---
title: "Settings Configuration"
description: "Configure CLI and shared machine defaults with settings.toml"
---

Fabro loads machine defaults from `~/.fabro/settings.toml`. The file is optional. If it does not exist, Fabro falls back to built-in defaults.

The CLI and server each read the sections relevant to their own process. On a remote deployment, the CLI machine and the server machine each have their own `settings.toml`.

<Note>
Fabro only reads `settings.toml`. Older `cli.toml`, `user.toml`, and `server.toml` filenames are no longer part of the supported config surface.
</Note>

## File location

The default path is `~/.fabro/settings.toml`.

Use `fabro server start --config /path/to/settings.toml` if the server should read a different file.

## Schema version

Every Fabro config file must declare its schema version with a top-level `_version` key:

```toml title="settings.toml"
_version = 1
```

Files that omit `_version` are treated as version `1`. The legacy top-level `version` key is no longer accepted and raises a targeted rename hint.

## Who reads what

`settings.toml` uses the same schema as `.fabro/project.toml` and `workflow.toml`, but each process only reads the fields it understands. The top-level schema is strictly namespaced — the only allowed domains are `[project]`, `[workflow]`, `[run]`, `[cli]`, `[server]`, and `[features]`.

| Scope | Examples |
|---|---|
| CLI-only | `[cli.target]`, `[cli.auth]`, `[cli.exec]`, `[cli.output]`, `[cli.updates]`, `[cli.logging]` |
| Shared run defaults | `[run.model]`, `[run.sandbox]`, `[run.checkpoint]`, `[run.inputs]`, `[run.prepare]`, `[run.pull_request]`, `[run.integrations.github.permissions]`, `[run.hooks]`, `[run.agent.mcps]` |
| Server-only | `[server.listen]`, `[server.api]`, `[server.web]`, `[server.auth]`, `[server.storage]`, `[server.artifacts]`, `[server.slatedb]`, `[server.scheduler]`, `[server.logging]`, `[server.integrations]` |

`[cli.*]` and `[server.*]` stanzas are owner-specific: they are only consumed from `~/.fabro/settings.toml` (plus process-local flags and env overrides). The same stanzas in `.fabro/project.toml` or `workflow.toml` remain schema-valid but runtime-inert.

See [Server Configuration](/administration/server-configuration) for the server-owned sections.

## Precedence

Shared layered domains (`[project]`, `[workflow]`, `[run]`, `[features]`) use this override order:

1. **CLI flags** — always win
2. **Environment overrides** — Fabro-defined override channels
3. **`workflow.toml`** — per-workflow overrides
4. **`.fabro/project.toml`** — project defaults
5. **`~/.fabro/settings.toml`** — machine defaults
6. **Built-in defaults**

Owner-specific domains (`[cli.*]`, `[server.*]`) use a narrower trust boundary — only CLI flags, env overrides, `~/.fabro/settings.toml`, and built-in defaults apply.

## Full example

```toml title="settings.toml"
_version = 1

[cli.target]
type = "http"
url = "https://fabro.example.com/api/v1"

[cli.exec]
prevent_idle_sleep = true

[cli.exec.model]
provider = "anthropic"
name = "claude-opus-4-6"

[cli.exec.agent]
permissions = "read-write"

[cli.output]
format = "text"
verbosity = "normal"

[cli.updates]
check = true

[cli.logging]
level = "info"

[run.model]
name = "claude-sonnet-4-5"

[run.git.author]
name = "fabro-bot"
email = "fabro-bot@company.com"

[run.pull_request]
enabled = true

[run.integrations.github.permissions]
contents = "write"
pull_requests = "write"

[run.agent.mcps.filesystem]
type = "stdio"
command = ["npx", "-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem", "/workspace"]
startup_timeout = "15s"
tool_timeout = "90s"

[run.agent.mcps.filesystem.env]
NODE_ENV = "production"

[run.agent.mcps.sentry]
type = "http"
url = "https://mcp.sentry.dev/mcp"

[run.agent.mcps.sentry.headers]
Authorization = "Bearer sk-xxx"
```

All fields are optional. Include only the sections and keys you want to override. A single file can still include both CLI and server sections when you run both processes on one machine, but explicit remote targets do not read remote server state from the local machine.

{/* generated:options */}
## `[cli.target]`

Connection info for commands that target a remote Fabro server.

```toml title="settings.toml"
[cli.target]
type = "http"
url = "https://fabro.example.com/api/v1"
```

| Key | Type / values | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| `type` | `"http"` \| `"unix"` | None | Explicit transport selection. |
| `url` | string | None | Required for `type = "http"`; the API base URL. |
| `path` | string | None | Required for `type = "unix"`; the absolute Unix socket path. |

## `[cli.updates]`

`[cli.updates]` — upgrade check toggle

```toml title="settings.toml"
[cli.updates]
check = true
```

| Key | Type / values | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| `check` | boolean | true | Check for new Fabro releases during supported CLI commands. |

## `[cli.output]`

`[cli.output]` — generic CLI output defaults

```toml title="settings.toml"
[cli.output]
format = "text"
verbosity = "verbose"
```

| Key | Type / values | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| `format` | "text" \| "json" | "text" | Output format for commands that support machine-readable output. |
| `verbosity` | "quiet" \| "normal" \| "verbose" | "normal" | Default output verbosity. |

## `[cli.exec]`

`[cli.exec]` — `fabro exec` defaults

```toml title="settings.toml"
[cli.exec]
prevent_idle_sleep = true
```

| Key | Type / values | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| `prevent_idle_sleep` | boolean | false | Prevent idle sleep on macOS while an exec run is in flight. |

## `[cli.exec.model]`

```toml title="settings.toml"
[cli.exec.model]
provider = "anthropic"
name = "claude-opus-4-6"
```

| Key | Type / values | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| `name` | string | None | Model name for `fabro exec`. |
| `provider` | string | None | LLM provider for `fabro exec`. |

## `[cli.exec.agent]`

```toml title="settings.toml"
[cli.exec.agent]
permissions = "read-write"
```

| Key | Type / values | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| `mcps` | table | None | Agent-scoped MCP entries for `fabro exec`. |
| `permissions` | "read-only" \| "read-write" \| "full" | "read-write" | Tool permission level for `fabro exec`. |

## `[run.model]`

`[run.model]` — provider-neutral default model selection

```toml title="settings.toml"
[run.model]
provider = "anthropic"
name = "claude-sonnet-4-5"
fallbacks = ["openai", "gpt-5.4"]
```

| Key | Type / values | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| `fallbacks` | array<string> | [] | Ordered list of fallback model references. Supports `...` splice marker<br />at layering time — see [`super::splice_array`]. |
| `name` | string | None | Model name for workflow runs. |
| `provider` | string | None | Provider name for workflow model selection. |

## `[cli.logging]`

`[cli.logging]` — process-owned logging configuration for the CLI

```toml title="settings.toml"
[cli.logging]
level = "info"
```

| Key | Type / values | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| `level` | "error" \| "warn" \| "info" \| "debug" \| "trace" | "info" | Default CLI log level. |

## `[run.git.author]`

```toml title="settings.toml"
[run.git.author]
name = "fabro-bot"
email = "fabro-bot@company.com"
```

| Key | Type / values | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| `email` | string | "fabro@local" | Git author email for checkpoint commits. |
| `name` | string | "fabro" | Git author name for checkpoint commits. |

## `[run.pull_request]`

`[run.pull_request]` — provider-neutral PR behavior

```toml title="settings.toml"
[run.pull_request]
enabled = true
```

| Key | Type / values | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| `auto_merge` | boolean | false | Enable GitHub auto-merge for created pull requests. Implies `draft =<br />false`. |
| `draft` | boolean | true | Open created pull requests as drafts. |
| `enabled` | boolean | false | Automatically create a PR after successful runs. |
| `merge_strategy` | "merge" \| "squash" \| "rebase" | "squash" | Merge method to configure for the pull request. |

## `[run.agent]`

`[run.agent]` — agent knobs only (permissions, MCPs)

```toml title="settings.toml"
[run.agent]
permissions = "read-write"
```

| Key | Type / values | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| `mcps` | table | None | Agent-scoped MCP server entries, keyed by name. |
| `permissions` | "read-only" \| "read-write" \| "full" | "read-write" | Default tool permission level for workflow agents. |

## `[run.agent.mcps.<name>]`

Configure MCP servers for workflow agents. For `fabro exec`-only MCPs, use `[cli.exec.agent.mcps.<name>]` with the same shape.

```toml title="settings.toml"
[run.agent.mcps.filesystem]
type = "stdio"
command = ["npx", "-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem", "/workspace"]
startup_timeout = "15s"
tool_timeout = "90s"
```

| Key | Type / values | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| `type` | `"stdio"` \| `"http"` \| `"sandbox"` | None | MCP transport type. |
| `command` | array<string> | None | Command and arguments for `stdio` or `sandbox` transports. |
| `script` | string | None | Shell script alternative to `command` for process-launching transports. |
| `url` | string | None | Remote MCP URL for `http` transport. |
| `port` | integer | None | Sandbox port for `sandbox` transport. |
| `env` | table | `{}` | Additional environment variables for process-launching transports. |
| `headers` | table | `{}` | HTTP headers for `http` transport. |
| `startup_timeout` | duration | `"10s"` | Max duration for startup and MCP handshake. |
| `tool_timeout` | duration | `"60s"` | Max duration for a single MCP tool call. |

See [MCP](/agents/mcp) for transport-specific examples.
{/* /generated:options */}