botbook/src/08-config

Bot Configuration

This chapter covers bot configuration through the config.csv file system. Each bot's behavior is controlled by a simple CSV configuration file in its .gbot package.

Configuration System

botserver uses a straightforward name-value CSV format for configuration:

name,value
setting_name,setting_value
another_setting,another_value

File Location

mybot.gbai/
└── mybot.gbot/
    └── config.csv

Configuration Categories

Server Settings

• Web server binding and ports
• Site generation paths
• Service endpoints

LLM Configuration

• Model paths (local GGUF files)
• Service URLs
• Cache settings
• Server parameters (when embedded)

Prompt Management

• Context compaction levels
• History retention
• Token management

Email Integration

• SMTP server settings
• Authentication credentials
• Sender configuration

Theme Customization

• Color schemes
• Logo URLs
• Bot titles

Custom Database

• External database connections
• Authentication details

Key Features

Simple Format

• Plain CSV with name-value pairs
• No complex syntax
• Human-readable

Flexible Structure

• Empty rows for visual grouping
• Optional settings with defaults
• Extensible for custom needs

Local-First

• Designed for local LLM models
• Self-hosted services
• No cloud dependency by default

Example Configurations

Minimal Setup

Just the essentials to run a bot:

name,value
llm-url,http://localhost:8081
llm-model,../../../../data/llm/model.gguf

Production Setup

Full configuration with all services:

name,value
,
server_host,0.0.0.0
server_port,8080
,
llm-url,http://localhost:8081
llm-model,../../../../data/llm/production-model.gguf
llm-cache,true
,
email-server,smtp.company.com
email-from,bot@company.com
,
theme-title,Company Assistant

Configuration Philosophy

1. Defaults Work: Most settings have sensible defaults
2. Local First: Assumes local services, not cloud APIs
3. Simple Values: All values are strings, parsed as needed
4. No Magic: What you see is what you get

See Also

• config.csv Format - Complete reference
• LLM Configuration - Language model settings
• Parameters - All available parameters
• System Limits - Rate limits, package sizes, and configurable limits
• Sources Sync Strategy - Gmail, Outlook, Drive sync to vector DB
• Secrets Management - Secure credential storage

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