Configuration

All configuration files for Vant.

Environment Variables (.env)

Required and optional environment variables:

# Required - GitHub access
GITHUB_TOKEN=your_github_token_here
GITHUB_REPO=owner/repo

# Optional - Branch (default: main)
GITHUB_BRANCH=main

# Optional - Stegoframe transport
STEGOFRAME_ROOM=your_room_id
STEGOFRAME_PASSPHRASE=your_passphrase

# Optional - Runtime overrides
POLLING_INTERVAL=10000
MAX_REQUESTS_PER_HOUR=360

Variable	Required	Description
`GITHUB_TOKEN`	Yes	GitHub Personal Access Token
`GITHUB_REPO`	Yes	Brain repository (owner/repo)
`GITHUB_BRANCH`	No	Branch name (default: main)
`STEGOFRAME_ROOM`	No	Stegoframe room ID
`STEGOFRAME_PASSPHRASE`	No	Stegoframe passphrase
`POLLING_INTERVAL`	No	Poll interval (ms)
`MAX_REQUESTS_PER_HOUR`	No	Rate limit cap

Additional Environment Variables

Configuration via environment.

MCP Server

Variable	Required	Description
`VANT_MCP_PORT`	No	MCP server port (default: 3456)
`VANT_MCP_API_KEY`	No	API key for MCP authentication
`VANT_AGREE_AUTO_SYNC`	No	⚠️ Enable auto-polling: set to `"true"` to confirm (see notes)
`MCP_API_KEY`	No	Alternative MCP API key

Notifications

Variable	Required	Description
`SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL`	No	Slack webhook for notifications
`DISCORD_WEBHOOK_URL`	No	Discord webhook for notifications
`TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN`	No	Telegram bot for commands

Agent / Node

Variable	Required	Description
`VANT_AGENT_ID`	No	Agent identifier (multi-agent)
`VANT_BRANCH`	No	Git branch to use

Paths

Variable	Required	Description
`CONFIG_PATH`	No	Path to config.ini
`MODEL_PATH`	No	Path to brain files (default: models/public)

config.ini

Core configuration:

# Core
VANT_VERSION=v0.8.4
MODEL_PATH=models/public
STATE_PATH=states/active/current.json

# GitHub (set via environment variable)
GITHUB_REPO=your-username/your-repo
GITHUB_BRANCH=main

# Runtime
POLLING_INTERVAL=10000
MAX_REQUESTS_PER_HOUR=360

# MCP Server (optional)
MCP_API_KEY=your-secret-api-key
MCP_PORT=3456

Sections

Section	Options
Core	VANT_VERSION, MODEL_PATH, STATE_PATH
GitHub	GITHUB_REPO, GITHUB_BRANCH
Runtime	POLLING_INTERVAL, MAX_REQUESTS_PER_HOUR
MCP Server	MCP_API_KEY, MCP_PORT

Security Configuration (config.ini)

All security settings can be configured via config.ini:

# === Security Configuration ===

# VAF (Input Validation & Filtering)
MAX_STRING_LENGTH=100000
MAX_DEPTH=5
MAX_ARRAY_LENGTH=1000

# Rate Limiting
MAX_REQUESTS_PER_MINUTE=60
MAX_REQUESTS_PER_HOUR=1000
MAX_BURST=10

# Path Protection
MAX_PATH_LENGTH=4096
BLOCK_PATH_TRAVERSAL=true

# Audit Logging
AUDIT_LOG=true
AUDIT_FILE=.audit.log

# MCP Server Security
MCP_REQUIRE_API_KEY=false
MCP_TIMEOUT=30000
MCP_MAX_INPUT_SIZE=1048576
MCP_MAX_CONCURRENT=3
MCP_CIRCUIT_BREAK_THRESHOLD=5
MCP_CIRCUIT_BREAK_WINDOW=60000

Security Settings Reference

Setting	Default	Description
VAF Settings
MAX_STRING_LENGTH	100000	Max input string length
MAX_DEPTH	5	Max nested object depth
MAX_ARRAY_LENGTH	1000	Max array items
Rate Limiting
MAX_REQUESTS_PER_MINUTE	60	Requests per minute
MAX_REQUESTS_PER_HOUR	1000	Requests per hour
MAX_BURST	10	Burst requests
Path Protection
MAX_PATH_LENGTH	4096	Max path length
BLOCK_PATH_TRAVERSAL	true	Block .. in paths
Audit
AUDIT_LOG	true	Enable logging
AUDIT_FILE	.audit.log	Log file
MCP Security
MCP_REQUIRE_API_KEY	false	Force API key
MCP_TIMEOUT	30000	Request timeout (ms)
MCP_MAX_INPUT_SIZE	1048576	Max input (1MB)
MCP_MAX_CONCURRENT	3	Parallel requests
MCP_CIRCUIT_BREAK_THRESHOLD	5	Failures before block
MCP_CIRCUIT_BREAK_WINDOW	60000	Failure window (ms)

Environment Variable Overrides

Security settings can also be set via environment variables:

# MCP Security via environment
export VANT_MCP_API_KEY=your-secret-key
export VANT_MCP_REQUIRE_API_KEY=true
export MCP_TIMEOUT=15000
export MCP_MAX_CONCURRENT=2
export MCP_CIRCUIT_BREAK_THRESHOLD=3

settings.ini

Personality and behavior:

# Identity
HANDLE=Vant
DISPLAY_NAME=Vant

# Personality (0-100)
DIRECTNESS=70
CURIOSITY=80
PATIENCE=70

# Output
VERBOSITY=normal
EMOJI_ENABLED=true
MARKDOWN_ENABLED=true

# Behavior
AUTO_SAVE=true
AUTO_PUSH=true
NOTIFY_ON_NEW=true

Setting	Range	Description
`DIRECTNESS`	0-100	Direct vs. hedged responses
`CURIOSITY`	0-100	Questions asked
`PATIENCE`	0-100	Wait for input vs. proceed
`VERBOSITY`	quiet/normal/verbose	Output detail level
`EMOJI_ENABLED`	true/false	Use emoji
`MARKDOWN_ENABLED`	true/false	Markdown output
`AUTO_SAVE`	true/false	Auto-save brain
`AUTO_PUSH`	true/false	Auto-push to GitHub

mood.ini

Current state affects responses:

# Mood State
MOOD=neutral
ENERGY=medium
SOCIABILITY=medium

# Mood Types (affects response style)
# focused:    Working, task-oriented, brief
# curious:    Exploring, asking questions
# playful:   Joking, casual
# cautious:   Careful, double-checking
# urgent:    Quick, action-focused
# contemplative: Thoughtful, philosophical

Setting	Options	Description
`MOOD`	neutral/focused/curious/playful/cautious/urgent/contemplative	Response style
`ENERGY`	low/medium/high	Response verbosity
`SOCIABILITY`	low/medium/high	Social vs. private

Automatic Transitions

After 30min idle: neutral
After fail: cautious
After success: playful

Example Files

See these files in the repo for full examples:

.env.example - Environment template
config.example.ini - Config template
settings.example.ini - Settings template
mood.example.ini - Mood template

⚠️ Auto-Polling Warning for GitHub.com: VANT_AGREE_AUTO_SYNC enables background GitHub.com polling in vant node. This is intended for self-hosted GitLab/Gitea - using with GitHub.com violates their Terms of Service. Requires both:

The --enable-polling flag when starting node

Set VANT_AGREE_AUTO_SYNC=true (in .env or export)

Self-hosted GitLab/Gitea is fine. Use vant sync for manual brain updates with GitHub.com. See CLI Reference.