Configuration file reference

The configuration file controls all runtime behavior of your Dossier instance. This reference documents every available key, its type, default value, and behavior.

File location

The config file is searched in the following order of precedence:

Path specified via --config CLI flag
./dossier.config.yaml in the current directory
~/.config/dossier/config.yaml in the user home
/etc/dossier/config.yaml system-wide

Tip: Run dossier config --show-path to see which config file is currently active.

File format

Configuration files support YAML, JSON, or TOML. YAML is recommended for readability. All examples below use YAML.

Core settings

Key	Type	Default	Description
port	integer	8080	HTTP server listen port
host	string	"0.0.0.0"	Bind address
workers	integer	4	Number of worker threads
mode	string	"production"	Runtime mode: production, development, test
secret_key	string	--	Required. Used for signing sessions and tokens

Database configuration

Key	Type	Default	Description
database.url	string	--	Connection string (postgres://...)
database.pool_size	integer	10	Max connections in pool
database.timeout	integer	30	Connection timeout in seconds
database.ssl	boolean	true	Require SSL for database connections

Logging

Key	Type	Default	Description
log.level	string	"info"	Log level: debug, info, warn, error
log.format	string	"json"	Output format: json, text, pretty
log.output	string	"stdout"	Output destination: stdout, stderr, filepath

Warning: Never commit secret_key or database.url to version control. Use environment variables for sensitive values.

Example configuration

# dossier.config.yaml
port: 8080
host: "0.0.0.0"
workers: 4
mode: "production"
secret_key: "${DOSSIER_SECRET}"

database:
  url: "${DATABASE_URL}"
  pool_size: 20
  timeout: 30
  ssl: true

log:
  level: "info"
  format: "json"
  output: "stdout"