zeroclaw/docs/config-reference.md

ZeroClaw Config Reference (Operator-Oriented)

This is a high-signal reference for common config sections and defaults.

Last verified: February 19, 2026.

Config path resolution at startup:

1. ZEROCLAW_WORKSPACE override (if set)
2. persisted ~/.zeroclaw/active_workspace.toml marker (if present)
3. default ~/.zeroclaw/config.toml

ZeroClaw logs the resolved config on startup at INFO level:

• Config loaded with fields: path, workspace, source, initialized

Schema export command:

• zeroclaw config schema (prints JSON Schema draft 2020-12 to stdout)

Core Keys

Key	Default	Notes
default_provider	openrouter	provider ID or alias
default_model	anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6	model routed through selected provider
default_temperature	0.7	model temperature

Environment Provider Overrides

Provider selection can also be controlled by environment variables. Precedence is:

1. ZEROCLAW_PROVIDER (explicit override, always wins when non-empty)
2. PROVIDER (legacy fallback, only applied when config provider is unset or still openrouter)
3. default_provider in config.toml

Operational note for container users:

• If your config.toml sets an explicit custom provider like custom:https://.../v1, a default PROVIDER=openrouter from Docker/container env will no longer replace it.
• Use ZEROCLAW_PROVIDER when you intentionally want runtime env to override a non-default configured provider.

[agent]

Key	Default	Purpose
max_tool_iterations	10	Maximum tool-call loop turns per user message across CLI, gateway, and channels

Notes:

• Setting max_tool_iterations = 0 falls back to safe default 10.
• If a channel message exceeds this value, the runtime returns: Agent exceeded maximum tool iterations (<value>).

[gateway]

Key	Default	Purpose
host	127.0.0.1	bind address
port	3000	gateway listen port
require_pairing	true	require pairing before bearer auth
allow_public_bind	false	block accidental public exposure

[autonomy]

Key	Default	Purpose
level	supervised	read_only, supervised, or full
workspace_only	true	restrict writes/command paths to workspace scope
allowed_commands	required for shell execution	allowlist of executable names
forbidden_paths	[]	explicit path denylist
max_actions_per_hour	100	per-policy action budget
max_cost_per_day_cents	1000	per-policy spend guardrail
require_approval_for_medium_risk	true	approval gate for medium-risk commands
block_high_risk_commands	true	hard block for high-risk commands
auto_approve	[]	tool operations always auto-approved
always_ask	[]	tool operations that always require approval

Notes:

• level = "full" skips medium-risk approval gating for shell execution, while still enforcing configured guardrails.
• Shell separator/operator parsing is quote-aware. Characters like ; inside quoted arguments are treated as literals, not command separators.
• Unquoted shell chaining/operators are still enforced by policy checks (;, |, &&, ||, background chaining, and redirects).

[memory]

Key	Default	Purpose
backend	sqlite	sqlite, lucid, markdown, none
auto_save	true	automatic persistence
embedding_provider	none	none, openai, or custom endpoint
embedding_model	text-embedding-3-small	embedding model ID, or hint:<name> route
embedding_dimensions	1536	expected vector size for selected embedding model
vector_weight	0.7	hybrid ranking vector weight
keyword_weight	0.3	hybrid ranking keyword weight

[[model_routes]] and [[embedding_routes]]

Use route hints so integrations can keep stable names while model IDs evolve.

[memory]
embedding_model = "hint:semantic"

[[model_routes]]
hint = "reasoning"
provider = "openrouter"
model = "provider/model-id"

[[embedding_routes]]
hint = "semantic"
provider = "openai"
model = "text-embedding-3-small"
dimensions = 1536

Upgrade strategy:

1. Keep hints stable (hint:reasoning, hint:semantic).
2. Update only model = "...new-version..." in the route entries.
3. Validate with zeroclaw doctor before restart/rollout.

[channels_config]

Top-level channel options are configured under channels_config.

Key	Default	Purpose
message_timeout_secs	300	Timeout in seconds for processing a single channel message (LLM + tools)

Examples:

• [channels_config.telegram]
• [channels_config.discord]
• [channels_config.whatsapp]
• [channels_config.email]

Notes:

• Default 300s is optimized for on-device LLMs (Ollama) which are slower than cloud APIs.
• If using cloud APIs (OpenAI, Anthropic, etc.), you can reduce this to 60 or lower.
• Values below 30 are clamped to 30 to avoid immediate timeout churn.
• When a timeout occurs, users receive: ⚠️ Request timed out while waiting for the model. Please try again.

See detailed channel matrix and allowlist behavior in channels-reference.md.

Security-Relevant Defaults

• deny-by-default channel allowlists ([] means deny all)
• pairing required on gateway by default
• public bind disabled by default

Validation Commands

After editing config:

zeroclaw status
zeroclaw doctor
zeroclaw channel doctor

Related Docs

• channels-reference.md
• providers-reference.md
• operations-runbook.md
• troubleshooting.md