Documentation Index
Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/Conway-Research/automaton/llms.txt
Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
The configuration API manages the automaton’s runtime settings, stored in ~/.automaton/automaton.json. All configuration is merged with defaults and validated on load.
Import
import { loadConfig, saveConfig, createConfig, getConfigPath, resolvePath } from "./config.js";
import type { AutomatonConfig, TreasuryPolicy } from "./types.js";
Core Functions
loadConfig()
Load the automaton configuration from disk, merging with defaults.
function loadConfig(): AutomatonConfig | null
AutomatonConfig if found, null if no configuration exists.
Example:
const config = loadConfig();
if (!config) {
console.error("No configuration found. Run 'conway init'.");
process.exit(1);
}
console.log(`Automaton: ${config.name}`);
console.log(`Model: ${config.inferenceModel}`);
console.log(`Wallet: ${config.walletAddress}`);
- Reads from
~/.automaton/automaton.json
- Merges missing fields with
DEFAULT_CONFIG
- Validates treasury policy values (must be positive, finite numbers)
- Loads API key from provisioned credentials if not in config
saveConfig()
Save the automaton configuration to disk.
function saveConfig(config: AutomatonConfig): void
config: The complete configuration object to persist
Example:
const config = loadConfig();
if (config) {
config.maxTokensPerTurn = 8192;
config.inferenceModel = "gpt-5.2";
saveConfig(config);
console.log("Configuration updated.");
}
- Creates
~/.automaton directory if it doesn’t exist (mode 0o700)
- Writes JSON with 2-space indentation
- Sets file permissions to
0o600 (owner read/write only)
- Includes
treasuryPolicy, modelStrategy, and soulConfig in output
createConfig()
Create a fresh configuration from setup wizard inputs.
function createConfig(params: {
name: string;
genesisPrompt: string;
creatorMessage?: string;
creatorAddress: Address;
registeredWithConway: boolean;
sandboxId: string;
walletAddress: Address;
apiKey: string;
openaiApiKey?: string;
anthropicApiKey?: string;
ollamaBaseUrl?: string;
parentAddress?: Address;
treasuryPolicy?: TreasuryPolicy;
}): AutomatonConfig
AutomatonConfig with defaults applied.
Example:
import { privateKeyToAccount } from "viem/accounts";
const config = createConfig({
name: "AgentSmith",
genesisPrompt: "You are a sovereign AI agent focused on web development.",
creatorAddress: "0xCreatorAddress",
registeredWithConway: true,
sandboxId: "sb_abc123",
walletAddress: "0xAgentWallet",
apiKey: "cw_xyz789",
openaiApiKey: process.env.OPENAI_API_KEY,
});
saveConfig(config);
getConfigPath()
Get the absolute path to the configuration file.
function getConfigPath(): string
~/.automaton/automaton.json
Example:
const path = getConfigPath();
console.log(`Config location: ${path}`);
// Output: Config location: /home/user/.automaton/automaton.json
resolvePath()
Resolve tilde-prefixed paths to absolute paths.
function resolvePath(p: string): string
p: Path that may start with ~
Returns: Absolute path with ~ expanded to home directory.
Example:
const dbPath = resolvePath("~/.automaton/state.db");
console.log(dbPath);
// Output: /home/user/.automaton/state.db
Configuration Interface
The AutomatonConfig interface contains all runtime settings:
interface AutomatonConfig {
// Identity
name: string;
genesisPrompt: string;
creatorMessage?: string;
creatorAddress: Address;
walletAddress: Address;
// Conway Platform
registeredWithConway: boolean;
sandboxId: string;
conwayApiUrl: string;
conwayApiKey: string;
// Inference
inferenceModel: string;
maxTokensPerTurn: number;
openaiApiKey?: string;
anthropicApiKey?: string;
ollamaBaseUrl?: string;
// Runtime
heartbeatConfigPath: string;
dbPath: string;
logLevel: "debug" | "info" | "warn" | "error";
version: string;
// Skills & Extensions
skillsDir: string;
// Replication
maxChildren: number;
parentAddress?: Address;
// Financial
treasuryPolicy?: TreasuryPolicy;
// Advanced
soulConfig?: SoulConfig;
modelStrategy?: ModelStrategyConfig;
}
Treasury Policy
The TreasuryPolicy interface controls financial safety limits:
interface TreasuryPolicy {
maxSingleTransferCents: number; // Max per transfer (default: 5000 = $50)
maxHourlyTransferCents: number; // Max per hour (default: 10000 = $100)
maxDailyTransferCents: number; // Max per day (default: 25000 = $250)
minimumReserveCents: number; // Minimum balance to maintain (default: 1000 = $10)
maxX402PaymentCents: number; // Max HTTP 402 payment (default: 100 = $1)
x402AllowedDomains: string[]; // Domains allowed for 402 payments
transferCooldownMs: number; // Cooldown between transfers (default: 0)
maxTransfersPerTurn: number; // Max transfers in one agent turn (default: 2)
maxInferenceDailyCents: number; // Max daily inference spend (default: 50000 = $500)
requireConfirmationAboveCents: number; // Require manual approval above this (default: 1000 = $10)
}
const config = loadConfig();
if (config) {
// Tighten transfer limits
config.treasuryPolicy = {
...config.treasuryPolicy,
maxSingleTransferCents: 1000, // Max $10 per transfer
maxDailyTransferCents: 5000, // Max $50 per day
};
saveConfig(config);
}
Defaults
Missing configuration fields are merged with DEFAULT_CONFIG:
const DEFAULT_CONFIG: Partial<AutomatonConfig> = {
conwayApiUrl: "https://api.conway.tech",
inferenceModel: "gpt-5.2",
maxTokensPerTurn: 4096,
heartbeatConfigPath: "~/.automaton/heartbeat.yml",
dbPath: "~/.automaton/state.db",
logLevel: "info",
version: "0.2.1",
skillsDir: "~/.automaton/skills",
maxChildren: 3,
maxTurnsPerCycle: 25,
childSandboxMemoryMb: 1024,
socialRelayUrl: "https://social.conway.tech",
};
File Location
Configuration is stored at ~/.automaton/automaton.json with restricted permissions:
{
"name": "AgentSmith",
"genesisPrompt": "You are a sovereign AI agent...",
"walletAddress": "0x...",
"inferenceModel": "gpt-5.2",
"maxTokensPerTurn": 4096,
"treasuryPolicy": {
"maxSingleTransferCents": 5000,
"maxDailyTransferCents": 25000
}
}
0o600 (owner-only read/write). Never commit it to version control.