/gpt-4o
# MODEL="anthropic/claude-sonnet-4"

# (Optional) Server-side fallback routing
# OPENROUTER_FALLBACK_MODELS="anthropic/claude-sonnet-4,google/gemini-2.5-flash"

GitHub Copilot

Variable	Description	Required?
`GITHUB_COPILOT_TOKEN`	GitHub Copilot OAuth token. Alternative: use `/auth login github-copilot` for Device Flow.	Yes*
`COPILOT_MODEL`	The model to use. E.g.: `gpt-4o`, `claude-sonnet-4`, `gemini-2.0-flash`.	No
`COPILOT_MAX_TOKENS`	Sets the maximum tokens for the response.	No
`COPILOT_API_BASE_URL`	Copilot API base URL (for enterprise environments).	No

AWS Bedrock

Variable	Description	Required?
`AWS_PROFILE`	AWS profile in `~/.aws/credentials` or `~/.aws/config` (supports SSO, assume-role, credential_process). Can be set in `.env`.	Yes*
`AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID`	Static IAM access key. Alternative to `AWS_PROFILE`.	Yes*
`AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY`	IAM secret key (required with `AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID`).	Yes*
`AWS_SESSION_TOKEN`	Temporary session token (STS).	No
`BEDROCK_REGION`	AWS region for Bedrock (takes priority over `AWS_REGION`).	No
`AWS_REGION`	AWS region (fallback if `BEDROCK_REGION` not set).	No
`BEDROCK_PROVIDER`	Manual schema override: `anthropic` or `openai`.	No
`BEDROCK_ANTHROPIC_ENDPOINT`	Forces the Claude wire: `mantle` (Messages endpoint) or `invoke` (legacy InvokeModel).	No
`BEDROCK_MANTLE_BASE_URL`	Messages endpoint override (`bedrock-mantle.{region}.api.aws`) for VPC endpoints/proxies.	No
`AWS_BEARER_TOKEN_BEDROCK`	Short-lived bearer token for the Messages endpoint (`x-api-key` header, no SigV4).	No
`BEDROCK_MAX_TOKENS`	Output token limit.	No
`BEDROCK_TEMPERATURE`	Temperature for OpenAI models on Bedrock.	No
`CHATCLI_BEDROCK_CA_BUNDLE`	PEM bundle with corporate CA for TLS. Takes precedence over `AWS_CA_BUNDLE` and the global `CHATCLI_CA_BUNDLE`.	No
`CHATCLI_BEDROCK_INSECURE_SKIP_VERIFY`	`true` disables TLS verification (insecure, troubleshooting only). Takes precedence over the global `CHATCLI_TLS_INSECURE_SKIP_VERIFY`.	No
`AWS_EC2_METADATA_DISABLED`	`true` disables IMDS (prevents timeout on 169.254.169.254 outside EC2).	No
`CHATCLI_BEDROCK_ENABLE_IMDS`	`true` forces IMDS probe on non-EC2 machines.	No

Bedrock does not use an API key — authentication uses the AWS SDK credential chain: env vars → ~/.aws/credentials → ~/.aws/config (SSO, assume-role) → IAM role (EC2/ECS/EKS).* At least one credential source is required: AWS_PROFILE, AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID, SSO profile in ~/.aws/config, credentials in ~/.aws/credentials, or IAM role. For full details (SSO, proxy, inference profiles), see the AWS Bedrock documentation.

* For OpenAI, Anthropic, and GitHub Copilot, the API key is required only if you are not using OAuth authentication (/auth login). Both methods can coexist.

Agent Mode Configuration

Variable	Description
`CHATCLI_AGENT_ALLOW_SUDO`	Set to `"true"` to allow the agent to suggest and execute commands with `sudo`. Use with extreme caution.
`CHATCLI_AGENT_DENYLIST`	List of regex patterns (separated by `;`) to block additional commands in agent mode.
`CHATCLI_AGENT_CMD_TIMEOUT`	Timeout for a single command execution by the agent (default: `10m`, maximum: `1h`).
`CHATCLI_AGENT_PLUGIN_MAX_TURNS`	Maximum agent turn limit in `/agent`/`/coder` mode (default: `50`, maximum: `200`).
`CHATCLI_AGENT_PLUGIN_TIMEOUT`	Total agent plugin timeout (default: `15m`).

Multi-Agent (Parallel Orchestration)

Variable	Description	Default
`CHATCLI_AGENT_PARALLEL_MODE`	Enables multi-agent mode with parallel orchestration. The orchestrator LLM dispatches specialist agents in parallel.	`false`
`CHATCLI_AGENT_MAX_WORKERS`	Maximum number of workers (goroutines) executing agents simultaneously.	`4`
`CHATCLI_AGENT_WORKER_MAX_TURNS`	Maximum turns in each worker agent’s mini ReAct loop.	`10`
`CHATCLI_AGENT_WORKER_TIMEOUT`	Timeout per individual worker agent. Accepts Go durations (e.g., `30s`, `2m`, `10m`).	`5m`
`CHATCLI_AGENT_PARALLEL_TOOLS`	Enables parallel execution of concurrency-safe tools within a single agent (read-only ops like `@read`, `@search`, `@websearch`). Distinct from `CHATCLI_AGENT_PARALLEL_MODE` (multi-agent). Off by default while in rollout.	`false`
`CHATCLI_AGENT_MAX_TOOL_CONCURRENCY`	Fan-out cap for the parallel tool batch within an agent.	`10`
`CHATCLI_AGENT_INLINE_CODE_STRICT`	For `python -c` / `node -e` / `perl -e` / `ruby -e` / `php -r` / `lua -e` invocations, treat inline source as dangerous unless proven safe (conservative mode). Default lets safe read-only one-liners through and only blocks patterns with `os.system`, `subprocess`, `socket`, `eval`, file writes, network.	`false`

For complete details on the multi-agent system, see the Multi-Agent Orchestration documentation.

Server Mode Configuration (`chatcli server`)

Variable	Description	Default
`CHATCLI_SERVER_PORT`	gRPC server port.	`50051`
`CHATCLI_SERVER_TOKEN`	Server authentication token. Empty = no authentication.	`""`
`CHATCLI_SERVER_TLS_CERT`	Path to the server TLS certificate.	`""`
`CHATCLI_SERVER_TLS_KEY`	Path to the server TLS key.	`""`
`CHATCLI_GRPC_REFLECTION`	Enables gRPC reflection for debugging. Keep disabled in production.	`false`

Provider Fallback

Variable	Description	Default
`CHATCLI_FALLBACK_PROVIDERS`	Comma-separated list of providers for automatic failover. E.g.: `OPENAI,CLAUDEAI,GOOGLEAI`.	`""`
`CHATCLI_FALLBACK_MODEL_<PROVIDER>`	Specific model per provider in the chain. E.g.: `CHATCLI_FALLBACK_MODEL_CLAUDEAI=claude-sonnet-4-20250514`.	(default model)
`CHATCLI_FALLBACK_MAX_RETRIES`	Retries per provider before advancing to the next in the chain.	`2`
`CHATCLI_FALLBACK_COOLDOWN_BASE`	Base cooldown duration after a provider failure.	`30s`
`CHATCLI_FALLBACK_COOLDOWN_MAX`	Maximum cooldown duration (exponential backoff).	`5m`

For complete details, see the Provider Fallback documentation.

MCP (Model Context Protocol)

Variable	Description	Default
`CHATCLI_MCP_ENABLED`	Enables the MCP server manager.	`false`
`CHATCLI_MCP_CONFIG`	Path to the MCP server configuration JSON file.	`~/.chatcli/mcp_servers.json`

Files under `~/.chatcli/mcp/`

Beyond mcp_servers.json, the MCP subsystem manages a dedicated directory for durable state:

File	Purpose
`~/.chatcli/mcp/channels.jsonl`	Durable ring of push notifications (append-only, rotates at 10 MiB to `.1`). Replayed on boot — alerts received while ChatCLI was closed remain visible
`~/.chatcli/mcp/channels.jsonl.1`	Single rotated historical file (rotation overwrites the previous)
`~/.chatcli/mcp/triggers.json`	Opt-in — trigger engine rules (`notify` / `confirm` / `auto`) that decide how ChatCLI reacts to channel events. See MCP Channels

For complete details, see the MCP documentation and MCP Channels.

Web Search

Variable	Description	Default
`CHATCLI_WEBSEARCH_PROVIDER`	Preferred backend for `@websearch` / `/websearch`: `searxng`, `duckduckgo`, `brave`, `mojeek`, or `auto`.	`auto`
`SEARXNG_URL`	Root URL of the self-hosted SearxNG instance (e.g. `https://searx.internal.corp`).	—

Backends are keyless (no third-party API key). DuckDuckGo is the zero-config default; self-hosted SearxNG is preferred in corporate environments. See Web Tools for the fallback chain and how to enable SearxNG’s JSON API.

Bootstrap and Memory

Variable	Description	Default
`CHATCLI_BOOTSTRAP_ENABLED`	Enables loading bootstrap files (SOUL.md, USER.md, etc.) into the system prompt.	`true`
`CHATCLI_BOOTSTRAP_DIR`	Directory containing bootstrap files.	`~/.chatcli/bootstrap/`
`CHATCLI_MEMORY_ENABLED`	Enables the structured persistent memory system.	`true`
`CHATCLI_MEMORY_MODE`	Memory injection mode in agent/coder: `index` (pull, digest + `@memory recall`), `full` (full push per turn) or `off`. Chat treats `index` as `full`.	`index`
`CHATCLI_MEMORY_MAX_SIZE`	Maximum size of rendered MEMORY.md (bytes).	`32768`
`CHATCLI_MEMORY_RETENTION_DAYS`	Days to retain daily notes before automatic cleanup.	`30`
`CHATCLI_MEMORY_MAX_FACTS`	Maximum number of facts in memory index.	`500`
`CHATCLI_MEMORY_RETRIEVAL_BUDGET`	Maximum memory characters injected into system prompt.	`4000`
`CHATCLI_SAFETY_ENABLED`	Enables configurable safety rules in the agent shell.	`false`

For complete details, see the Bootstrap and Memory documentation.

Skill Registry (Multi-Registry)

Variable	Description	Default
`CHATCLI_REGISTRY_URLS`	Additional registry URLs separated by comma. Each URL is added as an enabled custom registry.	`""`
`CHATCLI_REGISTRY_DISABLE`	Registry names to disable, separated by comma. E.g.: `clawhub,chatcli`.	`""`
`CHATCLI_SKILL_INSTALL_DIR`	Directory where skills installed via registry are saved.	`~/.chatcli/skills`

The registry system is configured via the ~/.chatcli/registries.yaml file (automatically created with default registries: chatcli and clawhub). The variables above serve as overrides.

For complete details, see the Skill Registry documentation.

Security and Control

Variable	Description	Default
`CHATCLI_AUTO_UPDATE`	Auto-update policy: `auto` stages updates silently in the background, `notify` shows the update hint on the welcome screen and in-session, `off` disables both. See Auto-Update.	`notify`
`CHATCLI_DISABLE_VERSION_CHECK`	Disables automatic version check on startup (implies auto-update `off`). Useful for air-gapped environments or CI/CD.	`false`
`CHATCLI_GRPC_REFLECTION`	Enables gRPC server reflection (exposes service schema).	`false`

Agent Mode Security

Variable	Description	Default
`CHATCLI_AGENT_SECURITY_MODE`	Security mode: `strict` (allowlist only) or `permissive` (allowlist + legacy denylist as fallback).	`strict`
`CHATCLI_AGENT_ALLOWLIST`	Additional commands for the allowlist, separated by `;`. E.g.: `terraform;ansible;packer`.	`""`
`CHATCLI_AGENT_WORKSPACE_STRICT`	Restricts file reads to the current workspace. Blocks sensitive paths (`~/.ssh`, `~/.aws`, etc.).	`false`
`CHATCLI_AGENT_ALLOW_KUBECONFIG`	Allows kubeconfig access even with `WORKSPACE_STRICT` enabled.	`false`
`CHATCLI_AGENT_EXTRA_READ_PATHS`	Additional allowed read paths, separated by `;`.	`""`
`CHATCLI_AGENT_SOURCE_SHELL_CONFIG`	Enables sourcing shell configuration files (`~/.bashrc`, `~/.zshrc`). Now opt-in.	`false`
`CHATCLI_MAX_COMMAND_OUTPUT`	Character limit for command output before truncation.	`50000`

Authentication and Tokens

Variable	Description	Default
`CHATCLI_MAX_TOKEN_LIFETIME`	Maximum lifetime for OAuth/JWT tokens. Accepts Go durations (e.g., `24h`, `168h`).	`720h` (30 days)
`CHATCLI_JWT_SECRET`	Secret for signing server JWT tokens.	`""`
`CHATCLI_SESSION_ENCRYPTION_KEY`	Key for session encryption at rest (AES-256).	`""`

Network and Server Security

Variable	Description	Default
`CHATCLI_RATE_LIMIT_RPS`	Requests per second limit (0 = disabled).	`0`
`CHATCLI_BIND_ADDRESS`	Server bind address. Defaults to `127.0.0.1` (local); in Kubernetes, auto-detects `0.0.0.0` via `KUBERNETES_SERVICE_HOST`. Explicit value always takes precedence.	`127.0.0.1` / `0.0.0.0` (K8s)
`CHATCLI_AUDIT_LOG`	Enables security audit logging with details of each operation.	`false`

Plugin Security

Variable	Description	Default
`CHATCLI_PLUGIN_VERIFY_SIGNATURES`	Requires valid Ed25519 signature to load plugins.	`false`
`CHATCLI_PLUGIN_TRUSTED_KEYS`	Trusted Ed25519 public keys for plugin verification, separated by `;`.	`""`

K8s Operator Security

Variable	Description	Default
`CHATCLI_OPERATOR_FAIL_CLOSED`	Fail-closed mode: blocks operations when the agent is unavailable.	`false`
`CHATCLI_OPERATOR_RESOURCE_ALLOWLIST`	Allowed K8s resources for the operator, separated by `;`.	`""`
`CHATCLI_OPERATOR_LOG_SCRUBBING`	Removes sensitive data (tokens, passwords) from operator logs.	`true`

For complete details on security, see the Security and Hardening documentation.

Remote Client Configuration (`chatcli connect`)

Variable	Description	Default
`CHATCLI_REMOTE_ADDR`	Remote server address (`host:port`).	`""`
`CHATCLI_REMOTE_TOKEN`	Authentication token to connect to the server.	`""`
`CHATCLI_CLIENT_API_KEY`	Your own API key/OAuth token, sent to the server.	`""`

K8s Watcher Configuration (`chatcli watch` / `chatcli server --watch-*`)

Variable	Description	Default
`CHATCLI_WATCH_DEPLOYMENT`	Name of the Kubernetes deployment to monitor.	`""`
`CHATCLI_WATCH_NAMESPACE`	Deployment namespace.	`"default"`
`CHATCLI_WATCH_INTERVAL`	Interval between data collections. Accepts Go durations (e.g., `10s`, `1m`).	`"30s"`
`CHATCLI_WATCH_WINDOW`	Time window of data kept in memory.	`"2h"`
`CHATCLI_WATCH_MAX_LOG_LINES`	Maximum number of log lines collected per pod.	`100`
`CHATCLI_KUBECONFIG`	Path to kubeconfig (optional, uses default if not set).	Auto-detected

​Priority Order

​General Configuration

​Color Theme

​UI Styles

​Switch the UI at runtime

​Parallel visual changes (v1.119)

​Context and Output Compression

​OAuth Authentication

​Provider Configuration

​OpenAI

​Anthropic (Claude)

​Google (Gemini)

​xAI (Grok)

​Ollama (Local)

​StackSpot

​ZAI (Zhipu AI)

​MiniMax

​Moonshot (Kimi)

​OpenRouter

​GitHub Copilot

​AWS Bedrock

​Agent Mode Configuration

​Multi-Agent (Parallel Orchestration)

​Server Mode Configuration (chatcli server)

​Provider Fallback

​MCP (Model Context Protocol)

​Files under ~/.chatcli/mcp/

​Web Search

​Bootstrap and Memory

​Skill Registry (Multi-Registry)

​Security and Control

​Agent Mode Security

​Authentication and Tokens

​Network and Server Security

​Plugin Security

​K8s Operator Security

​Remote Client Configuration (chatcli connect)

​K8s Watcher Configuration (chatcli watch / chatcli server --watch-*)

Priority Order

General Configuration

Color Theme

UI Styles

Switch the UI at runtime

Parallel visual changes (v1.119)

Context and Output Compression

OAuth Authentication

Provider Configuration

OpenAI

Anthropic (Claude)

Google (Gemini)

xAI (Grok)

Ollama (Local)

StackSpot

ZAI (Zhipu AI)

MiniMax

Moonshot (Kimi)

OpenRouter

GitHub Copilot

AWS Bedrock

Agent Mode Configuration

Multi-Agent (Parallel Orchestration)

Server Mode Configuration (`chatcli server`)

Provider Fallback

MCP (Model Context Protocol)

Files under `~/.chatcli/mcp/`

Web Search

Bootstrap and Memory

Skill Registry (Multi-Registry)

Security and Control

Agent Mode Security

Authentication and Tokens

Network and Server Security

Plugin Security

K8s Operator Security

Remote Client Configuration (`chatcli connect`)

K8s Watcher Configuration (`chatcli watch` / `chatcli server --watch-*`)