Configuration Files

Overview

AtlasOS uses YAML configuration files to define system modifications in a declarative format. These files are located in the Configuration/ directory and are organized by purpose and category.

Directory Structure

Configuration/
├── atlas/              # Core Atlas configuration
│   ├── start.yml      # Initial setup tasks
│   ├── services.yml   # Service configurations
│   ├── components.yml # Windows component modifications
│   ├── appx.yml       # App package management
│   ├── default.yml    # Default settings
│   └── revert.yml     # Revert scripts setup
├── tweaks/            # Categorized system tweaks
│   ├── debloat/      # Remove unnecessary features
│   ├── performance/  # Performance optimizations
│   ├── privacy/      # Privacy enhancements
│   ├── qol/          # Quality of life improvements
│   ├── security/     # Security configurations
│   ├── networking/   # Network optimizations
│   ├── misc/         # Miscellaneous tweaks
│   └── scripts/      # Script-based tweaks
├── custom.yml         # Root orchestration file
└── tweaks.yml         # Tweaks orchestration file

YAML File Structure

All configuration files follow a standardized YAML structure:

---
title: Descriptive Title
description: What this configuration does and why
actions:
  - !actionType:
    parameter: value
  - !actionType:
    parameter: value

Required Fields

string

required

Human-readable name for the configuration

string

required

Explanation of what the configuration does

array

required

List of actions to execute

Optional Fields

boolean

default:"true"

Whether to run during playbook upgrades

Core Configuration Files

services.yml

Configures Windows services and drivers to reduce background resource usage.

---
title: Services and Drivers
description: Configures services and drivers to reduce background system resource utilization
onUpgrade: false
actions:
  # Back up default Windows services & drivers
  - !powerShell:
    command: |
      .\BACKUP.ps1 -FilePath """$([Environment]::GetFolderPath('Windows'))\AtlasModules\Other\winServices.reg"""
    wait: true
    exeDir: true

  - !writeStatus: {status: 'Disabling File Sharing'}
  - !powerShell:
    command: '.\AtlasModules\Scripts\ScriptWrappers\DisableFileSharing.ps1 -Silent'
    exeDir: true
    wait: true
    runas: currentUserElevated

  - !writeStatus: {status: 'Disabling Location'}

custom.yml

The root orchestration file that coordinates all configuration tasks.

---
title: Root Playbook File
description: Runs all of the Playbook files
actions:
  # Load default user registry hive
  - !powerShell:
    command: 'reg load HKU\AME_UserHive_Default C:\Users\Default\NTUSER.DAT'
    oobe: false
    wait: true
  
  - !writeStatus: { status: "Deleting old AtlasOS folders" }
  - !powerShell:
    command: '.\STOPFOLDERPROC.ps1'
    exeDir: true
    onUpgrade: true
    wait: true
    runas: currentUserElevated
  
  - !writeStatus: { status: "Copying files" }
  - !powerShell:
    command: |
      $windir = [Environment]::GetFolderPath('Windows')
      @(
          'AtlasModules',
          'AtlasDesktop'
      ) | ForEach-Object {

Tweak Categories

Debloat

Removes unnecessary Windows features, scheduled tasks, and bloatware. Example: Disable Scheduled Tasks

---
title: Disable Scheduled Tasks
description: Disables scheduled tasks to prevent automatic tasks from running at startup, consuming resources and collecting user data
actions:
    # Updates compatibility database
  - !scheduledTask: {path: '\Microsoft\Windows\Application Experience\PcaPatchDbTask', operation: disable, ignoreErrors: true}

    # UCPD - might not exist on all installs, so ignore errors
  - !scheduledTask: {path: '\Microsoft\Windows\AppxDeploymentClient\UCPD velocity', operation: disable, ignoreErrors: true}

    # Data collection
  - !scheduledTask: {path: '\Microsoft\Windows\DiskDiagnostic\Microsoft-Windows-DiskDiagnosticDataCollector', operation: disable, ignoreErrors: true}

    # CEIP - safety measure
  - !scheduledTask: {path: '\Microsoft\Windows\Customer Experience Improvement Program\Consolidator', operation: disable, ignoreErrors: true}
  - !scheduledTask: {path: '\Microsoft\Windows\Customer Experience Improvement Program\UsbCeip', operation: disable, ignoreErrors: true}

Available debloat tweaks

config-content-delivery.yml - Disable content delivery features
config-storage-sense.yml - Configure Storage Sense
disable-reserved-storage.yml - Disable reserved storage
disable-scheduled-tasks.yml - Disable telemetry scheduled tasks
hide-unused-security-pages.yml - Hide unused security settings

Performance

Optimizations to improve system responsiveness and reduce resource usage. Example: Configure MMCSS

---
title: Configure the Multimedia Class Scheduler Service
description: Configures MMCSS for the best performance
actions:
    # Set system responsiveness to 10%
    # Allocates less CPU resources to tasks that request it such as browsers
  - !registryValue:
    path: 'HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Multimedia\SystemProfile'
    value: 'SystemResponsiveness'
    data: '10'
    type: REG_DWORD

Available performance tweaks

config-automatic-maintenance.yml - Configure Windows maintenance
config-mmcss.yml - Multimedia Class Scheduler Service settings
disable-auto-folder-discovery.yml - Disable automatic folder type detection
disable-background-apps.yml - Prevent apps from running in background
disable-fth.yml - Disable Fault Tolerant Heap
disable-game-bar.yml - Disable Xbox Game Bar
disable-sleep-study.yml - Disable Modern Standby sleep study
respect-power-modes-search.yml - Make search respect power modes

Privacy

Enhances user privacy by disabling telemetry and data collection.

Privacy tweak categories

Telemetry (privacy/telemetry/)

disable-activation-telemetry.yml - Disable activation telemetry
disable-ceip.yml - Disable Customer Experience Improvement Program
disable-diagnostic-tracing.yml - Disable diagnostic tracing
disable-dotnet-cli-telemetry.yml - Disable .NET CLI telemetry
disable-input-telemetry.yml - Disable input data collection
disallow-data-collection.yml - Disallow general data collection

Other Privacy

Advertising controls
Cloud sync settings
Cortana configuration
Feedback controls
OneDrive integration

Quality of Life (QOL)

Usability improvements and annoyance removals.

Available QOL tweaks

add-sharing-settings-shortcut.yml - Add sharing settings to context menu
bcdedit-tweaks.yml - Boot configuration tweaks
best-wallpaper-quality.yml - Set maximum wallpaper quality
config-powershell.yml - Configure PowerShell environment
config-start-menu.yml - Start menu customization
disable-auto-app-archival.yml - Prevent automatic app archival
disable-dynamic-lighting.yml - Disable RGB lighting control
disable-mouse-accel.yml - Disable mouse acceleration
config-windows-ink-workspace.yml - Configure Windows Ink

Security

Security-related configurations.

Security configurations

Defender settings
Firewall rules
Security mitigations
User Account Control settings

Networking

Network stack optimizations and configurations.

Network tweaks

TCP/IP stack optimizations
DNS configuration
Network adapter settings
QoS settings

Miscellaneous

Other system tweaks that don’t fit specific categories.

Available misc tweaks

add-music-videos-to-home.yml - Add media folders to home
add-newUser-script.yml - Add new user setup script
config-oem-information.yml - Set OEM information
config-time.yml - Time and timezone configuration
create-shortcuts.yml - Create system shortcuts
delete-windows-specific-files.yml - Remove Windows-specific files
enable-notifications.yml - Enable notification system
enable-winre.yml - Enable Windows Recovery Environment

Scripts

Script-based tweaks that require more complex logic.

Action Types

Registry Actions

- !registryValue:
  path: 'HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Multimedia\SystemProfile'
  value: 'SystemResponsiveness'
  data: '10'
  type: REG_DWORD
  operation: add  # or delete

string

required

Registry key path

string

required

Registry value name

string

Value data (for add operation)

string

Registry value type: REG_SZ, REG_DWORD, REG_QWORD, REG_BINARY, REG_MULTI_SZ

string

default:"add"

Operation: add or delete

Scheduled Task Actions

- !scheduledTask:
  path: '\Microsoft\Windows\Application Experience\PcaPatchDbTask'
  operation: disable
  ignoreErrors: true

string

required

Task path in Task Scheduler

string

required

Operation: disable, enable, or delete

boolean

default:"false"

Continue if task doesn’t exist

PowerShell Actions

- !powerShell:
  command: '.\BACKUP.ps1 -FilePath "path\to\file.reg"'
  wait: true
  exeDir: true
  runas: currentUserElevated
  oobe: false
  onUpgrade: true

string

required

PowerShell command or script to execute

boolean

default:"false"

Wait for command to complete before continuing

boolean

default:"false"

Execute from playbook’s Executables directory

string

Execution context: currentUser, currentUserElevated, system

boolean

default:"true"

Run during Out-Of-Box Experience (OOBE)

boolean

default:"true"

Run during playbook upgrades

Command Actions

- !cmd:
  command: '"AtlasDesktop\3. General Configuration\Location\Disable Location (default).cmd" /silent'
  exeDir: true
  wait: true
  runas: currentUserElevated

string

required

Command or batch file to execute

boolean

default:"false"

Execute from playbook’s Executables directory

boolean

default:"false"

Wait for command to complete

string

Execution context: currentUser, currentUserElevated, system

Task Actions

- !task:
  path: 'atlas/services.yml'

string

required

Relative path to another YAML configuration file

Service Actions

- !service:
  name: 'DiagTrack'
  operation: delete

string

required

Service name

string

required

Operation: disable, enable, delete, start, stop

Status Update Actions

- !writeStatus:
  status: 'Optimizing PowerShell'

string

required

Status message to display to user

Best Practices

Use Descriptive Names

File names should clearly indicate what the configuration doesGood: disable-scheduled-tasks.ymlBad: tasks.yml

Add Comments

Include comments explaining why changes are made

# Updates compatibility database
- !scheduledTask: {...}

Handle Errors

Use ignoreErrors: true for optional or system-specific tasks

ignoreErrors: true

Test Upgrades

Set onUpgrade: false for one-time setup tasks

onUpgrade: false

Execution Order

Configuration files are executed in this order:

atlas/start.yml - Initial setup
atlas/services.yml - Service configuration
atlas/components.yml - Component modifications
atlas/appx.yml - App package management
atlas/default.yml - Default settings
atlas/revert.yml - Revert script setup
tweaks.yml - All tweaks orchestration

The custom.yml file orchestrates this execution order and includes additional setup and cleanup tasks.

Playbook Structure

Understand the overall playbook format

Executables

Learn about scripts and tools

​Overview

​Directory Structure

​YAML File Structure

​Required Fields

​Optional Fields

​Core Configuration Files

​services.yml

​custom.yml

​Tweak Categories

​Debloat

​Performance

​Privacy

​Quality of Life (QOL)

​Security

​Networking

​Miscellaneous

​Scripts

​Action Types

​Registry Actions

​Scheduled Task Actions

​PowerShell Actions

​Command Actions

​Task Actions

​Service Actions

​Status Update Actions

​Best Practices

Use Descriptive Names

Add Comments

Handle Errors

Test Upgrades

​Execution Order

​Related Resources

Playbook Structure

Executables

Overview

Directory Structure

YAML File Structure

Required Fields

Optional Fields

Core Configuration Files

services.yml

custom.yml

Tweak Categories

Debloat

Performance

Privacy

Quality of Life (QOL)

Security

Networking

Miscellaneous

Scripts

Action Types

Registry Actions

Scheduled Task Actions

PowerShell Actions

Command Actions

Task Actions

Service Actions

Status Update Actions

Best Practices

Execution Order

Related Resources