Most fields in ~/.operator/config.json can be overridden at runtime with environment variables. This is especially useful for Docker deployments, CI environments, or any situation where modifying a file on disk is inconvenient.
Naming convention
OPERATOR_<SECTION>_<KEY>=value
- Section and key names are uppercased.
- Nested JSON keys are joined with underscores.
- Boolean values:
true / false.
- Integer and float values: plain numeric strings (e.g.,
"8192", "0.7").
Example:
# JSON equivalent: agents.defaults.model_name = "gpt4"
export OPERATOR_AGENTS_DEFAULTS_MODEL_NAME=gpt4
# JSON equivalent: tools.web.brave.enabled = true
export OPERATOR_TOOLS_WEB_BRAVE_ENABLED=true
Complex nested map-style config — such as tools.mcp.servers.<name>.* and model_list entries — cannot be set via environment variables. Configure these in config.json.
Agent defaults
| Variable | Type | Default | Description |
|---|
OPERATOR_AGENTS_DEFAULTS_WORKSPACE | string | ~/.operator/workspace | Agent working directory. |
OPERATOR_AGENTS_DEFAULTS_RESTRICT_TO_WORKSPACE | bool | true | Prevent reading/writing outside the workspace. |
OPERATOR_AGENTS_DEFAULTS_ALLOW_READ_OUTSIDE_WORKSPACE | bool | false | Allow reading (but not writing) outside the workspace. |
OPERATOR_AGENTS_DEFAULTS_MODEL_NAME | string | — | Active model alias. Must match a model_name in model_list. |
OPERATOR_AGENTS_DEFAULTS_MODEL | string | — | Deprecated alias for MODEL_NAME. Prefer MODEL_NAME. |
OPERATOR_AGENTS_DEFAULTS_IMAGE_MODEL | string | — | Model alias used for image-generation tasks. |
OPERATOR_AGENTS_DEFAULTS_MAX_TOKENS | int | 32768 | Maximum tokens per model response. |
OPERATOR_AGENTS_DEFAULTS_TEMPERATURE | float | (provider default) | Sampling temperature (0.0–2.0). |
OPERATOR_AGENTS_DEFAULTS_MAX_TOOL_ITERATIONS | int | 50 | Maximum tool-call cycles per agent turn. |
OPERATOR_AGENTS_DEFAULTS_MAX_MEDIA_SIZE | int | 20971520 | Maximum media attachment size in bytes. |
export OPERATOR_AGENTS_DEFAULTS_MODEL_NAME=claude
export OPERATOR_AGENTS_DEFAULTS_MAX_TOKENS=16384
export OPERATOR_AGENTS_DEFAULTS_TEMPERATURE=0.5
export OPERATOR_AGENTS_DEFAULTS_MAX_TOOL_ITERATIONS=30
| Variable | Type | Default | Description |
|---|
OPERATOR_TOOLS_WEB_PROXY | string | "" | HTTP/SOCKS5 proxy for all web requests. |
OPERATOR_TOOLS_WEB_FETCH_LIMIT_BYTES | int | 10485760 | Maximum bytes fetched per URL (default 10 MB). |
OPERATOR_TOOLS_WEB_BRAVE_ENABLED | bool | false | Enable Brave Search. |
OPERATOR_TOOLS_WEB_BRAVE_API_KEY | string | "" | Brave Search API key. |
OPERATOR_TOOLS_WEB_BRAVE_MAX_RESULTS | int | 5 | Maximum Brave search results per query. |
OPERATOR_TOOLS_WEB_DUCKDUCKGO_ENABLED | bool | true | Enable DuckDuckGo search. |
OPERATOR_TOOLS_WEB_DUCKDUCKGO_MAX_RESULTS | int | 5 | Maximum DuckDuckGo results per query. |
OPERATOR_TOOLS_WEB_PERPLEXITY_ENABLED | bool | false | Enable Perplexity search. |
OPERATOR_TOOLS_WEB_PERPLEXITY_API_KEY | string | "" | Perplexity API key. |
OPERATOR_TOOLS_WEB_PERPLEXITY_MAX_RESULTS | int | 5 | Maximum Perplexity results per query. |
OPERATOR_TOOLS_WEB_TAVILY_ENABLED | bool | false | Enable Tavily search. |
OPERATOR_TOOLS_WEB_TAVILY_API_KEY | string | "" | Tavily API key. |
OPERATOR_TOOLS_WEB_TAVILY_BASE_URL | string | "" | Override Tavily API base URL. |
OPERATOR_TOOLS_WEB_TAVILY_MAX_RESULTS | int | 5 | Maximum Tavily results per query. |
export OPERATOR_TOOLS_WEB_BRAVE_ENABLED=true
export OPERATOR_TOOLS_WEB_BRAVE_API_KEY=BSA-your-key
export OPERATOR_TOOLS_WEB_PROXY=http://proxy.corp.example.com:8080
| Variable | Type | Default | Description |
|---|
OPERATOR_TOOLS_EXEC_ENABLE_DENY_PATTERNS | bool | true | Enable built-in dangerous command blocking. |
OPERATOR_TOOLS_EXEC_CUSTOM_DENY_PATTERNS | string | "" | Comma-separated additional deny regex patterns. |
OPERATOR_TOOLS_EXEC_CUSTOM_ALLOW_PATTERNS | string | "" | Comma-separated allow-override regex patterns. |
# Disable all default command blocking (use with extreme care)
export OPERATOR_TOOLS_EXEC_ENABLE_DENY_PATTERNS=false
| Variable | Type | Default | Description |
|---|
OPERATOR_TOOLS_CRON_EXEC_TIMEOUT_MINUTES | int | 5 | Cron task execution timeout in minutes. 0 means no timeout. |
export OPERATOR_TOOLS_CRON_EXEC_TIMEOUT_MINUTES=10
| Variable | Type | Default | Description |
|---|
OPERATOR_TOOLS_MCP_ENABLED | bool | false | Enable MCP server integration globally. |
export OPERATOR_TOOLS_MCP_ENABLED=true
Individual MCP server definitions (tools.mcp.servers.*) are not configurable via environment variables. Define them in config.json.
Path restrictions
| Variable | Type | Default | Description |
|---|
OPERATOR_TOOLS_ALLOW_READ_PATHS | string | "" | Comma-separated additional paths the agent may read. |
OPERATOR_TOOLS_ALLOW_WRITE_PATHS | string | "" | Comma-separated additional paths the agent may write. |
Skills
| Variable | Type | Default | Description |
|---|
OPERATOR_SKILLS_REGISTRIES_CLAWHUB_ENABLED | bool | true | Enable the ClawHub skill registry. |
OPERATOR_SKILLS_REGISTRIES_CLAWHUB_BASE_URL | string | https://clawhub.ai | ClawHub API base URL. |
OPERATOR_SKILLS_REGISTRIES_CLAWHUB_AUTH_TOKEN | string | "" | Authentication token for the registry. |
OPERATOR_SKILLS_REGISTRIES_CLAWHUB_SEARCH_PATH | string | /api/v1/search | Search endpoint path. |
OPERATOR_SKILLS_REGISTRIES_CLAWHUB_SKILLS_PATH | string | /api/v1/skills | Skills list endpoint path. |
OPERATOR_SKILLS_REGISTRIES_CLAWHUB_DOWNLOAD_PATH | string | /api/v1/download | Download endpoint path. |
OPERATOR_SKILLS_REGISTRIES_CLAWHUB_TIMEOUT | int | (default) | Registry request timeout in seconds. |
OPERATOR_SKILLS_REGISTRIES_CLAWHUB_MAX_ZIP_SIZE | int | (default) | Maximum skill ZIP size in bytes. |
OPERATOR_SKILLS_REGISTRIES_CLAWHUB_MAX_RESPONSE_SIZE | int | (default) | Maximum registry response size in bytes. |
OPERATOR_SKILLS_MAX_CONCURRENT_SEARCHES | int | 2 | Maximum simultaneous registry search requests. |
OPERATOR_SKILLS_SEARCH_CACHE_MAX_SIZE | int | 50 | Maximum cached search entries. |
OPERATOR_SKILLS_SEARCH_CACHE_TTL_SECONDS | int | 300 | Search cache TTL in seconds. |
Channels
Each channel exposes environment variables for its primary fields. The pattern is OPERATOR_CHANNELS_<CHANNEL>_<FIELD>.
Telegram
| Variable | Type | Default | Description |
|---|
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_TELEGRAM_ENABLED | bool | false | Enable Telegram channel. |
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_TELEGRAM_TOKEN | string | "" | Telegram bot token. |
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_TELEGRAM_BASE_URL | string | "" | Custom Telegram Bot API base URL. |
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_TELEGRAM_PROXY | string | "" | HTTP/SOCKS5 proxy. |
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_TELEGRAM_ALLOW_FROM | string | "" | Comma-separated allowlist of user IDs. |
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_TELEGRAM_REASONING_CHANNEL_ID | string | "" | Chat ID for reasoning output. |
Discord
| Variable | Type | Default | Description |
|---|
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_DISCORD_ENABLED | bool | false | Enable Discord channel. |
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_DISCORD_TOKEN | string | "" | Discord bot token. |
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_DISCORD_PROXY | string | "" | HTTP/SOCKS5 proxy. |
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_DISCORD_ALLOW_FROM | string | "" | Comma-separated allowlist of user IDs. |
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_DISCORD_MENTION_ONLY | bool | false | Only respond to @mentions (deprecated; use group_trigger). |
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_DISCORD_REASONING_CHANNEL_ID | string | "" | Channel ID for reasoning output. |
Slack
| Variable | Type | Default | Description |
|---|
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_SLACK_ENABLED | bool | false | Enable Slack channel. |
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_SLACK_BOT_TOKEN | string | "" | Slack bot OAuth token (xoxb-…). |
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_SLACK_APP_TOKEN | string | "" | Slack app-level token (xapp-…). |
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_SLACK_ALLOW_FROM | string | "" | Comma-separated allowlist of user IDs. |
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_SLACK_REASONING_CHANNEL_ID | string | "" | Channel ID for reasoning output. |
WhatsApp
| Variable | Type | Default | Description |
|---|
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_WHATSAPP_ENABLED | bool | false | Enable WhatsApp channel. |
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_WHATSAPP_BRIDGE_URL | string | ws://localhost:3001 | WhatsApp bridge WebSocket URL. |
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_WHATSAPP_USE_NATIVE | bool | false | Use native mode instead of bridge. |
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_WHATSAPP_SESSION_STORE_PATH | string | "" | Path to store session data. |
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_WHATSAPP_ALLOW_FROM | string | "" | Comma-separated allowlist. |
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_WHATSAPP_REASONING_CHANNEL_ID | string | "" | JID for reasoning output. |
Feishu
| Variable | Type | Default | Description |
|---|
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_FEISHU_ENABLED | bool | false | Enable Feishu channel. |
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_FEISHU_APP_ID | string | "" | Feishu app ID. |
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_FEISHU_APP_SECRET | string | "" | Feishu app secret. |
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_FEISHU_ENCRYPT_KEY | string | "" | Feishu event encryption key. |
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_FEISHU_VERIFICATION_TOKEN | string | "" | Feishu webhook verification token. |
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_FEISHU_ALLOW_FROM | string | "" | Comma-separated allowlist of user IDs. |
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_FEISHU_REASONING_CHANNEL_ID | string | "" | Chat ID for reasoning output. |
DingTalk
| Variable | Type | Default | Description |
|---|
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_DINGTALK_ENABLED | bool | false | Enable DingTalk channel. |
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_DINGTALK_CLIENT_ID | string | "" | DingTalk app client ID. |
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_DINGTALK_CLIENT_SECRET | string | "" | DingTalk app client secret. |
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_DINGTALK_ALLOW_FROM | string | "" | Comma-separated allowlist of user IDs. |
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_DINGTALK_REASONING_CHANNEL_ID | string | "" | Chat ID for reasoning output. |
| Variable | Type | Default | Description |
|---|
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_QQ_ENABLED | bool | false | Enable QQ channel. |
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_QQ_APP_ID | string | "" | QQ app ID. |
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_QQ_APP_SECRET | string | "" | QQ app secret. |
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_QQ_ALLOW_FROM | string | "" | Comma-separated allowlist of user IDs. |
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_QQ_REASONING_CHANNEL_ID | string | "" | Chat ID for reasoning output. |
LINE
| Variable | Type | Default | Description |
|---|
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_LINE_ENABLED | bool | false | Enable LINE channel. |
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_LINE_CHANNEL_SECRET | string | "" | LINE channel secret. |
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_LINE_CHANNEL_ACCESS_TOKEN | string | "" | LINE channel access token. |
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_LINE_WEBHOOK_HOST | string | 0.0.0.0 | Webhook listener bind address. |
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_LINE_WEBHOOK_PORT | int | 18791 | Webhook listener port. |
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_LINE_WEBHOOK_PATH | string | /webhook/line | Webhook endpoint path. |
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_LINE_ALLOW_FROM | string | "" | Comma-separated allowlist of user IDs. |
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_LINE_REASONING_CHANNEL_ID | string | "" | Chat ID for reasoning output. |
OneBot
| Variable | Type | Default | Description |
|---|
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_ONEBOT_ENABLED | bool | false | Enable OneBot channel. |
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_ONEBOT_WS_URL | string | ws://127.0.0.1:3001 | OneBot WebSocket server URL. |
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_ONEBOT_ACCESS_TOKEN | string | "" | OneBot access token. |
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_ONEBOT_RECONNECT_INTERVAL | int | 5 | Reconnect interval in seconds. |
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_ONEBOT_ALLOW_FROM | string | "" | Comma-separated allowlist of user IDs. |
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_ONEBOT_REASONING_CHANNEL_ID | string | "" | Group/user ID for reasoning output. |
MaixCam
| Variable | Type | Default | Description |
|---|
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_MAIXCAM_ENABLED | bool | false | Enable MaixCam channel. |
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_MAIXCAM_HOST | string | 0.0.0.0 | Listener bind address. |
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_MAIXCAM_PORT | int | 18790 | Listener port. |
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_MAIXCAM_ALLOW_FROM | string | "" | Comma-separated allowlist of device IDs. |
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_MAIXCAM_REASONING_CHANNEL_ID | string | "" | Channel ID for reasoning output. |
| Variable | Type | Default | Description |
|---|
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_WECOM_ENABLED | bool | false | Enable WeCom Bot channel. |
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_WECOM_TOKEN | string | "" | WeCom verification token. |
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_WECOM_ENCODING_AES_KEY | string | "" | 43-character AES encoding key. |
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_WECOM_WEBHOOK_URL | string | "" | WeCom group robot webhook URL. |
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_WECOM_WEBHOOK_PATH | string | /webhook/wecom | Webhook endpoint path. |
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_WECOM_ALLOW_FROM | string | "" | Comma-separated allowlist of user IDs. |
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_WECOM_REPLY_TIMEOUT | int | 5 | Reply timeout in seconds. |
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_WECOM_REASONING_CHANNEL_ID | string | "" | Chat ID for reasoning output. |
| Variable | Type | Default | Description |
|---|
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_WECOM_APP_ENABLED | bool | false | Enable WeCom App channel. |
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_WECOM_APP_CORP_ID | string | "" | WeCom corporation ID. |
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_WECOM_APP_CORP_SECRET | string | "" | WeCom application secret. |
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_WECOM_APP_AGENT_ID | int | 0 | WeCom application agent ID. |
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_WECOM_APP_TOKEN | string | "" | WeCom verification token. |
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_WECOM_APP_ENCODING_AES_KEY | string | "" | 43-character AES encoding key. |
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_WECOM_APP_WEBHOOK_PATH | string | /webhook/wecom-app | Webhook endpoint path. |
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_WECOM_APP_ALLOW_FROM | string | "" | Comma-separated allowlist of user IDs. |
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_WECOM_APP_REPLY_TIMEOUT | int | 5 | Reply timeout in seconds. |
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_WECOM_APP_REASONING_CHANNEL_ID | string | "" | Chat ID for reasoning output. |
| Variable | Type | Default | Description |
|---|
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_WECOM_AIBOT_ENABLED | bool | false | Enable WeCom AI Bot channel. |
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_WECOM_AIBOT_TOKEN | string | "" | WeCom verification token. |
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_WECOM_AIBOT_ENCODING_AES_KEY | string | "" | 43-character AES encoding key. |
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_WECOM_AIBOT_WEBHOOK_PATH | string | /webhook/wecom-aibot | Webhook endpoint path. |
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_WECOM_AIBOT_MAX_STEPS | int | 10 | Maximum streaming steps per response. |
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_WECOM_AIBOT_WELCOME_MESSAGE | string | Hello! I'm your AI assistant... | Message sent on chat open. |
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_WECOM_AIBOT_ALLOW_FROM | string | "" | Comma-separated allowlist of user IDs. |
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_WECOM_AIBOT_REASONING_CHANNEL_ID | string | "" | Chat ID for reasoning output. |
Standard channel
| Variable | Type | Default | Description |
|---|
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_STANDARD_ENABLED | bool | false | Enable the standard WebSocket channel. |
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_STANDARD_TOKEN | string | "" | Bearer token for authenticating connections. |
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_STANDARD_ALLOW_FROM | string | "" | Comma-separated allowlist of client IDs. |
Heartbeat
| Variable | Type | Default | Description |
|---|
OPERATOR_HEARTBEAT_ENABLED | bool | true | Enable heartbeat pings. |
OPERATOR_HEARTBEAT_INTERVAL | int | 30 | Heartbeat interval in minutes (minimum effective: 5). |
Devices
| Variable | Type | Default | Description |
|---|
OPERATOR_DEVICES_ENABLED | bool | false | Enable device monitoring. |
OPERATOR_DEVICES_MONITOR_USB | bool | true | Monitor USB plug/unplug events. |
Gateway
| Variable | Type | Default | Description |
|---|
OPERATOR_GATEWAY_HOST | string | 127.0.0.1 | Bind address for the local gateway. |
OPERATOR_GATEWAY_PORT | int | 18790 | TCP port for the local gateway. |
| Variable | Type | Default | Description |
|---|
OPERATOR_MEDIA_CLEANUP_ENABLED | bool | true | Enable automatic media file cleanup. |
OPERATOR_MEDIA_CLEANUP_MAX_AGE | int | 30 | Age threshold for cleanup in minutes. |
OPERATOR_MEDIA_CLEANUP_INTERVAL | int | 5 | Cleanup job interval in minutes. |
Path overrides
| Variable | Type | Description |
|---|
OPERATOR_CONFIG | string | Override the full path to the config file. Default is ~/.operator/config.json. |
OPERATOR_HOME | string | Override the base directory used for default workspace path. Default is ~/.operator. The workspace defaults to $OPERATOR_HOME/workspace. Does not change the config file path — use OPERATOR_CONFIG for that. |
# Point to a custom config file path
export OPERATOR_CONFIG=/etc/operator/config.json
# Change the base directory for workspace defaults
export OPERATOR_HOME=/srv/operator
Docker / container example
A minimal environment for a containerized deployment using Telegram and Anthropic:
OPERATOR_CONFIG=/data/operator/config.json
OPERATOR_AGENTS_DEFAULTS_MODEL_NAME=claude
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_TELEGRAM_ENABLED=true
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_TELEGRAM_TOKEN=YOUR_BOT_TOKEN
OPERATOR_CHANNELS_TELEGRAM_ALLOW_FROM=123456789
OPERATOR_TOOLS_WEB_DUCKDUCKGO_ENABLED=true
OPERATOR_HEARTBEAT_ENABLED=false
config.json (containing model_list with the Anthropic API key) at the path pointed to by OPERATOR_CONFIG, or use the OPERATOR_AGENTS_DEFAULTS_MODEL_NAME variable alongside a config.json that has credentials pre-filled.