---
title: Config File
sidebarTitle: Config file
---

import ConfigSchema from '/snippets/schemas/v3/index.schema.mdx'
import EnvironmentOverridesSchema from '/snippets/schemas/v3/environmentOverrides.schema.mdx'

When self-hosting Sourcebot, you **must** provide it a config file. This is done by defining a config file in a volume that's mounted to Sourcebot, and providing the path to this
file in the `CONFIG_PATH` environment variable. For example:

```bash icon="terminal" Passing in a CONFIG_PATH to Sourcebot
docker run \
    -v $(pwd)/config.json:/data/config.json \
    -e CONFIG_PATH=/data/config.json \
    ... \ # other options
    ghcr.io/sourcebot-dev/sourcebot:latest
```

The config file tells Sourcebot which repos to index, what language models to use, and various other settings as defined in the [schema](#config-file-schema).

# Config File Schema

The config file you provide Sourcebot must follow the [schema](https://github.com/sourcebot-dev/sourcebot/blob/main/schemas/v3/index.json). This schema consists of the following properties:

- [Connections](/docs/connections/overview) (`connections`): Defines a set of connections that tell Sourcebot which repos to index and from where
- [Language Models](/docs/configuration/language-model-providers) (`models`): Defines a set of language model providers for use with [Ask Sourcebot](/docs/features/ask)
- [Settings](#settings) (`settings`): Additional settings to tweak your Sourcebot deployment
- [Search Contexts](/docs/features/search/search-contexts) (`contexts`): Groupings of repos that you can search against

# Config File Syncing

Sourcebot syncs the config file on startup, and automatically whenever a change is detected.

# Settings

The following are settings that can be provided in your config file to modify Sourcebot's behavior

| Setting                                         | Type    | Default    | Minimum | Description / Notes                                                                    |
|-------------------------------------------------|---------|------------|---------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| `maxFileSize`                                   | number  | 2 MB       | 1       | Maximum size (bytes) of a file to index. Files exceeding this are skipped.             |
| `maxTrigramCount`                               | number  | 20 000     | 1       | Maximum trigrams per document. Larger files are skipped.                               |
| `reindexIntervalMs`                             | number  | 1 hour     | 1       | Interval at which all repositories are re‑indexed.                                     |
| `resyncConnectionIntervalMs`                    | number  | 24 hours   | 1       | Interval for checking connections that need re‑syncing.                                |
| `resyncConnectionPollingIntervalMs`             | number  | 1 second   | 1       | DB polling rate for connections that need re‑syncing.                                  |
| `reindexRepoPollingIntervalMs`                  | number  | 1 second   | 1       | DB polling rate for repos that should be re‑indexed.                                   |
| `maxConnectionSyncJobConcurrency`               | number  | 8          | 1       | Concurrent connection‑sync jobs.                                                       |
| `maxRepoIndexingJobConcurrency`                 | number  | 8          | 1       | Concurrent repo‑indexing jobs.                                                         |
| `maxRepoGarbageCollectionJobConcurrency`        | number  | 8          | 1       | Concurrent repo‑garbage‑collection jobs.                                               |
| `repoGarbageCollectionGracePeriodMs`            | number  | 10 seconds | 1       | Grace period to avoid deleting shards while loading.                                   |
| `repoIndexTimeoutMs`                            | number  | 2 hours    | 1       | Timeout for a single repo‑indexing run.                                                |
| `enablePublicAccess` **(deprecated)**           | boolean | false      | —       | Use the `FORCE_ENABLE_ANONYMOUS_ACCESS` environment variable instead.                  |
| `experiment_repoDrivenPermissionSyncIntervalMs` | number  | 24 hours   | 1       | Interval at which the repo permission syncer should run.                               |
| `experiment_userDrivenPermissionSyncIntervalMs` | number  | 24 hours   | 1       | Interval at which the user permission syncer should run.                               |

# Tokens

Tokens are used to securely pass secrets to Sourcebot in a config file. They are used in various places, including connections, language model providers, auth providers, etc. Tokens can be passed as either environment variables or Google Cloud secrets:

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Environment Variables">
    ```json
    {
        "token": {
            "env": "TOKEN_NAME"
        }
    }
    ```
  </Accordion>
  <Accordion title="Google Cloud Secrets">
    ```json
    {
        "token": {
            "googleCloudSecret": "projects/<project-id>/secrets/<secret-name>/versions/<version-id>"
        }
    }
    ```
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

# Overriding environment variables from the config

You can override / set environment variables from the config file by using the `environmentOverrides` property. Overrides can be of type `string`, `number`, `boolean`, or a [token](/docs/configuration/config-file#tokens). Tokens are useful when you want to configure a environment variable using a Google Cloud Secret or other supported secret management service.

<AccordionGroup>
    <Accordion title="Token">
    ```jsonc
    {
        "environmentOverrides": {
            "DATABASE_URL": {
                "type": "token",
                "value": {
                    "googleCloudSecret": "projects/<id>/secrets/postgres-connection-string/versions/latest"
                }
            },
            "REDIS_URL": {
                "type": "token",
                "value": {
                    "googleCloudSecret": "projects/<id>/secrets/redis-connection-string/versions/latest"
                }
            }
        },
    }
    ```
    </Accordion>

    <Accordion title="String">
    ```jsonc
    {
        "environmentOverrides": {
            "EMAIL_FROM_ADDRESS": {
                "type": "string",
                "value": "hello@sourcebot.dev"
            }
        }
    }
    ```
    </Accordion>

    <Accordion title="Number">
    ```jsonc
    {
        "environmentOverrides": {
            "SOURCEBOT_CHAT_MODEL_TEMPERATURE": {
                "type": "number",
                "value": 0.5
            }
        }
    }
    ```
    </Accordion>
    
    <Accordion title="Boolean">
    ```jsonc
    {
        "environmentOverrides": {
            "SOURCEBOT_TELEMETRY_DISABLED": {
                "type": "boolean",
                "value": false
            }
        }
    }
    ```
    </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>


**Note:** Overrides are **not** set as system environment variables, and instead are resolved at runtime on startup and stored in memory.

<Accordion title="Schema reference">
[schemas/v3/environmentOverrides.json](https://github.com/sourcebot-dev/sourcebot/blob/main/schemas/v3/environmentOverrides.json)

<EnvironmentOverridesSchema />
</Accordion>