# Configuration

Atomic has two kinds of configuration:

- **Server configuration** \- command-line flags and environment variables that control how `atomic-server` starts.
- **Runtime settings** \- key-value settings stored in the registry or data database and editable through the UI/API.

## Command-Line Options

```
atomic-server [GLOBAL_OPTIONS] <COMMAND>

Global options:

--data-dir <path>       Directory containing registry.db and data databases

--db-path <path>        Deprecated; use --data-dir

Commands:

serve                   Start the HTTP server

token                   Manage API tokens
```

## Serve Options

```
atomic-server --data-dir ./data serve \

--bind 0.0.0.0 \

--port 8080 \

--public-url https://atomic.example.com
```

| Flag | Env Var | Default | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `--port` |  | `8080` | Port to listen on |
| `--bind` |  | `127.0.0.1` | Address to bind to |
| `--public-url` | `PUBLIC_URL` | unset | Public URL used for OAuth/MCP discovery |
| `--storage` | `ATOMIC_STORAGE` | `sqlite` | Storage backend: `sqlite` or `postgres` |
| `--database-url` | `ATOMIC_DATABASE_URL` | unset | Postgres connection string when using Postgres |

Use `--bind 0.0.0.0` only when the server should accept connections from outside the host or container network. Put it behind a reverse proxy for public deployments.

## Token Command Options

The token command must point at the same data directory or storage backend as the server:

```
atomic-server --data-dir ./data token create --name "my-laptop"

atomic-server --data-dir ./data token list

atomic-server --data-dir ./data token revoke <token-id>
```

For Postgres:

```
ATOMIC_STORAGE=postgres \

ATOMIC_DATABASE_URL=postgres://user:pass@host:5432/atomic \

atomic-server token list
```

## Runtime Settings

Runtime settings are available through:

- The Settings UI
- `GET /api/settings`
- `PUT /api/settings/{key}`
- SQLite/Postgres direct inspection for operators

Important settings include:

| Key | Purpose |
| --- | --- |
| `provider` | `openrouter`, `ollama`, or OpenAI-compatible provider selection |
| `embedding_model` | OpenRouter embedding model |
| `tagging_model` | OpenRouter tagging model |
| `wiki_model` | Wiki and briefing model |
| `chat_model` | Chat model |
| `auto_tagging_enabled` | Enables or disables automatic tagging |
| `ollama_host` | Ollama server URL |
| `openai_compat_base_url` | OpenAI-compatible API base URL |
| `task.daily_briefing.enabled` | Enables scheduled briefings |
| `task.daily_briefing.interval_hours` | Briefing interval |
| `task.draft_pipeline.enabled` | Enables scheduled draft pipeline processing |

Inspect SQLite settings:

```
sqlite3 databases/registry.db "SELECT key, value FROM settings;"
```

## Registry vs Data Databases

Atomic uses a registry database plus one or more data databases. Global settings and API tokens live in the registry. Atoms, tags, chunks, wiki articles, conversations, feeds, and briefings live in data databases.

For multi-database deployments, background jobs and per-database state are isolated by database. See [Multi-Database](/content/guides/multi-database/index.html).

## Health and Docs

Public endpoints useful for operations:

- `GET /health`
- `GET /api/docs`
- `GET /api/docs/openapi.json`

Authenticated status endpoints:

- `GET /api/embeddings/status`
- `GET /api/embeddings/status/all`
- `GET /api/logs`